Let’s talk turkey! With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we’re already thinking about what to do for dinner. I know first-hand that roasting an entire turkey can seem intimidating though. What size turkey do you need? Fresh or frozen? If you buy frozen, how much time will it take to thaw? How long do you need to roast it? How do you carve the turkey?
Luckily, Canadian Turkey has all the info you need, helpful resources, and how-to videos gathered in one place with their Whole Bird How-Tos. Easily figure out what size you need, thawing time, and cooking time with the simple to use Whole Bird Turkey Calculator.
Many families do the big traditional get together and roasted turkey dinner with all the fixings, but of course this isn’t always the case. What do you do when you’re celebrating the holiday with just one or two friends or family members? A whole turkey makes sense for a large family dinner, but when you’re planning a smaller celebration, even the biggest turkey fan can have a hard time polishing off an entire bird with leftovers on their own. For smaller families, roasting a half turkey is just as delicious and festive as serving a whole bird.
The simplest way to do this is to buy one whole fresh or frozen turkey and ask the butcher to cut it in half for you. If you buy fresh, freeze the other half for next time, or if it’s already frozen, just defrost the half you need and leave the other half in the freezer for next time.
Classic Roasted Half Turkey
Ingredients
For turkey
- ½ turkey 3-4kg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions
- 6 large carrots
- one bunch fresh rosemary
- 3 large garlic cloves unpeeled
- ½ cup white wine optional
- ½ cup chicken broth 1 cup if omitting wine
For rub
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp pepper
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ground sage
- 1/2 tbsp ground rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp ground thyme
Instructions
- If your bird is frozen, place it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.
- Pat the bird dry with paper towels.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Rub both sides of the turkey with olive oil.
- Combine all spices to make a rub. Sprinkle generously onto both sides of the bird.
- Slice your onions roughly into 1-inch rounds. Peel and wash the carrots.
- Pour wine and chicken broth into your roasting pan. Line the bottom with onions, whole carrots, unpeeled garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs. Place the bird on top of all the vegetables, cut side down.
- Cook the turkey for 1 ½ - 2 hours until cooked through. Test for doneness with a meat thermometer. Turkey should reach an internal temperature of 170°F (77°C) in the breast and 180°F (82°C) in the thigh.
- Remove turkey from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Wondering what to do with leftovers? Canadian Turkey has you covered there too! Check out their Recipe Page for unique turkey recipes and delicious ideas for leftovers.
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Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own. Your experience may differ.
We would enjoy the Sweet & Spicy Oven-Fried Turkey Drummettes as we like it spicy.
I think I would try the Shredded turkey tacos because it’s a great way to use up leftovers and my kids loves taco
Autumn is when we start eating a lot of hot nutritious soups. The Squash, Turkey and Zucchini Soup is a perfect example!
I love the directions for making turkey gravy. Makes it sound simple, step by step. Good gravy has always eluded me, until now. Thanks!
My favorite Turkey Recipe is the SMOKED TURKEY WRAPS. They look delicious.
They would be a huge hit in my home because I know everyone will eat them. I have very picky eaters but this is one recipe I know would go very well in our home
I really like the looks of SQUASH, TURKEY AND ZUCCHINI SOUP for us. It makes use of favourite flavours and ingredients and is made in the slow cooker.
The Grilled Turkey Thigh Taco Bowls make a great meal for my family because we love our “Taco Tuesday” each week, but one of my kids doesn’t like red meat suddenly, so she’s just been eating the shells and toppings. The turkey option is great for her, instead of ground beef. And the rest of us love turkey too, so everyone is happy!
Smoked Turkey Wraps would be great for lunch.
This is such a great idea. I’ve done turkey breasts before, but never a half turkey (yet).
I like the idea of roasting only half a Turkey
This is a terrific help for smaller families. Pinned for future reference. Thank you for posting.
Thank you so very much for this recipe. I find that sometimes a whole turkey is way too much. I am definitely going to be trying this the next time I roast a turkey.
I may be on here, but didn’t read all the comments. But you cannot unfreeze a whole turkey, them RE-freeze the second half. The only way it would be feasible is to cook the whole turkey, then cut in half and freeze one side.
I would never recommend defrosting a turkey then refreezing it. If you are buying a frozen turkey, ask the butcher to cut it in half WHILE IT’S STILL FROZEN. Then you can defrost the half you will be cooking. The second half can be put in the freezer for next time, because it’s still frozen.
Sorry about confusion. It was the last sentence that had me confused. I just couldn’t see how to defrost it, cut it in half, and then refreeze…which is the way my mind read it. Thanks for correcting me.
No worries! I had to double check it myself to make sure I didn’t accidentally write something that would make people sick. Salmonella sucks!
This is a very handy recipe for me, even a small turkey is way too much for me. I hate wasting food so eat turkey every day in one form or another but I do get sick of having to do that. Roasting half a turkey but be a really good solution for me, thanks for sharing.
80 years ago an elderly lady asked me if i wanted to be a ooud cook. i said ye rjwiddows s. se said never leave anything you are cooking. never salt a raw side of meat. never turn or cook any red meat twice. only turn it over once. then she said never cook carrots with anythnin g cook them seperate and throw away the water. otherwise everything will taste the same. when i follow her advice i get lots ofcompliments.
West coast mommy half turkey recipe:
Thanks!
This is now my go to recipe for roasting half a turkey. I also cut large chickens in half and do the same way. I add whatever fresh herbs I have on hand, thyme, parsley etc. Not just rosemary.
After the bird is done, what’s left in the pan makes wonderful gravy!
I’m so pleased to have found this recipe. COVID has changed our usual family gathering, so I’m roasting half turkeys, cooking the sides, and dropping them off at my son’s and daughter’s homes. Thankful for my family whether we’re in the same home celebrating or not. Thanks for the recipe!
Correct the statement to unpeeled the garlic to read peel the garlic. Unpeeling isn’t possible. And why would you want to put the peel back on..
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unpeel
Love this recipe!!! Turkey was moist and the house smelled wonderful!!!
thank you for the recipe will try it today, the only thing is unless there is a way to defreeze half the bird (i really dont see how) it is not safe to refreeze any meat
Cut the bird in half when it is partially thawed out. Use a very sharp heavy bone cleaver. You can refreeze the other half. The rule is you can’t refreeze thawed meat if you don’t know how long it has been thawed out.
Followed your recipe closely and afterward sat down to one of, if not the best turkey dinners ever. TY!
I cut a fresh 20 lb turkey in half, make sure your cleaver is extra sharp. I had to beat the cleaver through some of the backbone, I covered the back blade with a cloth aNd used my palm. The 10 lb half took 2 hours 15 minutes at 330 temp.
Perfectly baked, juicy with crispy skin. The drippings made fantastic gravy. A total win win.
None of my whole turkeys ever came out this good.
Same. I just happened to stumbled upon one last year and I will never go back to a whole bird. Even if I have to cook both halfs.
I was never good with turkey because I’m to lazy for continuess basting. Last year I stumbled upon a pre thawed half turkey on sale at the local grocery store. I cooked it very similar to the above recipe and it was the most flavorful, juiciest, succulent piece of turkey that I have EVER had. This year I had to buy a frozen bird and my butcher cut it right down the middle. I will save the other half for Christmas for my family of 5.
I was fortunate to find this recipe several years ago. It has been my go-to method for roasting turkey since. I roast both sides of the bird, serve one, and share the other with my guests to take home. I dry rub both sides and place uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The turkey cooks in less time and is incredibly flavorful and moist.