We do this method every year and it works perfectly! We keep it at 400°F for 3 hours instead of changing the temperature. Important: put the turkey in the oven breast-side-down. This keeps the turkey breast moist as the juices seep down. We don't stuff the turkey. We just bake the stuffing separately. This is a winning recipe!

My mom did this 25 years ago...I have done it for the last 5. It makes a PERFECT and EASY bird. Juicy, browned and delicious. Give it a try.

The 3 years ago that my hubby found this recipe he wanted to try it for Christmas. I wouldn't let him experiment with the Christmas turkey. What a mistake that was! So he tried it with out superbowl turkey and WOW! The white meat that was cut and exposed while we ate and picked off the turkey was still moist, flavourful and juicy 30 minutes later when I cleanned up and put the food away! The skin so brown, crispy and beautiful is everyone's favourite! Now he is the turkey king and we do this for every one!!!! The gravy sacrifice is SO worth it!

This is My BEST, FAVORITE and EASIEST way ever to make the tastiest turkey! It is soooo good moist on the inside and crispy on the outside!!!

I started with a 19.5 pound free-range, stuffed turkey, and stapled the top. I placed it breast-side down in an oven heated to 500°F. I used two buttered brown bags. Within about a half hour wood smoke from the began to worry us so we lowered the temperature to 400°F and left it there. The result was a turkey fully cooked within the promised three hours. Some of the paper stuck to a portion of the breast so I recommend placing it back-side down. I was able to cut the bag and get about one cup of clear brown juice to add to my gravy. I was also able to remove the remaining paper without problem, though it disintegrated somewhat; it wasn't soggy. The turkey was moist throughout and cooked quite a bit more quickly than the conventional roasting process would have required.

Love this method but I quit doing this about 20 years ago when I discovered that the recycled paper used in bags now along with the chemical glues used to make them are not someting I want to eat or serve my family. I am looking for food grade bags or I may make one from parchment if I can find a food safe glue.

If you put the roasting pan & turkey inside the brown paper bag you can still collect all the juices for your gravy! I've used this method for 25 years!

I have done this for 40 years and won't do it any other way. It is so easy and so tasting! I also put it in a roasting pan and then put them both in the bag so that I have good drippings for gravy. Bags that large are getting harder to find so I buy extra large paper leaf bags at (home depot, lowes, walmart) and cut them to fit. They are extra sturdy so less likely to tear too.

Our family has used the paper bag method for over 50 years. Rinse bird, pat dry, stuff with favorite dressing. Tie wings and legs close to body. Rub generously with oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Place in paper bag, breast up. Tie or staple end closed but not airtight. Cook 15 min a lb for unstuffed and 20 min a lb for stuffed in 325°F oven. Do not peek. Beautiful brown color and very moist. No basting just the wonderful smell of turkey! Enjoy.

I butter the bag really well on the inside. I too have begun putting the pan inside the bag. It makes it easier to get dripping and cut the bag open. Does anyone know if they sell food grade paper bags? I have a roll of brown paper that I used to use at school and at time have created my own bag. Still works wonders!

I learned this method from my Father in law from Nebraska 30 years ago. We have been Brown Bag Baking our Turkey ever since then: besides BBQ, Smoke or deep fried once. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone, Gary & Phoebe Schwaegerle November, 2014

My family has used this method for over 50 years. Since it is very hard to find first generation (not recycled) and unprinted paper bags I have been using plain brown uncoated butcher paper that is not from recycled material. I coat the bag with oil (avocado or peanut) and start with a 500°F preheated oven and turn it right down to 400°F when I put bird in (unstuffed). My birds are fresh, free-range 28 lbs. They take 3.5 - 4 hours to fully cook.

Make sure the brown paper bag is not a recycled brown paper bag!!!

Wow! So happy to see this post. My parents learned this recipe back in the late 50's. Their landlord owned a restaurant and had cooked it this way for 20 years! So we are talking 80 years of perfection.
I stuff it, oil the bag, staple it shut, but have to add on with a 2nd bag due to smaller bags; LOVE idea of lawn bags from Home Depot! Always perfect, moist and beautifully browned. Tried other 'gourmet' recipes over years and always go back to the bag!

I've also always cooked my turkey in a brown paper bag... usually a double. I stuff the turkey, coat the turkey with Hellman's mayonnaise and slide it into the bag. 325°F oven following the normal timing for roasting a turkey. It is always golden brown and moist throughout!