# Turkey for Thanksgiving

This recipe guides you through brining and buttering a turkey to achieve a juicy and flavorful result for Thanksgiving.

- Total time: 270 min
- Cuisine: American
- Category: Soup
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 4 cups apple cider
- 12 cups water
- 2 large oranges
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 2 Tbsp peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
- 1.5 cup brown sugar
- 1.5 cup coarse salt
- 13 lb turkey
- 3 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1 Tbsp Tony's or Creole seasoning
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 onions
- 4 carrots
- 4 celery stalks
- 1 head of garlic
- olive oil
- broth

## Instructions

1. Chop celery.
2. Brine the turkey overnight in apple cider, salt, oranges, rosemary, peppercorns, bay leaves, brown sugar, and crushed garlic.
3. Bring the brine mixture to a boil until everything melts.
4. Add about 12 cups of ice water to cool the brine down immediately.
5. Pour the cooled brine and turkey into a big pot or an oven bag and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
6. Discard the brine and remove the turkey from the fridge about two hours before cooking to come to room temperature.
7. Prepare the compound butter by adding fresh rosemary and thyme to softened butter.
8. Grate in two large cloves of garlic into the butter.
9. Add onion powder, garlic powder, Tony's seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper to the butter mixture.
10. Mix all ingredients to form the compound butter.
11. Pat the turkey completely dry with paper towels.
12. Lift the skin of the breast up and loosen it before applying the butter.
13. Shove the compound butter underneath the skin of the turkey breast.
14. Rub the compound butter all over the surface of the turkey, including the backside and inside the cavity.
15. Transfer the buttered turkey to a baking dish.
16. Chop carrots, celery, onion, and garlic for the base of the baking dish.
17. Season the vegetables with oil, salt, and pepper.
18. Melt one more stick of butter for injection.
19. Inject the melted butter into various parts of the turkey.
20. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with citrus, garlic, and herbs (rosemary and thyme).
21. Tie the legs of the turkey up and tuck the wings underneath to prevent burning.
22. Stick a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to touch any bone.
23. Add some broth to the bottom of the baking dish.
24. Add a little bit of oil to the turkey.
25. Pop the turkey in the oven at 350°F.
26. Bake the turkey 13 to 15 minutes per pound, basting and re-injecting with its juices every 30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
27. Pull the turkey from the oven and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
28. Carve the turkey.
29. Pour gravy made from turkey drippings over the carved turkey.

## Equipment

- knife
- cutting board
- large pot
- measuring cup
- roasting pan
- oven bag
- grater
- meat injector
- kitchen twine
- meat thermometer

## Tips

- Pat your turkey completely dry or the butter will not stick.
- Don't be intimidated by injecting the turkey, just follow the three B's: brine, butter, BBL (Brine, Butter, Baste/Bake/BBL).
- Let the turkey rest for at least 30 minutes after baking to lock in juices.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTrYEbfJe/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/170d3538-836b-4f14-a9f0-d4a5a1496d93
- Extracted: 2025-11-25

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt