A simple recipe for a traditional roasted turkey with a white wine baste that will make gravy that your family will love. Includes cooking tips and the number one way to keep your turkey moist.
Like many of you, we like to eat our favorite side dishes with a juicy turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This recipe for a white wine-roasted turkey with a tasty white wine baste has been a favorite for years.
It’s simple and straightforward, tastes great thanks to the wine, and makes the best gravy ever.
If turkeys are on sale, buy at least two (and sometimes more). This will save you money. Roast your holiday turkey and freeze the other one to cook later in the winter.
In January or February, I often roast the extra turkey for dinner or on a weekend when I make a lot of meals ahead of time. I eat some of the meat right away and cut up the rest to freeze.
Having cooked turkey cubes in the freezer is a great way to save time and money. You can use them in any recipe that calls for turkey or chicken, like these favorite rotisserie chicken recipes.
Adding wine when cooking turkey is a time-honored technique that enhances flavor and moisture. The right cooking wine can take your holiday bird from dry to succulent and impart incredible depth of taste. But with so many wine options available, how do you choose? This comprehensive guide will teach you everything you need to know about selecting and using the best wines for cooking turkey.
Why Use Cooking Wine for Turkey?
Cooking with wine allows the alcohol to help break down collagen and proteins in the meat making it more tender. The wine’s natural acidity also allows flavor compounds to better penetrate the turkey. Beyond tenderizing wine adds its own complex fruity, earthy, and oak flavors as it simmers. The goal is to use a wine that compliments rather than overpowers the natural turkey flavor.
Cooking turkey in wine also adds valuable moisture. As the wine reduces down, it keeps the breast meat from drying out. This effect is heightened when you use wine to make a marinade. Wine also promotes beautiful browning of the skin when roasted.
Types of Wine for Cooking Turkey
Many wines pair nicely with turkey, but certain varieties are better suited for cooking. Here are some top options:
White Wines
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Chardonnay – A medium to full-bodied white with apple and citrus notes. Its oakiness works well and acidity balances the richness.
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Pinot Grigio – A crisp, light white with peach, citrus, and green apple flavors. It has a refreshing quality.
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Sauvignon Blanc – A very dry white with bright citrus and tropical fruit flavors. The high acidity cuts the fattiness.
Red Wines
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Pinot Noir – A light, fruit-forward red with cherry, raspberry, and earthiness. The mild tannins won’t overpower.
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Merlot – A medium-bodied red with plum, blackberry, and herbal notes. It adds nice depth without heaviness.
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Cabernet – A full-bodied, dry red with dark fruit, tobacco, and oak. Use sparingly to avoid dominating the turkey.
Sweet Wines
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Port – An intense, sweet Portuguese wine. Adds body and fruitiness. Use just a splash.
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Marsala – A nutty, moderately sweet Sicilian wine. Provides rich depth of flavor.
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Madeira – A Portuguese fortified wine with caramel, nutty tones. Use sparingly.
Sparkling Wines
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Champagne – This white sparkling wine brings brightness with citrus and biscuit flavors.
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Prosecco – The crisp, light Italian sparkler has green apple and peach notes.
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Cava – The Spanish sparkling wine offers citrus, biscuit, and minerality.
How Much Wine to Use
As a general rule, use about 1 cup of wine per 5 pounds of turkey. For a 15 pound turkey, use around 3 cups total. If roasting, use half to marinate and half to baste. For braising, add all at once.
Too much wine can make the turkey taste overly acidic or boozy. It’s better to use less wine and supplement with broth as needed. You want the wine flavor to complement the turkey rather than dominate.
When to Add the Wine
There are several techniques for incorporating wine when cooking turkey:
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Marinating – Soak raw turkey in wine overnight to tenderize and add flavor.
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Braising – Brown turkey then braise in wine at low heat for tender, fall-apart meat.
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Poaching – Gently simmer turkey in wine and aromatics until just cooked through.
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Basting – Frequently brush wine over the turkey as it roasts to add moisture.
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Deglazing – After roasting, make a sauce by simmering wine in the pan drippings.
Cooking Turkey with White Wine
For a classic flavor, try cooking your turkey with a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc. The bright acidity balances the richness.
Make a white wine marinade with 1 cup wine, olive oil, garlic, shallots, herbs, salt, and pepper. Marinate turkey overnight. Discard excess, pat dry, then roast at 350°F, basting with white wine.
For a sauce, simmer remaining wine with the pan drippings. Finish by whisking in cold butter.
Cooking Turkey with Red Wine
Heartier red wines like Pinot Noir add a beautiful fruitiness and robustness to turkey.
Marinate turkey overnight in 1 cup red wine, garlic, onions, herbs, brown sugar, and pepper.
Roast at 325°F, basting with wine. Make an easy pan sauce by simmering remaining wine with the drippings and swirling in butter.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Cooking turkey with wine is simple if you avoid these errors:
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Using poor quality “cooking wine” – Stick with drinking-quality wines you enjoy.
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Waiting to add wine until the end – It needs time to penetrate the meat.
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Using too much wine – Too much can make the turkey taste sour or boozy.
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Not letting turkey rest – Resting allows juices to redistribute so meat stays moist.
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Overcooking – Use a meat thermometer and don’t let turkey dry out.
For Best Results
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Choose a medium-bodied, fruit-forward wine that will complement the turkey.
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Use 1 cup of wine per 5 pounds of turkey.
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Add wine early on via marinating, braising or poaching.
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Avoid overpowering the delicate turkey flavor.
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Baste and make pan sauces to add extra moisture.
Cooking Wine Keeps Turkey Incredibly Juicy
While cooking turkey with wine may seem intimidating, the results are incredibly moist, tender meat with tons of flavor. Use this guide to pick the perfect wine. With the right techniques, your holiday turkey will be succulent, delicious and full of depth.
Roast Turkey FAQ’s & Tips
How long does it take to roast a turkey?
That’s a tough question. It depends on the size of the turkey, the temperature of the oven, and whether the turkey is stuffed or cooked with a lid.
Using the general rule of 20 minutes per pound as an example, the 10–12-pound turkey in this recipe would be cooked for 3 hours. 5-4 hours, which is much longer than the 2 hours 40 minute cooking time in the recipe.
That’s because the recipe below roasts at a higher temperature for a while, then lowers the heat to 350 degrees and bakes with a foil cover for an hour.
To find out HOW LONG IT TAKES TO ROAST A TURKEY, stick a thermometer in the thigh and check for 160 to 165 degrees. Your turkey is done. (The turkey temperature will rise 5-10 degrees as it sits after removing from the oven. ).
How do I keep my turkey moist?
This is probably the #1 issue that people deal with, but it really refers to the breast meat, since the dark meat has more fat and so is usually very moist.
Here are the things you can do to keep your turkey breast meat juicy:
- #1 is use the thermometer and check the temperature 30 minutes to an hour before you think it should be done. DO NOT count on the insert pop-ups; they often appear when the chicken breast is already too done.
- For the first 40 to 60 minutes, cook the turkey breast side down. As I said, quitting cold turkey isn’t easy, so I don’t do it. But you can if you want to.
- A couple of days before you cook the turkey, salt it with a “dry brine.” Cover a 12–15-pound turkey with 2-3 tablespoons of sea salt or 3–4 tablespoons of kosher salt and leave it in the fridge, uncovered, for up to 72 hours. It won’t be too salty, so you won’t need to add any of the salt that the recipe calls for after you rinse and roast it. Keep in mind that this only works with natural turkeys that haven’t had any self-basting (saline soak) added.
- Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes, uncovered, before carving. If you cover it with foil after taking it out of the oven, it will keep cooking. As the turkey sits, the juices will redistribute evenly.
White Wine Roasted Turkey
Roast Turkey: Do you ever get scared when you think about cooking a turkey? I used to feel like I could barely stand it when I thought about the guests waiting for the menu’s main dish.
I’ve since made a Thanksgiving Day turkey countdown with all the steps and times you need to get the turkey on the table. It’s part of The Holiday Season Planner’s Thanksgiving Week Countdown. It’s free for subscribers to our weekly newsletter – sign up here!.
Here are some things I’ve learned from years of turkey roasting:
- If it’s not a HUGE bird, it doesn’t take as long as you think.
- Less is more; I’ll let other people do the brining for a whole day, turning while hot, and other techniques.
- Using a thermometer is key to moist white meat.
- Even the awful dry breast tastes better with gravy on it.
This recipe covers it all:
- 15 minutes to prepare.
- It was cooked in less than three hours, with foil over it for some of that time so it could bast itself.
- Tested for doneness with an instant read thermometer.
- And since this recipe makes a truly wonderful gravy, point #4 is a total win, so you can roast your turkey with confidence!.
Make broth: Put the turkey neck and some vegetable scraps in a sauce pan with water. While the turkey roasts, cook for a few hours. This will make an easy turkey broth.
If you need to, you can use this broth in the gravy and other side dishes like our family’s favorite, lick-the-plate-clean Sausage-Cranberry Dressing.
Making gravy: To be honest, making the gravy has always given me more stress than roasting the bird. It took a lot longer to figure out how to make gravy that wasn’t lumpy and tasted great.
You can start with a white sauce, shake the mixture in a jar with cold water, and other things to find the best thickener. But I keep coming back to this simple method: whisk the flour into a small amount of the bubbling broth and then slowly add the rest of the broth.
Even though our family likes gravy made with flour, don’t let that stop you from trying this recipe. For gluten-free people, it’s easy to change this wine-based gravy to use potato or cornstarch instead.
Every time I serve this recipe for roasted turkey, I always get tons of compliments on the gravy. Everyone loves it as much as I do.
Don’t just take my word for it, though – check out these readers who feel the same way:
There is zero anxiety involved with cooking this turkey – yay!
Roasted Turkey Cooked with Wine & Herbs Recipe
FAQ
What wine is best for cooking turkey?
What is the best dry white wine for cooking turkey?
What is best for cooking wine?
Is red or white wine better with turkey?
How do you cook a Turkey with wine?
Rub the turkey all over with the softened butter. Sprinkle it with the salt and the pepper. Remove the cheesecloth from the wine butter and barely wring it out. Cover the turkey bread with the 4 layer cheesecloth. Roast for 30 minutes. Baste the turkey with the remaining butter and wine mixture in the bowl.
Which wine goes with Turkey?
Now let’s dive into which wines go with turkey. Here are the key starting points: All wine categories are welcome: White, red, rosé, and sparkling are all on the table, so to speak. But within each of those broad types, some selections are better with turkey dinner than others.
How do you cook a roasted turkey?
Submerge it in the wine and butter and let it soak for 10 minutes. Rub the turkey all over with the softened butter. Sprinkle it with the salt and the pepper. Remove the cheesecloth from the wine butter and barely wring it out. Cover the turkey bread with the 4 layer cheesecloth. Roast for 30 minutes.
How long does it take to cook Turkey dripping wine?
Cook stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden, around 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add the reserved turkey dripping wine/broth, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth.
How do you cook a turkey wing?
Tuck the wings under the turkey. In a large bowl, whisk together the white wine and the melted butter. Take a piece of cheesecloth and fold it until you have a 4-layer, 12-inch square. Submerge it in the wine and butter and let it soak for 10 minutes. Rub the turkey all over with the softened butter. Sprinkle it with the salt and the pepper.
How long do you cook a Turkey in the oven?
Place turkey, legs first, in oven. Cook for 30 minutes. If your roasting pan only fits sideways in the oven, turn the pan every hour so the turkey cooks and browns evenly. Using a pastry brush, baste cheesecloth and exposed parts of turkey with butter and wine.