I know it sounds pretty weird but it works. Cooking a turkey in a brown paper bag results in a crispy-skinned, golden brown and juicy bird without much work — no basting required.
Paper Bag Turkey
What You’ll Need:
1 whole turkey
1 large brown paper bag (grocery bag)
Butter, soft but not melted
Salt or garlic salt and pepper to taste
Thawing the Turkey:
Let your turkey completely thaw before cooking. If it was frozen through when you bought it, the turkey will thaw within a few days in the fridge, approximately 24 hours for every five pounds of turkey. For quicker thawing, you can place the turkey in a cold water bath and change the water every 30 minutes until thawed. The USDA has a Turkey Basics: Safe Thawing guide with even more information.
How to do it:
Remove neck and giblets. Rinse the turkey and pat dry with paper towels.
Thoroughly coat the turkey with butter using your fingers or a paper towel. Season the bird generously.
Thoroughly coat the bag with vegetable oil, optionally season the inside.
Place the turkey in the paper bag. Seal the bag with staples, paper clips or a needle and thread.
Place the turkey on a sturdy shallow baking pan. Bake at 325° for about 5 hours or until done.
To make sure that turkey is fully cooked through and through, check its temperature in three places: the breast, the outer thigh, and the inside thigh. In every case, the meat should be at least 165°F.
Rest the Turkey – Tent the turkey with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This gives time for the meat to firm up and the juices to be re-absorbed into the muscle tissue.
Carve — Remove the wings first, then the thighs, then the breast meat. You can separate the thighs into thighs and drumsticks and carve the breast meat into individual slices from there.
The paper will not burn at these temperatures, and the turkey will not taste like paper. Watch this kid give it a go:
