Make-Ahead Roast Turkey
Published Nov. 7, 2023
- Total Time
- 2 hours 10 minutes, plus at least 2 days for brining, cooling and chilling
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 55 minutes, plus at least 2 days’ brining, cooling and chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:12 servings
- 1(11- to 13-pound) turkey, thawed if frozen, spatchcocked
- 3 to 4tablespoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 2bunches fresh rosemary, sage or thyme, or a combination
- Olive oil, for drizzling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
522 calories; 25 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 70 grams protein; 1075 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Place a flat wire rack on top of a large rimmed baking sheet. Place the turkey on top of the rack.
- Step 2
Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Rub turkey all over with 3 to 4 tablespoons of salt (½ teaspoon salt per pound). Refrigerate uncovered overnight or for up to 3 days.
- Step 3
Remove turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting and allow to come to room temperature.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, place oven rack toward the bottom third of the oven and heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Step 5
Using about half the herbs, tuck some sprigs under the turkey. Drizzle turkey lightly with oil (you can use a pastry brush or your hands to help spread it evenly if you like). Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees, 40 to 55 minutes. If the breast looks like it’s getting too brown before the legs are done, cover it with foil.
- Step 6
Remove turkey from the oven and let it cool completely. Remove herbs and cover with foil or plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Step 7
To reheat, remove turkey from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours (but no longer) before roasting to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Step 8
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Tuck more herbs around the turkey.
- Step 9
Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Step 10
Let turkey rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Susan
I usually carve the turkey after it cools, then put it into the refrigerator. A few hours before I want to eat, I put around an inch of turkey stock into my crockpot and heat it on high. After its warm I add the carved turkey pieces and reset the temperature to low/keep warm. It will stay warm and moist in the crockpot for hours. And it frees up space in your oven.
Martin R.
To answer some questions, An 11 to 13 pound spatchcocked turkey will fit on a half sheetpan just fine. Going any larger, I’d probably remove the legs and thighs and set those on either side of the butterflied breast. Get a pair of good poultry shears. OXO makes a good one. Remove the wish bone before using the shears to cut on both sides of the spine. It will make it easier. Add the spine (broken into pieces) with the giblets to make a stock for the gravy.
Meagan
I did this last year follow Ina's make-ahead book recipe and it worked FANTASTICALLY.
Johanna
Help, I’ve never done this before. I need help with a small detail re the process. Do you put the spatchcocked cooked turkey in the fridge and later for the second roast on its original roasting pan? Or do you repack it for the refrigeration and rearrange it for the second baking??
JohnG
I host 10-15 friends and family for Thanksgiving. They used to rave about my roast/stuffed turkey. Then a few years ago I added a couple of extra legs that I had confitted in duck fat and roasted to crisp the skin. It was such a hit that I now confit the entire dismembered turkey (without being stuffed) the day before in a gallon of duck fat and then crisp it in the oven for about 20 min at 170°C before serving. Sweet, tender, succulent meat with crisp skin is a total favorite.
Stephanie
I always spatchcock and for the past few years have been doing two at once, carving and then racing/shlepping them up to my parents’ house 10 miles away because it’s become too much for my mom to cook. This make-ahead recipe will save me! Thank you Melissa!
Sean Rositano
Jeff, I've been doing that for years now: smoke or roast turkey; chill. Carve cold (juices stay in) just before reheat. Reheat is different this way however: You need moisture. We now use a steam oven, but this works great: Tightly foil wrap the carved pieces on a steam tray or rimmed sheet pan drenched in turkey stock. It's impossible for the bird to lose moisture this way. We reheat at 250 until pan temp comes up, then hold at about 155 so not overcooked. No crispy skin, though!
Marie
It does. In the first Thanksgiving of COVID, I made two spatchcocked turkey breasts, and delivered one along with all of the sides ready for reheating to our daughter and SIL 40 minutes away as both were just recovering from COVID and too ill to cook. Husband I ate the other one and our reheated sides.
Hal
If you're a gardener who takes good care of your tools, you will likely have a clean, sharp pair of Felco pruning shears that will make fast work of spatchcocking. I confess that I have done this only with a chicken, but I am going to try it on a turkey two weeks from today.
Emily
Since it's being reheated (350 degrees) at a much lower temperature than the initial roast (450 degrees), I think the idea is one can reheat the turkey in the same oven while baking the usual sides.
JJ
https://www.seriouseats.com/butterfiled-roast-turkey-with-gravy-recipe Did this last year. Worked great.
JJ
Ummmm...may I come to your house for Thanksgiving this year???
Chris V
Do you rinse the bird after the dry brine to remove the salt? This was great, but the (beautiful) skin was crazy salty.
Tom
The turkey was great. And most importantly, Done On Time for dinner. A few points: An accurate digital thermometer must be used to determine interior temperature. Time alone is not enough to judge doneness. On the first roasting, 165 F must be reached in the thigh. If the breast is getting above 155 F, cover with foil. Getting the par-cooking done to temp will insure that the timing is much more predictable the next day. Still good to start a half-hour early. Plan ahead to make stock for gravy.
Rhonda
I also had difficult with even cooking of the turkey. I did not purchase a frozen turkey, so thawing was not an issue. I followed all directions for dry brining, cooking for an hour the day before, and brining it up to room temp before cooking for another hour. The thighs registered 165 degrees, the breast in the 130s. It took over another hour to finish cooking, which threw the timing of the side dishes off. That said, it was absolutely delicious. Thankfully, we had very flexible guests!
Molly
I messed up somehow, followed directions and checked temp on thigh, looked AMAZING but when it came to carve the breast it was raw about two inches deep. Probably was super frozen although I did an ample thaw in fridge. Just a note to make sure you check the breast as well even though it would normally cook quicker than the thigh.
suzieQ
Do I reheat the turkey with the foil on?
Tom
No, roast as usual.
L. Klein
Hi! I’m roasting this right now. I no longer have that bag of innerds. What did you do for gravy?
Marian
I asked the same question a few days ago. No answer yet!
Tom
Sorry for the late answer. But it will still be good next year. With this dry-brine, spatchcocked method, few pan drippings are produced. So, you need to plan ahead for the gravy. Make the stock on the first day. Better Than Bouillon brand makes a roast turkey flavor that works pretty well. Make a nice stock as you would with onion, celery carrot, mushroom, parsley. Add some white wine, cook the alcohol off. Then add the store-bought stock base, to get the concentration you want.
Kelly H
Step 1 says to place a flat wire rack on top of a large rimmed baking sheet, and then place the turkey on top of the rack. Does the turkey stay on the rack for the whole recipe, through the initial cooking, cooling, and reheating? Or does it come off the rack and go straight onto the pan at some point? Thanks!
willie from Philly
I always recall my late mother in law's holiday turkey----cooked a day before, carved, collated into slices, placed into alumnium foil, and modestly steamed before the meal. heated additionally with a buttery and salty gravy, the turkey tasted like a washclothe recovered from the dead sea. ---almost toxic, one suffered through thanksgiving and anxiously awaited the entree choice for our christmas, and it was a long month.
Mina
Home run hit! Fed 20 and didn't break a sweat. No carving pressure. This recipe created a beautiful browned turkey that maintained its juicyness. question: Using a rimmed sheet pan and a flat wire rack....why that particular arrangement? Wouldn't a roasting pan with a rack work? I did have turkey fat to the rim.
Marian
Does the roasted spatchcocked turkey give up enough juice for the gravy?
Terry B.
Is it possible to transport a whole roasted turkey and reheat it (whole) at another location?
Maine chef
Best and easiest Turkey ever! Followed an article from Saveur magazine on how to spatchcock a Turkey and it was a breeze. Skipped the salting overnight. Patted the Turkey down a little olive oil salt and pepper and into the oven it went. I had a 13 1/2 lb Turkey and cooked it at 400 for about an hour and a half. I also rotated it half way. Super easy to carve. This will forever be the way I make Turkey.
Dad
How to roast (or smoke) and reheat....
chef wo
YouTube has a lot of videos on how to spatchcock a turkey. Just search for it
cindi
Please tell us how to reheat the turkey AFTER carving.
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