This recipe made a flavorful, moist turkey. My 12.5 lb turkey cooked at 325 faster than the recipe. It was done in 2.5 hours.
I cooked my first turkey last year at Thanksgiving and used this recipe. It was delicious! The meat was very tender and was very flavorful. I am looking forward to cooking it again this year!!
I have made this recipe for years. I generally make a larger turkey, so I follow the cooking time listed on the turkey's label. (I've even cooked the turkey on my gas grill outside). This recipe is delicious, creating a moist bird with no added fat. It's been a hit for years. I use more chicken broth in the pan, and I add celery to the apples and onion in the bird. I then make turkey soup out of the carcass.
This turkey was fantastic! I don't cook turkey all that often, so I wanted to follow a recipe. I will definitely make this one again. The apple butter sauce under the skin is very flavourful. I was a little worried about the gravy... it's very pale. Don't worry though, it tastes great! The only downside was that the turkey took 5 hours to cook instead of the 3 hours posted in the recipe.
Been making this turkey for ten years. A perfect bird! The last three years, I've been cooking on a Big Green Egg, which has only made it better. Brined it beginning last year in the apple cider brine and even better still. Even without the smoker/slow-cooker or the brine, this is a phenomenal recipe. Frozen or fresh, high-end free-range/organic bird or mass-market frozen, it's been perfect every time.
Family favorite for over 12 years. Since the first time I made this recipe no other has come close.