Overnight Turkey (Easy, Delicious, and Always Moist!)
Many of us are getting ready for our big dinner tomorrow and most of those will be starring our favorite bird! I thought y’all might be interested in how we cook our turkey. Mama actually took photographs of doing this for this post, but she high tailed it off to Gatlinburg and forgot to send them to me! That’s okay, y’all have good imaginations and these instructions are easy anyway!
There is no one right way to cook a turkey and I’m not saying my method is better than any others. Feel free to post under this and tell me how y’all do it, it would be a great reference for everyone who reads this! This is just how I cook my turkey and how I like my turkey cooked! Its awful easy and your entire bird will be moist and juicy, even the white meat! Whats more, the bird is done first thing when you wake up so you can use that super rich broth and some of the meat to put into your dressing and gravies for the big meal!
Overnight Turkey
1 Turkey, thawed
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 stick butter or margarine
1 oven bag large enough for turkey to fit in
Roaster pan or other large pan with depth to it (so broth won’t overflow – it always seeps out of the bag anyway)
Look in cavity of the turkey and make sure there are not giblets (bags of anything). If there are, remove those. I am a bad little Southerner, I throw my giblets away. Grandmama always saves hers for giblet gravy. You do what your heart tells ya to do (my heart says giblets are a wee bit on the gross side).
1. Put one tablespoon of flour in oven bag, shut it and shake it. Place turkey breast side down in oven bag (oven bag should be sitting in your roasting pan). Breast side down is key here for moist white meat. It may look funny but trust us!
2. Stick that margarine or butter where the sun don’t shine (up the little gobbler’s rear- sorry gobbler)
3. Seal bag and cut a few small slits in the top.
4. Turn oven on 250 and cook overnight.
I don’t put mine in until ten thirty or eleven and I get it out by six in the morning. You want to cook it about seven hours, but no more. When you wake up, your entire house will smell like turkey and the broth will be SO RICH and wonderful!!
5. Slice turkey and place on platter. Spoon a little broth over if you like. Cover with cling wrap or foil and refrigerate until time for your meal.
We always have turkey for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning because it is fresh and ready!
Turkey biscuits are great!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! I’m sorry there are no photos on this but I wanted to post it in case any of you needed an easy way to turn out a moist bird!
Gratefully,
Christy
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Christy, I use this method – just no bag. At the very end I flip the bird (no pun intended) and let it brown under the broiler.
Now….do you make giblet gravy? I make it and put a sliced up boiled egg (white only – just my preference) in it. Makes good gravy, yo!
I am obsessed with cooking my turkey in a turkey bag! It’s the best way imho. However, I get to spend many TG with my family and they do not use this method. It takes a lot of gravy to swallow it…That’s all I can say. ;0>
I have always made my roast chicken breast side down…I guess now’s the time to try it with the turkey!
Thanks and Have a great TG!
I have always roasted my Turkey breast down. It really does make the breast more juicy.
My husband and I also roast our turkey breast down and we wonder why you hardly ever hear it recommended by the “official” turkey advisers. Oh well, we know it works!
I have a question about your recipe: What size turkey are you using for these instructions? I’m guessing the time in the oven would vary for a smaller or larger bird.
Thanks so much and have a GREAT Thanksgiving!
Hey!! I do make giblet gravy…only umm..I don’t use the giblets! LOL I love a boiled egg in mine as well, just the whites like you said!
As far as size goes, this will work for just about any size bird. We’ve done it for up to fifteen pounds, beyond that you might want to give it another hour or so but won’t take much more! Just a good slow cookin’ way of makin’ your turkey!
now i’m off to make thanksgiving pies!!!
Gratefully,
Christy
I just wrap the turkey in aluminum foil, stuff the inside with lemon, butter, rosemary, onion and garlic cloves.. then set a neighbors house on fire and toss it in….
Giblet gravy is awesome. I usually boil the giblets with chicken stock, celery, onions then slice up an egg as well. Thicken it with a cold water slurry of flour and water. Easy peasy. If I want the gravy and I have a chicken without giblets. I boil chicken liver and gizzards instead, the same way as above. Comes out the same.
I want to try this but I have no bag. Can I use foil and do it the same way?
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
My mom used to cook her turkey this way except no bag. It was always great. I use a bag but don’t turn the turkey upside down because the bag usually keeps it moist. I can see why using both methods would really make the turkey moist – I just may do that tonight.
I am in total agreement with you about the giblets – my cats get them! We don’t like eggs in the gravy either – just nice plain turkey gravy for us.
When I make turkey for Christmas I also cook it breast side down, and I don’t turn it over at the end. I know some people like to so that the breast is browned, but I find that with the long cooking time it’s always brown enough.
I also like to put some pieces of butter in between the meat and skin. I stuff the cavity with herbs and onions, and vegetables like celery and carrot. I prepare it on Christmas Eve night and tie it up all with the string, so that in the morning it’s ready to put in the oven.
Happy Thanksgiving! I tried brining my turkey this year, but this overnight turkey sounds good too! I might have to try it this way next year.
http://theadventuresofheather.blogspot.com/
This sounds like a really simple idea – I love this!
-DTW
http://www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
Hey hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving!! Thanks for the recipe. Next time I will have to try this.:) Thanks:)
Sharon:)
My turkey came out very moist (including the breast) just from doing an overnight brine and without turning it breast side down, but I will have to try this recipe out one day. I did Alton Brown’s turkey recipe…
I have never made a turkey, but I need to. One day everyone will be coming here for Thanksgiving. Better start practicing now!
I use Alton Brown’s method of brining a turkey. The night before I plan to cook it, I make a brine of water (Alton says vegetable broth, but I use water), kosher salt, brown sugar, black peppercorns, and a few other spices. You cook the brine for awhile, then put it in the fridge to chill. When it’s cold (you don’t want to precook the turkey!) place the turkey in a large container and cover in the brine.
This year I “cheated.” I put my turkey in a clean garbage bag, inside of one of the pull-out bottom fridge compartments. A 15lb turkey fit perfectly. Turkey went back in the fridge until Thursday around 11 am. I took it out and rinsed off all of the brine. I stuffed the cavity with quartered oranges and lemons with a little bit of butter. I put more butter under the skin of the breast, and everywhere on the outside of the skin. Salt and pepper on top of the skin.
Turkey went into a roasting pan as normal. Alton Brown says to cook for 30 minutes at 500 degrees (I preheated while I was rinsing and preparing the bird), then dropped it down to 350 until it was 161 degrees.
After the bird was done, my husband actually said “This isn’t turkey! Everyone knows turkey is supposed to be bone dry, not juicy.” Our turkey came out more juicy and full of flaver than I have EVER had in a turkey.
On Friday evening, I made Southern Plate’s chicken noodle soup, slightly modified. I took our turkey carcass, vegetables, and seasonings, and threw it in the crock pot, covered with water, and placed on low until Saturday afternoon. That broth turned out WONDERFUL! I really liked the noodles, too
My son absolutely went crazy over it… you know you’ve got a good dish when a picky 2 year old eats it!
Wow, I have not cooked my Turkey from Thanksgiving yet, but I sure am
going to try it. I hate the white meat because its dry, well I hope this does the trick. Thank you so much for all of your tips, I just joined here and love it already. God Bless.
I never thought of cooking it upside down. Ha. Clever. We brined our turkey for the first time ever this thanksgiving and oh MY! It was yummy! I can’t wait to try it with chicken. I’m going to try cooking it upside-down next time. I guess we all get so set on trying to make it look like the pretty perfectly browned birds you see in all the pictures out there – but it always comes to the table already sliced up on a platter anyway…. so why are we so pressed anyway? lol
I tried this last weekend! It turned out so moist and tender! I had a baking bag that said it fit up to 12 lbs and a 13 lb turkey! I held my breath and it just fit!
My husband said I could teach my mom a thing or two about cooking turkey now! That would take some diplomacy! LOL!
Thanks for the idea!
WHEN YOU REHEAT TURKEY PUT WET ICEBURG LETTUCE LEAFS ON TOP AND WARM IN A 300 DEGREE OVEN YUMMY AND STILL MOIST FROM THE WET LEAVES HUGS SALLY
this is a great idea.i cook pork roast up side down as well fat up yum yum!!!