The holidays are upon us! Time for family, friends and all sorts of fun. And as the centrepiece of these festivities, many of us will be serving turkey. That means that the perfect crowd-pleasing turkey recipe is going to be necessary. To save you some Googling time and effort, I’ve found eleven recipes to show a wide variety of turkey treatments.

To top it off, I’ve also found easy information to relate the how-to’s behind cooking turkey to make sure your day goes smoothly and perfectly. 

First off, Column Five has compiled this infographic to relay all of the information necessary to cook the perfect turkey. Thank you, Column Five!

Then, once you have your delicious main all cooked up and ready to serve, POPSUGAR will show you how to carve your bird with their step-by-step photo tutorial. It can’t get easier than that!

I hope that one of these turkey recipes suits your purpose and that you have a wonderful holiday season!

Brined Turkey

Isn’t this turkey just gorgeous? Not only is brining a fantastic way of keeping your turkey moist and reducing cook time (which could be a life-saver this holiday season), it packs in the flavour. Momma Lew not only shares her recipe for this tasty bird, but also gives a number of tips and words of advice for the novice turkey briner. Check it out!

Once you’ve chosen your brine recipe (and there are TONS out there), you can add even more flavour and moisture with by adding many people’s fave food ever – bacon! Just make sure you DO use this recipe with a brined turkey (pre-brined or DIY), because it seems to be pretty important. Head over to Cooking on the Weekends to take a look!

Dry Brined Turkey

For a twist on regular brining, Wholefully explains how to dry brine. It’s a similar cooking idea, but using a dry mixture and refrigerating the turkey with it to let the salt soak in. The turkey stays moist because the dry brine helps it keep its natural juices. Since apparently dry brining is still an easy and flavourful way to cook your meal, it’s definitely worth a try! Why not check it out?

For another version of the dry brined turkey, Flavor of the Moments has used orange and rosemary to complement their delicious main. The turkey ends up with a wonderful, crispy skin and is stuffed with amazing aromatics! Head over and check out this flavourful twist on a classic.

Butter Basted Turkey

Butter basting – where you cook the turkey after rubbing butter both under and over the skin – results in a moist main with crispy skin and flavour permeating throughout the whole bird! The Speckled Palate has taken this classic to a whole new level with their Browned Butter Sage Turkey! Can’t you just taste the glory?

Instead of butter, this recipe uses mayonnaise to cover the turkey! With herbs mixed into the mayo, I bet that soaks the bird with mouth-watering flavour. Head over to She Wears Many Hats to read all about it!

Glazed Turkey

This one comes straight from Nigella Lawson over at the Food Network. It’s got the usual things you’d want – moist meat, crispy skin – but with a spice blend that’s on point. It’s turkey taken to the next level! Try it out.

This recipe is actually for just a couple turkey breasts but I can’t help but picture adapting this glaze to make one big beautiful holiday bird. Created by none other than the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, the sweetness of the blueberries, dried figs and maple syrup is balanced by the savoury additions of rosemary, onion, balsamic vinegar and whole grain mustard. If anyone successfully turns this into a whole roast turkey, please let me know! Sharing is caring.

Twists on a Tradition

If you’re feeding less people this year, or you just want a new take on a tradition, why not combine the turkey and stuffing in this scrumptious Turkey Roulade! This recipe uses turkey breast stuffed with roasted chestnut and sausage cornbread stuffing, meaning that portion sizes can easily be adjusted and leftovers readily put away and reheated. Head over to No Spoon Necessary to check out this fabulous recipe.

Finally, Spatchcocked Turkey is a newer hit food trend. Now, don’t get overwhelmed with the idea of going above and beyond to butterfly your bird; you have enough going on when prepping for the holidays. Try asking your butcher to get the cutting done for you. Once you’ve done that, check out this recipe for Spatchcocked Turkey with Anise and Orange. Enjoy!

I hope one of these turkey recipes serves you and your loved ones well and that you have a spectacular holiday season!