Description
In many homes, a beautiful Thanksgiving Turkey is the heart of the holiday meal. Whether it’s your first time making a roasted turkey from scratch or you’re a seasoned pro, this Cajun Butter Turkey recipe will walk you through every step for success. From how to prep + brine the turkey to developing homemade Cajun compound butter, you’ll serve up a deeply flavorful, impressive centerpiece!
Ingredients
For the turkey & prep:
- 1 (12-14 lb) whole turkey, fresh or thawed
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large yellow onions, roughly chopped
- 6 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
- 6 whole carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 large lemon, cut into quarters
- 1 heaping bundle fresh hardy herbs like rosemary, thyme & sage
- 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer- or 1 ½ cups turkey/chicken stock as sub
- ¼ cup neutral oil (like avocado, grapeseed, or algae oil)
For the Cajun compound butter:
- 1 ½ lbs (6 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons Creole Cajun Seasoning– homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
- 8 sprigs fresh rosemary, de-stemmed & finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground sage
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper- to taste
Instructions
- Prep the turkey. Remove the turkey from the packaging, and remove the giblets, neck, and plastic parts from the inside cavity of the bird. Feel free to save the giblets/neck to roast for gravy if you’d like, or discard them. Pat the turkey completely dry with paper towels to remove all excess moisture- be sure to get the inside cavity as well.
- Dry-brine the turkey. Place the turkey inside or on a large vessel (such as a baking/roasting dish or large baking sheet) fitted with a wire rack. Season the turkey very generously with kosher salt- get every surface, front and back, and inside the cavity as well. Followed by the fresh ground black pepper and brown sugar. Use your hands (fitted with disposable gloves if desired) to massage the spices all over the turkey. Then place the turkey breast-side up.
- Carefully transfer the turkey, uncovered, into the refrigerator to rest for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
- Set the turkey out. On the day of cooking, remove the turkey from the refrigerator well in advance before roasting, to let it come to room temperature. I like to do this first thing in the morning day of Thanksgiving, as it might take a few hours to get to room temperature, depending on the size of your bird, 12-14 lbs.
- Prep the Cajun compound butter. In a large bowl, combine the softened butter, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, chopped rosemary, sage, thyme, allspice, and salt/pepper- be mindful that you’ve already dry-brined the bird with plenty of salt, so only a little is needed. Use a good rubber spatula to mix the butter with the spices until well combined and smooth. Then place the Cajun compound butter into a large measuring cup (or microwave-safe bowl/vessel). Set aside.
- Preheat the oven. Adjust your oven so that the turkey will sit in the center position. Then preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Coat & butter up the turkey. Do not rinse off the dry brine- but do pat it dry to remove excess moisture. Using disposable gloves, use *half* of the Cajun compound butter to generously coat the turkey. Make sure you’re covering as much of the exterior surface of the turkey as possible- front, back, etc. For added flavor, very carefully use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin in the top breast area to get some compound butter up under there as well. Set the remaining compound butter aside.
- Stuff the turkey. Once the turkey has been covered with butter, place half of the roughly chopped onions, celery, carrots, quartered lemon, and bundle of fresh herbs inside the turkey cavity. Then use kitchen twine to tie the legs together.
- Roast the turkey. Place the other half of the roughly chopped onions, celery, and carrots into the bottom of your roasting pan along with the beer (or turkey/chicken stock). Then, top your roasting pan with the roasting rack, and place the turkey on top of it.
- Roast the turkey, uncovered, at 425°F for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven to 325°F. Carefully take the turkey out to inject/baste, and prep the cheesecloth soak.
- Microwave the remaining compound butter until melted, and then stir in the neutral oil. This mixture will be the marinade to soak your cheesecloth in and the injecting/basting goodness. Use a meat injector to fill up and inject the turkey in several spots (mainly the top breast area) with the marinade. Place the cheesecloth into the marinade until well-soaked. Drape the soaked cheesecloth over the turkey.
- Continue roasting the turkey at 325°F for 13-15 minutes per pound, about 2 ½ – 3 hours, or until the internal temperature (when the meat thermometer is inserted into the middle of the breast or thigh area) reaches about 165°F. Every 30-45 minutes, take the turkey out to repeat the injecting/basting rhythm with the remaining marinade- always ensuring that the cheesecloth is rehydrated and moist while it’s over the turkey.
- Rest the turkey. After the turkey is done, allow it to rest for at least 30-45 minutes before carving and serving. Remove and discard the cheesecloth, and baste the turkey with the pan juices right before carving/serving.
- Serve the turkey on a large platter and garnish the dish if desired. Use the turkey drippings/pan juices to make homemade gravy if you’d like. Enjoy this juicy Cajun butter turkey alongside your favorite holiday side dishes!
Notes
- A note on tools/equipment needed: This recipe is written to include the use of a cheesecloth, meat/flavor injector & turkey baster.
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.