The World's Best Turkey Recipe - Allrecipes.com
The World's Best Turkey Recipe
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The World's Best Turkey
A bottle of Champagne makes this moist bird something to celebrate! See more
  • READY IN 4+ hrs

The World's Best Turkey

Read Reviews (303)

"This recipe makes a deliciously moist turkey." —  

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Original recipe makes 1 (12 pound) turkey Change Servings
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Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
  3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Kitchen-Friendly View
  • PREP 20 mins
  • COOK 3 hrs 30 mins
  • READY IN 4 hrs 10 mins

Footnotes

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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review
Nov 13, 2007

QUESTION PLEASE: as somebody else inquired, do we cut slits in the bag, per instructions on the box of cooking bags? The recipe doesn't say. Thank you for responding!

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Most Helpful Critical Review
Nov 25, 2011

This recipe was ok. I had an 11.8 lb turkey and I only needed to cook it for about 2 hours. I even turned down the oven to 325. I ended up leaving it in for a bout 2.5 hours, so I think it over cooked a bit, which may have been why mine wasn't as juicy as others mentioned. Overall it was good, and the champagne and drippings made a good gravy, but I couldn't give this one 5 stars because the flavor was about average and the cooking time was too high and long.

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Jan 20, 2006

I have made this for thanksgiving two years in a row and everyove raved about it! It comes out unbelievably juicy and simply delicious! I cubed two apples and stuffed the cavity to have enough to serve with the turkey. I also took the turkey out of the roasting bag about 2/3 of cooking time to prevent the skin from sticking to the bag and basted every twenty minutes after that until it was brown and crispy. I highly recommend this recipe!!! The flavor is amazing and it's so easy to prepare! The apples and the champagne really follow through in this recipe, you won't be disappointed!

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Nov 18, 2005

This Thanksgiving will be the 3rd year I've used this recipe - the last 2 years it has turned out PERFECT!! Since we usually have between 10 and 16 people for Thanksgiving, we use a turkey that is at least 25 lbs - even with the larger turkey you can't go wrong with this recipe! You do need to check it before the end of the cooking time listed, some ovens tend to cook faster than others (like mine!) so you want to make sure you don't over-cook it. And definitely make sure you flour your bag before putting the turkey in. The drippings make an awesome gravy and has been a HUGE hit, one of our guests hates gravy, but when I make this turkey and the subsequent gravy, he can't get enough! I'm looking forward to making this again this year, we're having more guests this year than the last 2, and they're looking forward to having this awesome turkey! :)

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Nov 29, 2006

Loved this recipe-just one question: were we supposed to make "slits" in the oven bag prior to cooking? I would really appreciate it if someone would respond to this question. Thanks so much.

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Jan 16, 2004

My first Thanksgiving turkey and it turned out perfect. Had a bit of trouble figuring out how to remove the neck (was reaching for the hammer when my boyfriend took over), but prepping the bird couldn't have been easier. Season it, squish some butter under the skin and then pour champagne on, in and under the bird's skin, tie close the bag and toss it in the oven. I followed another reviewer's suggestion to cook my 12-pound bird at 275 for 2.5 hours, removing it from the bag and then returning to the oven for another 45mins to brown the skin. Let it sit for another 20 mins before carving and it was amazing. Everyone raved about how moist and delicious it was. Thanks Sarah for the great recipe!

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Jan 03, 2004

FABULOUS recipe! And super easy to make too. A caution when using the oven bag. I forgot to read those instructions and you need to add flour to the bottom of the bag so it doesn't burst. I found that out later on and ended up switching bags before I put the turkey in the oven. The turkey was very moist and I added some chicken boulleon to the broth after it was done cooking so I could make gravy that tasted less sweet. I highly recommend this recipe, or the homestyle turkey- michagander way on this website. I've only made 2 turkeys in my life and these turned out better than ones family members have made for years (shh don't tell) Good luck!

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Dec 30, 2005

This was fantastic! I used half a red onion and half an apple on the inside, and we used sparkling apple juice instead of champagne (cheaper). The only issue was we did not buy a thermometer, and it didn't cook all the way through in the time allotted. It might be because this was a free range ornagic one, but who knows. We laughed, tossed it back in, and when it came out it was insanely juicy and absolutly amazing. This was the first turkey I have ever cooked, and now my family swears that they won't be using any other recipes now, it was so good. Thanks so much!

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Nutrition

  • Calories
  • 591 kcal
  • 30%
  • Carbohydrates
  • 3.6 g
  • 1%
  • Cholesterol
  • 214 mg
  • 71%
  • Fat
  • 29.3 g
  • 45%
  • Fiber
  • 0.5 g
  • 2%
  • Protein
  • 68.2 g
  • 136%
  • Sodium
  • 207 mg
  • 8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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