Butter Blanketed Turkey
Butter blanketed turkey is an easy Thanksgiving main made with a 12 pound bird, 3 sticks of butter and cheesecloth, ready in about 4 hours. That makes it a simple roast turkey recipe for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas or a Sunday dinner, since the cloth bastes the breast while you wait.
The blanket only works while it is wet, so the cheesecloth has to be fully saturated in melted butter before it goes on, not just brushed. Butter that dries out turns the cloth into a lid that steams the skin, which is why basting straight through it every 30 minutes matters more than anything else in this recipe.
Two details separate this version from a plain roast bird: paprika butter pushed under the breast skin, which colors the top while it bastes from inside, and the pan turn in the last half hour so the breast faces the back of the oven. Since the back wall runs hotter, that turn finishes the thigh without drying the breast meat that has been shielded all afternoon.
One number is off. The method seasons with 1 teaspoon of salt in the cavity and 2 teaspoons outside, which is 1 tablespoon, about 8 grams for a 5,900 gram bird, or 0.14 percent of its weight. Even light surface seasoning on turkey runs near 0.5 percent, so use 3 tablespoons instead and the butter finally has something to carry.
Butter Blanketed Turkey
Course: Main CourseCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy12
620
kcalIngredients
- For the Turkey:
One 12 to 14 pound turkey, giblets removed
3 tablespoons kosher salt, divided (see note)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 large yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
- For the Butter:
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon paprika
- For the Pan:
3 stalks celery, broken into thirds
3 medium carrots, halved
1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth
Directions
FAQs
Will a 20 inch piece of cheesecloth really cover the whole bird?
Folded twice it measures roughly 10 by 18 inches, while a 12 to 14 pound turkey runs about 14 inches long and 11 inches across the breast. That covers the top but leaves the sides bare, so cut 30 inches instead and let the edges hang down past the thighs.
Do I need to brine the turkey first?
No, and this recipe is built for a bird that has not been brined, which is why the salt correction above matters so much. If you do dry brine it a day ahead, drop the outside salt to 1 tablespoon so the skin does not read salty.
What do I do if the skin sticks to the cheesecloth?
Spoon hot butter over the cloth and wait a minute before pulling, since the fat loosens the bond. Then lift one corner slowly rather than peeling the whole sheet at once, because a fast pull takes patches of skin with it.
Will the pan liquid last three hours?
The 1 1/2 cups of broth will be gone in the first hour, but butter runs off the cloth continuously and replaces it, so there is always fat to baste with. Add a splash of broth if the vegetables start to darken, and save those drippings for the best gravy ever.
Is 165F in the thigh the right place to stop?
It is the safe minimum, though thigh meat eats better near 175F while the breast is best pulled at 160F. Check both, and if you want a bird with no cheesecloth to manage at all, this perfect roast turkey uses a plain high heat start instead.
