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Serves a Crowd

Slow-Roasted Turkey

by:
August 20, 2021
4
8 Ratings
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Prep time 48 hours
  • Cook time 11 hours
  • Serves A lot
Author Notes

This method produces an amazingly crisp skin and some very juicy meat. It requires a lot of time and a very low oven temperature, so it's a good method for those with kitchens with two ovens (lucky!) or for when you're cooking the turkey ahead of time and reheating gently before the big meal. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

Test Kitchen Notes

This turkey recipe embodies the moral: “Slow and steady wins the race.” Yes, it will take a couple of days to prepare and hours to cook, but the end result will blow your mind away, and you'll get that perfect crispiness and texture. You don't need any fancy ingredients or special equipment either; all you need is a little patience in order to let the bird cook low and slow. This is how you do it: Simply place your turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and butter it up. Stuff the bird with lemon and herbs, then roast low and slow for 10 hours, basting frequently. An hour before dinner starts, crank up the heat and finish the turkey for that crispy, golden skin. This foolproof method ensures a turkey with snappy skin and juicy meat. Plus, you do all of the heavy lifting ahead of time, which means less stress during the hour before the meal: Start the turkey early in the morning, then finish the cooking when your guests arrive.

All ovens are different, so be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat about 8 hours after you start cooking. Some may be more powerful than others and result in different cook times. You can also brine the turkey before you air-dry for even more flavor. If you love the end result, try this method with a whole chicken too—of course, keep in mind the cook time will be far less, so keep your thermometer handy. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 1 (14-pound) whole turkey
  • 4 ounces (1 stick) softened butter (preferably something with high butter fat, like Plugrá or Kerrygold)
  • 5 lemons, halved
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • 4 sprigs sage
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup white wine
Directions
  1. OPTIONAL FIRST STEP: One of the keys to miraculously crispy skin is a VERY dry turkey. The best way to accomplish this is to air-dry your turkey (in the refrigerator) for 1 to 2 days before you roast. I know this sounds a little crazy, and I do have the luxury of a second fridge at home, but I do it with my chickens too—and it makes a huge difference. Unwrap the turkey, rinse it, and pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Place the turkey onto a tray or in a roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 to 48 hours.
  2. Heat the oven to 250°F. Remove the wing tips or tuck them behind the turkey by bending them backward and securing them near the neck. Tie the legs tightly together. Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan.
  3. Using your hands, evenly cover the outside of the turkey with the butter. Make sure to get the sides.
  4. Stuff the inside of the turkey with the lemon, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Season well with salt and pepper (inside and out). Pour the wine into the roasting pan.
  5. Roast the turkey, basting every hour or so (you can go 2 to 3 hours safely without basting, but every hour is best), for about 10 hours, until the skin is crisp and evenly golden. (Basting often is the best way to ensure a crisp skin and a moist interior. You could not baste it as often, but the more you baste it, the crisper the skin, the more even the browning, and the juicier the interior.) At this point, the turkey can be safely cooled until you're ready to reheat and serve.
  6. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to roast the turkey for about 40 minutes, until the skin is even crisper and more golden and the meat is fully cooked through. Let cool for at least 15 to 30 minutes before carving.
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45 Reviews

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Jonathaneguy November 27, 2022
Cook for doneness, not time. That means temperature. Invest in a digital meat thermometer with a remote probe (30ish bucks on the web). You will find this investment will increase the quality of the food you cook, from chicken to bread. I mention the remote probe, because then you don’t have such severe temp spikes in your oven, botching the low and slow method.
I’m not sure where she came up with 10 hours, but that much time at 250 will ruin most meat.
If you’re cooking low and slow like this, you’re only one step away from smoking meat. Get at it!
Marie F. November 15, 2022
The food police say that you should not rinse poultry, as it spreads bacteria.
Nathan P. November 26, 2020
Time/temp is definitely off. Followed recipe to a T and end product turned out very dry. Heat is too high or too much time in oven.
Jonathaneguy November 27, 2022
Definitely too much time
Nathan P. November 26, 2020
Time/temp is definitely off. Followed recipe to a T and end product turned out very dry. Heat is too high or too much time in oven.
pamc November 25, 2020
I am getting ready to slow roast my 20 pound turkey! My question is ...do I cover or leave uncovered for the 10 hour slow roast?
smathew November 23, 2020
Timing is way way off. I dry brined my 13 lb fresh turkey and left out for about 1 hour before putting in oven. It would have been was done in 4 hours. AT 6 hours, it was way over done! Beware the time!
smclinden November 28, 2019
I did this with an 18 lb. turkey and with a 250 degree F oven the internal temperature was 175 within 5 hours. Normally, I slow cook at temperatures between 170 and 220 with a tendency to stay low and slow. My oven is lined with firebrick so it probably retained heat more during basting but I would not have expected this much of a difference in time.

I haven't tested the meat, yet, as it is resting, but based upon the volume of drippings I would say that it shed more moisture than it retained.

I think that I'll try it, next, at about 200 degrees and see if there is a noticeable difference.
janets213 October 18, 2019
Would it be ok if I put the stuffing inside the turkey if I cook it this way? Because normally I had always made it traditionally in the oven but I really want to try this. Please advise.
Molly November 16, 2016
If I brined the turkey, would that impact cooking time?
Jeff P. November 19, 2016
Hi Molly,

Wow, this is a great question. I can't believe I've not seen it before! I may just have to run off to my kitchen to test the difference.

In theory, brining would increase the water content, adding an additional 5-10% of weight in the meat tissue. Given that we're talking a whole bird here, though, it'd be about half that, due to bones, etc (about 50% of a bird is edible meat, from what I read; I haven't tested).

So, a 14 lb / 6350g turkey would end up weighing, after brining ... I'm going to skip the pounds and just do grams: ~6500-6600g.

That's an additional 150-250g of water that needs to be heated from 40°F/~4°C (you should be brining in a fridge for food safety reasons) to ~160°F/70°C — a ~65°C increase. And since it's 1 calorie to heat 1 gram of water 1°C, we're conveniently able to do some math: 150*65=9.750 and 250*65=16,250, and since 1 calorie = 4.184 joules, that's a range of 40,000-68,000 joules.

I know that we're far, far away from turkey at the moment. (I'm enjoying thinking about this way too much. I swear, I'm a much more interesting dinner guest than this response would leave you to believe.)

Since a watt is defined as "1 joule per second", we can get a really hand-wavey crazy approximation of how much time this would take in an oven now. If an electric oven runs at ~2,000 watts, we can say the number of seconds needed to heat the extra water in the bird is 20 to 34 seconds.

Now, I'm assuming that 100% of the energy that the oven is consuming transfers directly into the turkey. And that the heat transfer through the muscle tissue is instant. And that adding water doesn't cause chemical differences. And that I did my math right.

But even if my assumptions have the numbers off by an order of magnitude, and it takes 200 to 340 seconds longer, brining the bird shouldn't make any meaningful difference in cooking time over a 10+ hour cooking time.

At least, in theory. Of course, in theory, there's no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is.

Happy Roasting!
Jeff

P.S. I recommend using a probe thermometer and setting the alarm to beep when the turkey interior reaches ~150°F. (Carryover should do the rest.) That way, it doesn't matter how long it takes...
AC November 19, 2020
Brined turkeys cook faster.
jmkramer November 25, 2020
According to the National Turkey Federation brined turkeys cook slightly faster. https://www.eatturkey.org/recipe/brined-roasted-turkey/#:~:text=NOTE%3A%20A%20brined%20turkey%20cooks,for%2020%20minutes%20before%20carving.
John November 26, 2015
I was all excited about trying this but unfortunately my 20 lb. turkey is done 4 hours early. Trying wrapping tightly in foil and keeping warm in oven until then...hope it is ok!
erin.obrien.752 November 27, 2015
I had the same thing happen with my 18 lb bird. It wasn't dry, but the white meat had that mushy mouth feel that happens when you overlook it. I'd like to try it again, but I think that I would start checking the temperature of the bird at around eight hours. My guess is that my bird would have been perfect sometime between 9-10 hrs. At ten,mi started to check the temperature thinking that my larger bird would take longer to cook and it was well past done.
Katherine November 19, 2016
1. I also am going to do a 20 lb. bird, and I like to stuff the bird. Never had a problem in 48 years of marriage. However, I heed your warning. I always heat the stuffing well before I stuff. Will this alleviate the problem?
2. I am not using a fresh turkey this year (has to do with cost sharing) and the frozen turkeys are all full of brine. I can never get the timing just right. Sounds from the responses that the timing is pretty iffy anyway. However?
any guidance?
diane A. November 17, 2015
Can I stuff the turkey with dressing.
skigolfgirl November 9, 2015
This method may not be safe. The turkey must reach a temperature of 140 degrees within 4 hours for it to be safe so it is recommended that you test with a thermometer to insure that it has done so. Also, basting does nothing, just rolls of the skin and prolongs cook time due to opening the oven.
Peter M. November 25, 2019
Not 140. 165 degrees, and that includes the stuffing as it will catch juices from the raw turkey as it cooks.

The holidays are notorious for food borne illnesses. For anyone who doesn't work with food safety regularly, the CDC is a good source of information right now.
skigolfgirl November 25, 2019
Peter M. The turkey needs to go through the danger zone of 40 to 140 within 4 hours. That is why this method may be unsafe. The final temperature should be 165 in the breast at at least 170 in the thigh.
Jessie November 27, 2019
Apparently, you didn’t read the commenter’s entire post. She said it should reach 140 degrees with 4 hours of putting it into the oven. She was not referring to the final temp.
Frank C. November 26, 2020
It will have gone through danger zone just fine within the fours hours. The recommended finished temperatureS that are from the CDC are just that...recommended. You can cook it to 155-160 and will not get sick. While people do get sick during holidays I’d focus on hand washing, surface prep and your aunt’s week old crab dip
Bascula December 3, 2014
To Nicole: I regularly slow-cook chickens in this way. They 'marinate' overnight in a dry rub of seasonings, then I cook them at 250 for about 5 hours (this would be like a 4-5 lb bird). They come out very well - brown and tender.
pamseif November 28, 2014
I did this for Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out great. I cooked at 250 with my convection oven. It cooked faster than conventional so I was surprised it was cooked in about 6 hours instead of 10. I forgot to baste as often as recommended. It looked and tasted great.Thanks for the recipe.
holly November 26, 2014
My 14lb bird has just thawed mostly after 4 days in the fridge. Eek! Now I won't have a full 24 hours to let it dry in fridge but plan to stick it in there as long as possible. This also means I'll probably be slow roasting all day tomorrow. The Question is: Can I skip pulling the bird out after 10 hrs and reheating it? Can I just slow roast it longer and raise the temp after 10 hours to finish roasting and crisp skin (in place of reheating)? If so, after initial 10 hours should I still bump it to 375 for 40 minutes, reduce the 40-minute time, OR just keep oven same temp and continue roasting some period of time after 10 hours. Help! I don't improvise well. New cook.
Courtenay P. November 27, 2014
I don't know if you're still needing the answer, but your first suggestion was great. If the timing of your dinner works with that, just slow roast, then raise the temp for crisping, and skip the reheating portion all together. I'm sure your meal will be amazing!
Alfredo C. November 26, 2014
Ive seen other people advocate cooking the turkey upside down to get the juices to run down into the breast meat, but they are talking about higher temps for longer times. Do you think this would make a difference with the slow cook method?
Lisa B. November 24, 2014
I am cooking a 12 pound Turkey. How long should I slow roast it at 250 and how long should I leave it in the oven once I turn it up the heat to 375?
Kieanna M. November 22, 2014
This sounds awesome! Any recommendation on what wine to use? I've never cooked with it before.
Kate R. November 21, 2014
How does this affect the pan drippings? Are you still able to make a gravy?
Rick S. November 19, 2014
I am definitely going to try this next week. Question: What if I still really want to add stuffing? Can I do that?
Erin J. November 20, 2014
Stuffing traditionally makes a bird take longer to cook, but I always cook mine separately, so I have to confess I'm not sure how it would affect cook times here. If you try it out, definitely let us know!