I made my first turkey this weekend during our early Thanksgiving potluck! I was pretty nervous since it was my first time and if you ruin the turkey, the whole meal is shot since it’s the main part of the meal. Oh the pressure! Anyways, after getting some tips from my friend who usually makes the turkey, I discovered the easiest and fastest way to make a Thanksgiving turkey. I’m no longer scared to make the turkey. Bring it on! Next year I want to experiment more with the seasoning. :) Here’s my easy peasy foolproof recipe for Thanksgiving turkey.

First, how to decide how big of a turkey to buy? The general rule is 1lb/person which is enough to have a little bit of leftovers too.

Ingredients:
1 Turkey
2 stalks of celery (sliced)
1 medium onion (sliced)
Various seasonings: I used garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika and thyme
1 Reynold’s Oven Turkey Bag (very important!!)
Vegetable oil or butter
1 Tbsp flour

I bought a pre-brined turkey from Trader Joe’s. I highly recommend this since the turkey turned out great and super moist!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. Open the turkey and drain any excess liquid. Rinse the turkey with cold water. Throw away the turkey neck and giblets (unless you want to keep to make soup or gravy!). Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel.
2. I used butter since everything with butter tastes better to me ha ha. If you don’t want to use butter, you can use vegetable oil. Brush the turkey with whatever you choose. Then sprinkle the seasoning all over the turkey.
3. Shake the flour into the Reynold’s oven bag which you should put in a pan that’s at least 2 inches deep and will fit the turkey. I used one of those disposable roaster pans for easy clean up. Also, if you’d like you can spray the bag with a nonstick spray.
4. Lay the celery and onions in the bag.
5. Place the turkey on top of the veggies in the bag.
6. Tie the bag up with the twist ties they provide and cut 6 1/2 inch slits into the top of the bag. If you have a meat thermometer stick it through one of the slits so it sits in the thickest part of the inner thigh.

The turkey is ready to pop in the oven now. BAKE 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a 12 to 16 lb. turkey, 2 1/2 to 3 hours for a 16 to 20 lb. turkey, and 3 to 3 1/2 hours for a 20 to 24 lb. turkey, or until meat thermometer reads 180°F. For easy slicing, let stand in oven bag 15 minutes before opening.

Since I did not have a meat thermometer I put it in the oven for about 3 hours for a 12 lb turkey. The nice thing about using the Reynold’s bag is that you can keep it in longer without worrying about it drying out! I highly recommend using a Reynold’s bag to cook the turkey in.

The result??

It was a super moist turkey and SO EASY! Clean up was also easy. Thanks for my friend for recommending me to use the Reynold’s Turkey oven bag!

Aside from the turkey, the potluck was so fun. There was so much food and it was all SO GOOD! One of my friends bought this yummy dessert wine:

Riunite Lambrusco…mmmmmmm!

And another friend brought this mac n cheese that was SO GOOD. I must get the recipe so I can share with you all! And a mocha creme cake from this korean bakery. I love asian cakes because they are not too sweet.

Also, we joined the internet phenomenon of videotaping ourselves watching 2 girls 1 cup. I hope to get a copy of that video soon. It’s sooo funny.