How to cook a turkey

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Are you in charge of cooking the turkey this year?! We're sharing our family secrets to an AMAZING turkey that not only is extremely tasty but moist too! 

If your turkey is frozen, TODAY is a good time to start thawing! Typically you should remove your turkey from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator 2-4 days BEFORE cooking. We thawed ours 4 days and there was still just a bit of ice. If you haven't thawed your turkey by Thanksgiving morning, search online for other optional thawing and cooking methods. If you are using a free range turkey that has not been frozen, you can simply skip this thawing step. 

Be sure to watch the great video from my husband for some GREAT tips on how to cook your Turkey! He makes some of the best turkey I've ever tasted! 

How to cook a TURKEY

(Gluten Free and super moist & tasty!)
Created by Dr. Brandon Nielsen

Ingredients: 

• Turkey, thawed (if frozen) 2-4 days in the fridge
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large or 1 & 1/2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsley chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• garlic powder
• sea salt
• dried parsley
• 3 slices of orange (optional)

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Directions: 

For a great step by step video tutorial on how to cook a turkey watch the link below! My husband (Dr. Nielsen) actually demonstrates all these directions and more. 

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1. Mix together the dill, thyme, oregano, and black pepper together and set aside. Preheat the oven at 325 F. 
2. Pull your turkey out of the fridge (where it has been thawing for at least 2-4 days.) Cut the turkey out of the bag in a large sink. Remove the giblets and the plastic holding and discard. Remove the neck, wash completely, and set aside for later use. (We include the neck in our roasting pan which provides more juices for making gluten free gravy later. If you don't care to do this you can discard it instead.) Wash the turkey completely inside and out. Shake the excess water off.
3. Place the turkey into the roaster pan BREAST SIDE UP. Holding the turkey upright, pour 2 Tbsp of olive oil into the cavity of the turkey. Throw in 1/2 of the total amount of the chopped onions and 1/2 of the total amount of garlic. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the sea salt and 1/2 of the total amount of herb mixture inside the cavity. 
4. Turn the turkey breast side up and liberally coat the breast and the legs with about 1/4 cup olive oil. Lightly sprinkle on some garlic powder, liberally sprinkle on the sea salt and parsley flakes. Turn the turkey over so the breast is down and repeat the process. Add the remaining onion, garlic, and herb mixture as well. 
5. Optional: you can add 3 slices of oranges to the back of the turkey. (This give it a tiny hint of sweet flavor but if you leave them off it wont change the flavor much.) Add 1-2 cups of water. Remember that the turkey is going to give off a lot of juices and so depending on the size of your turkey roaster and how much gravy you want, add water accordingly. (You don't want the juices to overflow into the oven!)
6. Cover the turkey with either a lid or tin foil. [In the video Dr. Nielsen mentions to heat the turkey first at 400 F for 30 minutes- this is optional. Warning-if you forget about your turkey at this high heat you'll ruin your turkey so watch it carefully. He suggests just simply cooking the turkey at 325 the entire time.]
7. Look on the back of your turkey tag and packaging to find out the weight and time to cook your particular bird. Place the turkey in the oven on the middle rack. Cook for the calculated time according to the weight/cooking time chart. 

Juicy secrets from Dr. Nielsen...

How to cook a turkey - Here are Dr. Nielsen's top 3 secrets to cooking the juiciest turkey ever!

Secret #1- Cook the turkey with the breast DOWN. 
Secret #2- Season not only the outside but the INSIDE of the bird as well.
Secret #3- Watch the bonus video for the third great secret.

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How to Cook a Turkey

How to Cook a Turkey - Bonus