Turkey in a Bag Recipe

I rubbed the turkey down with butter, sprinkled with paprika, put the apple, sage and rosemary on the inside, and the celery and onion in the bag, and was WONDERFUL!!! I don't even like dark meat, but the flavor was so great, I ate it too!

I am 71 years old and I can't remember not using the roasting bag. I butter the turkey rub it down with salt, pepper, sage, and orange juices from 1/2 an orange. Put orange zest on it. I then put celery tips (not the celery, for the flavor and aroma), an onion and the other 1/2 orange in the cavity. Always juicy and flavorful!

I followed the recipe as posted, although I "splayed " the turkey legs, as suggested by a NYT chef posting. I stuffed the cavity and the leg area with carrots, onions, and celery, and also spread around the turkey in the bag. I used fresh chopped herbs from my garden- parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (like the song...). I also cut an apple into fourths, and stuffed that in as well. I cooked breast side down, and applied softened butter, then sprinkled with garlic powder and paprika. I followed the bag directions; and cooked the 11.2 lb turkey for about 2 hours 15 minutes, at 350. Then it rested about 1/2 hour +, on the way to family gathering. I cooked a pre brined turkey from Whole Foods. I've done my own before, but this was much easier. It was superb! Everyone agreed,and clean up was nothing. I also used a disposable turkey cooking aluminum pan. Best turkey ever, very moist and delicious! This will always be my go to, after many years of cooking Thanksgiving turkey!!

Cook 15 minutes per pound. Quartered yellow onion and liberally sprinkled with salt, pepper, and sage then added 2 stalks celery, adding it all to turkey cavity. Rubbed under turkey skin with softened 1/4 stick butter mixed with 1/4-1/2 tsp of garlic powder, same amount of sage. I cooked it upside down with vents on top. For the last 30-45 min. I turned the turkey over inside the bag to help brown the top (can't just turn it over because of the vent holes on top - all the juices would drain out!) The meat was SO tender and delicious!!! I used the pan drippings with McCormick's Brown Gravy mix and that got rave reviews as well.

PLEASE DO NOT DISCARD THE GIBLETS! You can make wonderous dishes with them! Followed the recipe and made the best turkey ever! I don't know what others are talking about soggy skin and overcooked and tasting the bag. It comes out perfectly if you follow the instructions (only difference was the added brining a few hours before baking. I made an oil+salt+pepper mix and brushed it on the turkey all over) If one searches the internet, they can find simple solutions to simple problems. This recipe is a 5/5, coming from someone that is very inexperienced in the culinary arts.

Everybit of meat was moist flavorful, even the wings which usually get hard and no one eats. I quartered an apple & yellow onion, halved 5 garlic cloves, and cut celery stalk into thirds to put them in cavity, and cut few smaller to fit into neck cavity. Put several celery stalks and thick rounds of a small onion on bottom of prepared bag to rest turkey on. I washed my 13 lb turkey, rubbed it with olive oil as husband liberally cranked the salt, then pepper grinder over skin. I took 2 T of softened butter and mixed with poultry seasoning to place under skin of each breast, which I think was unnecessary since I baked the turkey upside down at 350, and it basted in its own juices the entire 2 1/2 hours. Meat thermometer read 170 when I took it out, then let rest 45 min. Perfect. Next time I'll sprinkle the seasoning on the outside and use a bit more paprika for color.

OMG!!! This was the best tasting and juiciest turkey I have ever made!!! I mixed about 2 tablespoons of butter with a little olive oil and added fresh chopped sage, rosemary, smoked sea salt and pepper and rubbed the entire turkey with it. I also rubbed this mixture up under the skin of the breasts. I then cored and quartered an apple and quartered an onion and put them inside the bird. I put the turkey in the bag, laying breast side DOWN, on top of the stalks of celery and onions in the bag, poured a bottle of hard apple cider over and in the bird, put it all in the roasting pan and cooked my 12 pound bird for only about 2 hours in a 350 degree oven!! After it had cooked for about an hour, and was lightly browned on the bottom, I then turned it all over, breast side up so the breasts would brown. WOW!!!! So juicy and tender. The meat just wanted to fall off the bones. I will never cook my Thanksgiving bird any other way.

I read a lot of the reviews and what I ended up doing is mixing soft butter with dried rubbed sage,onion powder, garlic powder, and dried parsley. I massaged this under the turkey skin. Rubbed butter on the skin, too, then seasoned it with salt, pepper, and paprika to give a hint of "tan" color to it.Seasoned the cavity with celery salt then placed halved apple and halved whole garlic in it. I put long metal pins my MIL had to make sure the skin stayed on.. Followed the instructions in this recipe, but sprayed nonstick oil on the bag, especially the part that touches the top of the turkey. I was so glad I did not have to baste. The turkey cooked tender, had a nice golden brown top. The guests had seconds and said they liked the turkey. Even my MIL who is a turkey expert said the turkey was good! BTW, this was my first turkey. Thanks for all the reviews I learned from! P.S. Note the timing tips in the box the bag came with.

I made a 14 pound turkey using this recipe for a large group of people and I could not have been more pleased with the results. The only thing that I did differently was that I took a stick of butter and rubbed the turkey down both under and on top of the skin, then threw what was left into the turkey cavity. I then sprinkled the whole turkey with salt, pepper, and dried sage and put the onion & celery both in the cavity and around the turkey. Also, it only took TWO hours and fifteen minutes to cook, resulting in a perfectly moist and delicious turkey. If you are unsure of how long your turkey will need to cook, you can always look on the Reynolds (oven bags) website for their recommendations.

My first time cooking a whole turkey and I was having 25 people over. I decided to try this recipe, hoping the turkey would turn out moist and not taste dry. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to prep and cook. Everyone loved my turkey!! I put a quartered onion (without peeling), a few garlic cloves also in the husk, and a sprig of sage in the turkey cavity. I also rubbed the outside of the turkey with butter, and an herb mix of sage, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. I'll definitely use this recipe again the next time I cook turkey.

The recipe is great, and very easy to make. However there is an easy way to spruce it up a bit for a wonderful flavor. Just wipe the bird of after removing innards (a vital step, lol). Use a paper towel to cover the turkey lightly with olive oil. Then use (Bolners) Fajita Seasoning and sprinkle all over the inside and outside of the bird. From that point, the recipe covers it all. The fajita seasoning is available in regular and salt free versions. It adds an amazing flavor, not hot or strong, but delicious. An added benefit is that the liquids remaining in the bag are already seasoned for gravy. Give it a try. I give maybe 20 bag turkeys a year to various families in need. No one complains (partly because it is free) but all comment on the great flavor.

I have never made a turkey any other way! The best!

I made this. I have been making my Thanksgiving turkeys in the bag for years. I stuff my turkey with bread stuffing and use your method. LOVE this method.

Love the recipe! I absolutely love using cooking bags, especially for turkey. Meat stays moist, browns nicely, it saves time - roasting/baking time is much shorter, there’s no basting, it’s trouble free. It’s one less thing to have to deal with, especially for big holiday meals.

I think we grew up cooking things as our parents did, cooking bags were unheard of.. I like cooking old fashion, but I gave this a try. As it is simple and easy. I didn’t find it tasted like the bag.

The bake time calls for 3 1/2 hours, but I cannot find a chart indicating the turkey size. Cook time is always based on the size (weight) of the bird.

Made it twice already because it was that good.

Easy to bake method, directions easy to follow. I added a bundle of herbs, buttered the skin and followed the directions from the video. Turkey looks great, the bag did stick to parts of the turkey skin... anyone know how to not have that happen? Also I would have pulled the turkey out at 170* F not 180 as the rest of the bird is warmer than the thigh meat.

Turned out great! Been using the last 3 years. Only thing I do different is butter the turkey and put paprika on it to help brown. I also add some cloves of garlic and use all the drippings for gravy and never have any complaints.

22lb turkey done in 3 hours at 325. Keep a close eye on the temperature.