How to Cook a Turkey in a Bag
The secret to the easiest Thanksgiving Turkey is to cook it in a cooking bag. There's no basting, less cook time, and easier cleanup.
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 296kcal
Equipment
- 1 Turkey Oven Bag (Reynolds brand recommended)
Ingredients
Herb Butter
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary. chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
- ½ teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
Turkey
- 16 lb turkey
- 1 stalk celery sliced
- 1 onion sliced thin
- 1 lemon, sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Turkey stuffing (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside a large roasting pan.
Herb Butter
- Mix room temperature butter with all chopped herbs and set aside.
Turkey
- Place bag in roasting pan. Open the oven bag and place 1 tablespoon of flour in the bag, shake bag it around. Place sliced celery, onion, and lemon in the bottom of the bag and set aside.
- Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey cavities and reserve for gravy.
- If you are stuffing your turkey, do so at this time. Place stuffing in both the front and back cavity. You want to do this just prior to cooking. I always either sew up the back cavity or skewer it together to ensure stuffing stays in place.
- Salt and pepper the entire turkey.
- Take the herb butter and smooth it over the outside of the turkey. This will help it brown as well as keep it from sticking to the oven bag.
- Place turkey in the bag on top of the vegetables then seal the bag with provided tie. Make sure the bag is entirely in the pan. Tuck any extra ends underneath the bird.
- Cut six slits in the top of the bag to allow steam to escape.
- Place on the bottom rack of oven so the bag does not touch the sides or top. Bake according to the directions on the cooking bag package for your size of turkey.
- When completely cooked, carefully remove from bag and place on cutting board with a channel that will catch the juices.
- Remove dressing to serving bowl and cover to keep warm. Place drippings from bag in a saucepan for making gravy.
- Let turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before carving to let juices redistribute throughout the meat.
Notes
TIPS FOR COOKING TURKEY IN A BAG
- Be sure to add flour to the oven bag.
- Make sure to cut slits in the oven bag so the steam can escape and not burst open the bag.
- Don’t let the oven bag touch the top element or sides of the oven because it can melt. Move the oven rack down a level and tuck the oven bag ends under the turkey so they don’t hang out of the pan.
- Always test the internal temperature when roasting turkey. The thickest part of the thigh should be 175°F and the breast should be 165°F. Use an instant-read thermometer.
- Avoid using pop-up timers because they can get stuck and are not accurate.
- Let the turkey rest before carving to allow the juices to redistribute in the meat.
- Be careful when cutting the bag open because there will be hot steam inside.
Nutrition
Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.1g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 310mg | Potassium: 431mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg
