How to Roast 2 Small Turkeys Instead of 1 Large Turkey
Learn how to roast two small turkeys instead of one large turkey. They’ll roast in less time, be easier to carve, plus you’ll have four of everything! This recipe tip is perfect for beginners who are preparing their first Thanksgiving meal.
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Planning for a Smaller Thanksgiving?
If you’re planning for a smaller gathering than usual for Thanksgiving, remember that you can always enjoy leftovers afterward. You can save the meat for soups and bones for bone broth.
Thanksgiving with the Instant Pot
If you have an Instant Pot, you can cook a turkey breast for your gathering, and I’ll show you how in my step-by-step recipe video. As a traditional foods cook, you’ll want to make sure your turkey breast has the bone in it so you can make turkey broth at the same time!
In addition to traditional Thanksgiving favorites, I’ll show you how to make a creamy Mac and Cheese in your Instant Pot.
And after you’re all done, I’ll show you how to clean the Instant Pot the right way!
Thanksgiving Recipes
These recipes with step-by-step instructions are perfect for your Thanksgiving table.
And for bread, you can make cornbread or yeast rolls to accompany your Thanksgiving meal.
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How to Roast 2 Thanksgiving Turkeys
Ingredients
- 2 Turkeys, approx. 12 pounds each
- 1 Onion, quartered
- 2 stalks Celery, cut into thirds
- 2 Carrots, cut into thirds
- 1/2 cup Herbs de Provence
- 1/2 cup Coarse ground Celtic sea salt
- 1/2 cup Ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Red pepper flakes
- 1 stick Butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Place onion, celery, and carrots onto baking pan or baking sheet.
- Unwrap turkeys and remove neck and giblets to save for making stock. Place the turkeys on top of vegetables.
- Mix the herbs, salt, and peppers together and add a small handful to the cavity of each turkey.
- Baste each turkey with butter using a pastry brush and sprinkle the remaining herb, salt pepper mixture over each turkey.
- Place turkeys on the lowest rack in the oven and roast for approximately 3 hours until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 165°F.
- When the turkeys are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to rest, covered for 20-30 minutes. Then transfer them to a serving plater or cutting board and carve.
Video
Notes
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Recommended Reading
**Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, a medical professional, a dietician, or a nutritionist. All content found on the MarysNest.com website, including text, images, videos, eBooks or eGuides, social media, or other formats, were created solely for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or proper nutritional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have watched in a video or read on this website. Use caution when following the recipe in this video. The creator and publisher of this video and website will not be held responsible for any adverse effects that may arise from the use of this recipe and method or any other recipe and method on this website or corresponding video channel.
Hi Mary, I just found your fantastic Thanksgiving videos and will be trying your mashed potatoes, turkey bone broth and turkey spice seasoning & dressing. Since I will have the spices ground up for the dressing, why not use it to season the turkey? Do you prefer the Herb de Provance seasoning to the turkey spice seasoning for roasting the turkey?
Hi Shirley, Thank you so much for your sweet comment!! Your plans for your Thanksgiving dinner sound wonderful. It’s OK to use the Bell’s poultry seasoning in the cavity of the turkey but not for the skin. It tends to turn things green from the sage. However, I prefer the Herbs de Provence in the cavity and on the skin. It makes it look like a fancy rotisserie chicken from a French bistro (well, in this case a turkey!) The only thing you need to watch is that if you put the herbs on the skin that they don’t burn. Sometimes, I have to tent my turkey. Thanks again for visiting here and leaving a comment!
BTW – Do you enjoy making traditional foods? If so, I have a playlist of some of my videos titled “Mastering the Basics of Traditional Nutrient Dense Foods Cooking”. It’s a series of 15 detailed videos that covers How to Make Bone Broth, Cultured Dairy, Ferments, Sourdough Starter (my foolproof stater), Sourdough Bread, Soaked and Sprouted Nuts and Beans, and How to Soak and Sprout Grains to Make your own Sprouted Flour at Home. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkRuW3pBo2U3b4eu0QraZReKlGzA11h3y And please share the playlist with any other folks you think might be interested in learning about these types of things. I’m passionate about the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (of the Weston A Price Foundation) and want to help as many people as I can learn how to make Traditional “Nutrient Dense” Foods.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m so happy to help! And I’m SO glad you visited here and left a comment!! Love, Mary
PS – Are you in our FB group? It’s called Mary’s Nest Modern Pioneers. Come join us! We have a lot of fun chatting about Traditional “Nutrient Dense Foods and it’s a great place to get questions answered.