Don’t want to worry about roasting a whole turkey on the holiday? Whole turkey or turkey breast can be roasted and carved ahead and reheats beautifully with these easy instructions. No one will ever know you didn’t roast it right before serving!
Don’t want to worry about roasting a whole turkey on Thanksgiving? Whole turkey or turkey breast can be roasted and carved ahead and reheats beautifully with these easy instructions. No one will ever know you didn’t cook it right before serving! At the heart of any great Thanksgiving or Christmas meal is a beautiful roasted turkey. But the reality is that a whole turkey takes up a lot of space on the big day. If you roast and carve the turkey a day ahead, you can free up your oven and fridge for all of those beautiful side dishes. Not to mention that you save yourself all of guesswork over timing when it comes to serving the big meal.
The recipe below includes the straightforward method I’ve used for years to roast my turkey the day before Thanksgiving and includes a few new tricks that I learned when testing this method (including rubbing the pan with butter before reheating).
All of the credit for this idea goes to my mom. She says that her mom roasted turkey this way too. They both did most of the holiday meal work early in the week, and relaxed on the holiday. My memories of Thanksgiving as a kid are not of my mom running around trying to cook everything. Most of my Thanksgiving memories involve us going for walks as a family, playing games, watching movies, and doing the last minute tasks of setting the table and pouring drinks.
Roasting turkey ahead has always made sense to me, and it’s incredibly easy. Here’s how to do it.
Cooking your turkey ahead of time can take a lot of stress out of Thanksgiving preparations. With some planning, you can roast, carve and refrigerate the bird 1-2 days before serving. Reheating a pre-cooked turkey yields tender juicy meat and frees up oven space on the big day. Follow these tips for roasting, storing, and reheating turkey in advance for a flavorful, low-fuss holiday centerpiece.
Benefits of Roasting Ahead
Cooking turkey ahead offers several advantages:
- Frees up oven space on Thanksgiving for side dishes
- Avoids last minute worries if the bird cooks slower than expected
- Allows ample resting time for juicier meat
- Provides opportunity to carve turkey stress-free, away from gathering
- Lets you make stock from the bones for extra flavor
- Allows seasonings to fully penetrate meat during storage
As long as you roast the turkey completely and properly reheat it your guests will enjoy moist, well-seasoned meat with crispy skin.
Choose the Right Turkey
Selecting the right size bird is key for even cooking. Small turkeys under 12 pounds work best for roasting ahead, as the meat will reheat quickly and evenly Larger birds may have variation in doneness after reheating.
Opt for a fresh turkey if roasting 1-2 days in advance or a frozen turkey for cooking 3-4 days ahead. Make sure frozen birds are completely thawed before roasting.
Roast the Turkey
Roast your turkey as you normally would, following your favorite recipe and method. Roast to an internal temperature of 165°F in the thigh area. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and thigh to verify doneness.
Let the cooked turkey rest 30-40 minutes before carving. This allows juices to redistribute through the meat for maximum moisture.
Make sure the turkey is completely cooled before carving and refrigerating.
Carve and Store
Carve turkey meat from the bones into slices or large pieces. Remove wings, thighs, drumsticks, and breast meat. Cut the breast crosswise into uniform slices for even reheating.
Store carved turkey loosely covered in broth, gravy, or pan drippings to prevent drying out. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheat Thoroughly
Bring turkey to room temperature before reheating. Place turkey slices and pieces into a baking dish and cover with broth or drippings.
Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350°F until steaming hot, about 45-60 minutes. Check internal temperature, especially in thick parts. Turkey should reach 165°F on a food thermometer before serving.
Restore Crispy Skin
To recrisp the skin after reheating, simply broil turkey pieces 4-5 minutes until deep golden brown. Watch closely to avoid burning.
Make Ahead Gravy
When roasting the turkey, strain pan drippings through a sieve into a container. Refrigerate drippings and use to prepare gravy ahead of time or on Thanksgiving day.
For the freshest flavor, complete your gravy after reheating the turkey so it incorporates any new juices released.
Add Side Dishes
Bake stuffing, casseroles, and other side dishes alongside the reheating turkey to free up oven space. Just watch cooking times, as these may bake faster than the turkey.
Get Creative with Leftovers
Pre-roasting provides leftover turkey for creative recipes like sandwiches, soups, enchiladas, and salads. Get two useful meals from one Thanksgiving centerpiece.
Roast Turkey Breast Instead
A full breast roasts more quickly and evenly than a whole turkey when cooking ahead. Follow the same tips for roasting, carving, storing, and reheating a breast.
Enjoy a Stress-Free Feast
Roasting your Thanksgiving turkey in advance lets you focus on creating delicious side dishes versus worrying over the bird. With proper handling and thorough reheating, your guests will enjoy a classic holiday meal.
Frequency of Entities:
Roast turkey: 6
Cook turkey ahead: 4
Carve turkey: 4
Refrigerate turkey: 3
Reheat turkey: 5
Gravy: 2
Turkey breast: 2
Side dishes: 2
Thanksgiving: 7
Oven: 3
Moist meat: 2
Crispy skin: 2
Will this work with turkey breast?
Absolutely! As with roasting a whole turkey, just be sure that your turkey is cooked to the proper temperature and let it rest fully before slicing.
Step 1: Roast and Rest Turkey
Use any recipe or method for roasting your turkey. You can keep it simple or use a brine. Be sure that the turkey is cooked well to the proper temperature (see below) so that it is moist and tender. Then, perhaps most importantly, let the turkey rest for a full 40 to 50 minutes so that the juices have time to distribute throughout the meat.
Letting your turkey rest is one of the most essential steps to ensuring moist turkey meat. I find this to be one of the biggest advantages of roasting the turkey ahead. Since you’re not rushing to get the meal on the table, you can let that bird rest for a good long time.
As noted above, use your favorite method for carving the turkey. You want most of the slices to be a similar thickness so they reheat evenly. You’ll need to slice the meat off the drumsticks and wings (rather than keeping them whole), since pieces with the bone in will take much longer to reheat than sliced breast meat.
Cook Ahead Turkey – How to cook, prep, store and reheat your whole turkey one day before
FAQ
Can you cook a turkey the day before and reheat it?
Is it better to cook turkey the day before or the day?
How to reheat turkey without drying it out?
Can you prepare a turkey the night before cooking?
Can you cook a Turkey the day before?
If you’re pressed for time (or oven space), Make Ahead Roasted Turkey is just what you need. With this technique, cooking turkey the day before, the week before, or even the month before, still tastes delicious and freshly carved. WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE? Enter your email below & we’ll send it straight to your inbox.
Can one have turkey and carrots?
Eating turkey and carrots is part of healthy habits. The turkey has meat like chicken and is another healthy poultry option. Carrots are rich in carotenoids, it is a source of vitamin A, fiber, potassium and vitamin B3.
Can you eat a cooked turkey the next day?
When serving your turkey the next day, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline advises that cooked turkey may be eaten cold or reheated. To reheat your turkey, USDA gives the following recommendations: In the Oven: Set the oven temperature no lower than 325°F. To keep the turkey moist, add a little broth or water and cover.
Should you roast a Turkey in advance?
Roast and carve turkey in advance; reheat it to moist perfection. If it stresses you out to roast a turkey for a holiday meal on the same day it will be eaten, there’s a simple solution: make it ahead. Goodbye stress. It takes time and attention to prep a turkey, roast it for several hours, let it rest, and carve it.