Tired of Boring Turkey? Try One of These 7 Flavor-Packed Roast Turkey Variations

These bold, flavor-packed turkeys are here to shake up your Thanksgiving spread.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director

Daniel is the editorial director of Serious Eats, where he leads the site's editorial strategy and oversees everything from recipe development to articles on food science, cooking techniques, and more. He's a former food editor at Food & Wine and has cooked in New York City restaurants.

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Published November 19, 2025
Roasted spatchcock turkey on a wire rack over a baking sheet cooked and ready for serving

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The traditional Thanksgiving spread gives me the same nostalgic pangs that most Americans feel this time of year. But I can't deny a basic fact: Even at its best, a classic roast turkey is always just a little bit boring. And so I'm left with the same decision millions of others weigh each year: whether to stick to the comfort of tradition or try to shake things up by doing something different. The risk of going different, though, is that sometimes it just doesn't scratch the Thanksgiving itch in quite the right way.

So, I've assembled a list of a few roast turkey flavor variations (several of which are my own creations) that walk a delicate line, preserving the inherent turkey-ness of the turkey while giving it a significant boost in the flavor department. In several of these recipes, our recommended spatchcocking method is used, which guarantees the most evenly cooked meat, the crispest skin, and the quickest cooking time. That said, you could adapt any of these glazes, rubs, and flavorings to a more traditional method for a whole roasted turkey.

A final note that these birds are all so flavorful that they more than stand on their own, which means that pairing them with your typical gravy could be overkill. Instead, I recommend a light jus made from the reserved turkey spine, spooned on top for a little extra moisture. (Of course, if you want to go ahead and make gravy anyway, nobody's gonna stop you!) Read on for a description of each.

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  • Cajun-Spiced Spatchcocked Turkey

    20161025-spatchcock-turkey-cajun-seasoning-vicky-wasik-3.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    Taking a page out of the Louisiana playbook, this turkey is rubbed all over with a fragrant, lightly spicy mix that includes paprika, cayenne pepper, coriander seed, cumin, black pepper, onion and garlic powders, and both dried oregano and dried thyme. The result is a rich, deeply flavored bird with a gorgeous rust-colored skin. It's different, yet recognizably all-American in the best sort of way.

  • Turkey Porchetta

    a cooked porchetta
    Serious Eats / J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    Behold! The Mighty Turchetta! Gentle and benevolent ruler of the holiday table, fair in their judgment and ample in their juiciness. This isn't a roast for celebrating with; this roast is a celebration in itself. Exactly what is a turchetta? It's a turkey breast prepared in the manner of a traditional Italian porchetta. The breast meat gets butterflied and laid out perfectly flat, then slashed and rubbed with a curing mixture flavored with black peppercorns, sage, garlic, fennel, and red pepper flakes. It's then rolled up tightly in its own skin, allowed to cure, and then gently roasted. The end result is a stunningly geometric roast that arrives at the table deep golden brown and crisp.

  • Porchetta-Flavored Turkey

    20161025-spatchcock-turkey-porchetta-flavor-vicky-wasik-6.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    If you are looking for all the herby, garlicky, fennel-perfumed flavors of Italian porchetta without the project, this recipe is for you. This spatchcocked turkey gets its seasoning slipped under the skin for maximum flavor and minimal fuss, making it a simpler (but no less impressive) alternative to Kenji’s turkey breast porchetta. The result is a woodsy, aromatic bird that feels right at home on the Thanksgiving table—and way more fun than anything the Pilgrims ever dreamed of.

  • Chinese Red Sauce–Glazed Turkey

    20161025-spatchcock-turkey-glaze-vicky-wasik-7.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    This idea popped up while I was reading Fuchsia Dunlop's book Land of Fish and Rice, in which she describes the Chinese practice of "red braising" meats in a potent broth of soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, and aromatics like ginger, cinnamon, and anise. It's a technique I used to use years ago when I worked in restaurants: I'd keep a big container of the braising liquid for preparing the nightly staff meal, using it to cook unused duck legs from time to time and topping it up as needed. That got me thinking—why can't I make a glaze out of this stuff and shellac a turkey in it? The results are great. The turkey comes out with a deep, dark, and sticky salty-sweet glaze that's profoundly savory and concentrated, infused with the aroma and flavor of the ginger and spices.

    Continue to 5 of 7 below

  • Roast Turkey Breast Ssam With Squash Ssamjang and Jujube Date Relish

    20201015-banchan-thanksgiving-group-vicky-wasik-1-10
    Vicky Wasik

    This recipe puts a Korean spin on the classic Thanksgiving roasted turkey by serving it ssam-style. Ssam translates as "to wrap,” and describes a Korean way of dining that involves wrapping various leafy greens around meat, condiments, banchan, and kimchi. It's an extremely interactive way to eat—perfect for the holidays, when you're down to bump elbows and double-dip around your family and friends.

  • Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast With Cornbread Stuffing Recipe

    20131112-273476-bacon-wrapped-turkey-breast.jpg
    Joshua Bousel

    This turkey breast is more than just the sum of its parts—the meat is juicy throughout, with great flavor from the sweet and savory cornbread stuffing and salty, smoky wrapping of bacon.

  • Smoked Turkey Breast

    Overhead view of smoked turkey

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Smoking a turkey is a pro holiday move. When done well, the method keeps the relatively lean meat moist and juicy, while the smoke adds a lot of flavor and creates an incredible lacquered mahogany finish. And while a whole smoked turkey is a thing of beauty on a holiday table, frankly, it can be both a lot of work to wrangle a big bird and just too much meat. If your holiday gathering is a bit smaller, a turkey breast is probably a smarter option.

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