We’re Dying to Try This Bacon Wrapped Turkey!

As everyone knows, the turkey is the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving dinner. For some families, this bird is even the main course for other holiday dinners as well, such as Christmas and New Years. No matter what occasion you’re enjoying it for, the most important thing when it comes to your turkey is that the meat inside is nice and moist.

There are plenty of tricks and techniques to get your turkey to that fall-off-the-bone consistency that we all crave. You can try brining, covering your turkey in a butter-soaked cheese cloth, or giving the bird an apple cider bath. All of these methods have been proven to have some delicious effects.

But of all the turkey techniques in the wide world, this has to be our favorite. This should become pretty obvious when you see it, we hope.

Three words for you: Bacon. Wrapped. Turkey.

One thing we should all be able to agree on in this crazy world is that everything is better when wrapped in bacon. It’s just science. It’s logic. And your Thanksgiving turkey, no matter how iconic it may be, is no exception.

If you weren’t already sold on the idea, just know that the recipe is coming from the fantastic culinary mind of Gordon Ramsay. This is not a man who messes around with his turkey – or with any food, really – so you know that this is not at all a joke.

In true Ramsay fashion, there is so much more to this recipe than just the bacon-y exterior. The turkey is smothered in a homemade herb butter, which will make the skin super crispy, before the bacon even goes on. The bacon will protect the butter and the turkey from drying out, as well as infuse some fantastic flavor in the meat and the gravy.

What do you think of this turkey recipe? Share your thoughts on the bacon-wrapped turkey in the comments section below.

Bacon Wrapped Turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 turkey
  • Soft butter
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Chopped parsley
  • 2 halved onions
  • 1 halved lemon
  • Bay leaves
  • Slices of thick-cut bacon

Instructions

  1. Start by making your homemade herb butter. Combine your butter, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, pureed garlic, and parsley in a bowl.
  2. Season your bird inside the cavity with salt and pepper.
  3. Stuff the bird with two halved onions, 1 halved lemon, and bay leaves.
  4. Gently separate the skin of the turkey from the breast, without breaking the skin, on both sides. Once lifted, ball half of your butter up and stick it under the edge of the skin on one side, flattening it out onto the breast. Over the skin, use your hand to spread the butter around underneath.
  5. Flip the bird over and repeat with the rest of your butter on the other side.
  6. Massage the outside of the turkey with any remaining butter. At this point, if you’re doing this the day before, cover the turkey with tin foil and refrigerate it for the next day.
  7. When you’re ready to cook, put the turkey in the roasting pan. Cover in olive oil to keep the butter from burning. Bake the turkey at 430 ℉ for 10 minutes, just to get the turkey skin browned quickly.
  8. After 10 minutes, take the turkey out and baste. Then cover the top of the bird with thick-cut bacon before putting the turkey back in the oven, this time at 350 ℉ for 2 1/2 hours (or one half hour per every two pounds) making sure to baste every so often.
  9. When the turkey is finished roasting, check that the turkey is cooked by sticking a knife into the thigh and making sure that the juices run clear. If they do, the turkey is cooked! Let it cool for 2 1/2 hours to really amp up the flavor.