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Several Thanksgivings ago my stepmom introduced my family to her favorite Thanksgiving recipe, Turkey Under a Sheet. Turkey Under a Sheet is an unconventional way to cook a turkey that yields amazing results! You’ve never tasted a turkey this moist and flavorful!
Turkey is notorious for stumping novice turkey cookers. Is it done yet? What’s the thermometer at? Has the button popped?
Dang, it’s still not done yet!
Great, looks like we overcooked it. The turkey is so dry!!!
This recipe eliminates all these complaints and cooks the turkey just right every time! When the “sheet” turns a dark golden brown, your turkey is done!
Origins of Turkey Under a Sheet
Last Thanksgiving my stepmom was visiting for Thanksgiving from California. She volunteered to cook her Turkey Under a Sheet. Unfortunately, she left her recipe at home! She made the recipe on a spreadsheet years ago and had kept it with her recipes since.
Imagine her surprise when she decided to Google the recipe on the off-chance that someone else was taught to make turkey using the sheet method, and up popped an “Origins Unknown” Turkey Under-a-Sheet recipe with her very spreadsheet. The very spreadsheet that she created and had stored up with the rest of her recipe collection at home.
Yep, the “Origins Unknown – Turkey Under a Sheet recipe” can be attributed to my stepmom, Catalina. Of course, she didn’t invent the recipe herself. Like most of the recipes we all use, the recipe was created by someone else and handed down. Catalina was simply responsible for writing it down in a spreadsheet and emailing it to friends who requested it where it finally ended up being passed on to people all over the internet.
In an effort to share the best, moist turkey recipe even farther, I thought I’d share her Turkey Under a Sheet Recipe with you all!
Steps to Cooking Your Turkey
Position your turkey in a large roasting pan. Pour wine into the cavity of the turkey until a little spills over into the pan.
Saute the garlic in butter. Remove from heat and add all remaining ingredients of the spice mixture (olive oil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, taragon). Place bay leaves on the highest points of the turkey to keep it from sticking to the sheet.
Cover the turkey with the sheet. (Say “goodnight!”) Secure the sheet with a couple of rounds of string around the perimeter of the roasting pan. Trim excess sheet to leave a 2 inch ruffle. Mix the four with enough water to make a gooey mix. Spread the mix evenly over the sheet from the top to the sides of the pan.
Cook in the oven at 400°F. Cook for 7-9 minutes per pound. You’ll know the turkey is done when your sheet turns a dark golden brown.
Note: Your best bet for the “Linen towels” called for in the recipe is to get Flour Sack towels. These are very inexpensive and are “lint free”. I’ve linked to them on Amazon, so if you’re unfamiliar with flour sack towels you can take a look, but I’d recommend picking some up at Target or Walmart, or your local grocery store. They’ll likely be a bit cheaper.
To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.
Calculate turkey cooking time and temperature. The simplest way to figure out turkey roasting times is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey (that's about 3 hours for a 12- to 14-lb. turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey.
Preheat your oven to full whack, get the turkey in the roasting tray and cover with foil. As soon as it goes in the oven, immediately turn the heat down to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. As a rough guide, you want to cook the turkey for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilogram, so a 7kg turkey will want about 4 to 4½ hours in the oven.
Prepare the turkey: Remove the turkey neck and giblets. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels, then place it (breast-side up) on a rack in a roasting pan. Stuff and season the turkey: Fill the cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with butter, then season with salt and pepper.
We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird.
What Temperature to Cook the Turkey? Cook your turkey at 325 degrees F for most of the cook time; in the final 45 minutes, remove the cover or foil tent from the turkey, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and baste the bird with butter. The initial lower oven temperature cooks the turkey through evenly.
Preheat oven to 325° F. Drain juices and pat dry with clean paper towels. Place turkey breast-side-up on a flat rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2½ inches deep. Turn the wings back to hold the neck skin in place.
Roast 1 hour, then baste every 30 minutes with pan liquids, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 125°F, about 3 hours. Remove foil; raise oven heat to 400°F. Continue roasting, basting occasionally, until thigh reaches 180°F, 45 to 60 minutes more.
Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10–15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again. Lower the setting to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for about 2 1⁄2 hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kg), basting occasionally.
Never pass up the opportunity to add flavor to turkey by stuffing the cavity with a simple aromatics mix. Fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage along with a half lemon go a long way to add flavor, and stuffing it into the bird takes almost no time at all.
How do you clean a turkey before cooking it? Well... you don't! Just like with other meat, the USDA recommends skipping washing your turkey before you cook it. It doesn't matter if you're roasting, frying, or smoking your turkey, there's no need to give it a rinse unless you've brined it (more on that below).
Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) Preheat your oven and take the turkey out of the fridge. Thirty minutes to an hour before the turkey needs to start roasting, turn on your oven and let the turkey sit out at room temperature while it's heating up.
Generously season the turkey cavity with salt and pepper, to taste. Brush the turkey with olive oil, and rub it with the seasoning mixture. Tie the legs together loosely to hold their shape, and tuck the wing tips under.
"Often, consumers will inquire about adding water to the bottom of their roasting pans. We do not recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan. Cooking a turkey with steam is a moist heat-cook method and is acceptable, sure, but is not the preferred method for cooking your turkey."
Place turkey in pre-heated oven and heat until hot (140° F). Cover pan completely with foil for the entire cooking time. Cover breast loosely with foil after 1 to 1 1/4 hours to prevent over-browning and drying. Begin checking the turkey for doneness about 30 minutes before the recommended cook time.
Add about 1/2 inch of liquid (water or stock) to the roasting pan. This will keep the oven moist and the turkey juicy. This aromatic liquid can be used to baste the turkey while it cooks (there is a debate about whether basting does anything, but it's part of the tradition).
Bake turkey, uncovered, in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 3 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).
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