Tom’s Thanksgiving Turkey

This is my father-in-law’s recipe for Thanksgiving turkey. For his stuffing recipe, click here.

Turkey (use Butterball website to determine size & thaw time for the number of people you will be feeding)

Stuffing (Papa’s recipe)

Large foil pan

Aluminum foil

Cooking twine

Turkey lacers (mini skewers)

Sticks of butter

1 – 2 jars fat free turkey gravy (my mother-in-law makes gravy from the neck & giblets. I do not.)

Thaw turkey according to Butterball website. Clean turkey early Thanksgiving morning making sure you burn off feathers. Prepare stuffing & stuff turkey. Hold together with twine and lacers. Piece together several layers of foil under turkey in foil pan. Place pats of butter randomly over turkey especially under wings. Wrap foil closed. Cook at 450° for 3 ¾ hours. A half hour before done, pull back foil to brown. Legs will pull away from the breast. Thermometer stuck through foil (don’t touch the bone) through thigh should read 180°. Remove from oven. Rewrap foil around turkey. Let sit ½ an hour in foil.

Note: The Butterball website recommends cooking at a lower temperature for longer. We usually do a combination of both. Using a turkey baster, mix the turkey drippings with jars of turkey gravy and heat on stove top.