How can I tell if a turkey is fully cooked?

Question

I am roasting a wild turkey (I'm told it cooks just like a store bought) and obviously it does not have a pop up timer. I also do not have a meat thermometer. Any ideas??

I guess I should say I don't know the weight exactly, I can only estimate.

Answer 1

estimate about 20 minutes per pound and you should be fine. If you don't know the weight, pierce the turkey and the juices should run clear

Answer 2

That meat thermometer is really the only way to go. There is absolutely no way to properly gauge doneness without one. You say that the wild turkey does not have a pop up timer. Even if it did, you should ignore it at all costs. The popup timer is made to pop at 180 degrees. At 180 degrees the dark meat will be wonderful, but the breastmeat will be drier than a mouthful of sand. For my money, the best way to cook a turkey is the way Alton Brown did on his Thanksgiving special, "Romancing the Bird", which you can find on DVD at www.foodnetwork.com. First, don't stuff your bird. Stuffing adds time to the cooking, and that makes for dry meat. Start the turkey at a high temperature of 500 degrees and cook for 30 minutes. Then drop the temperature down to 350 degrees and put a layer of aluminum foil over the breast. This is because the breast meat is done at a lower temperature than the dark meat. So, if you cook it all to the point where the dark meat is done, then you'll have a dry bird. Also, you should take the foil and shape it to the turkey before you start cooking. That way you have the oven door open for less time, and also you don't have to try to shape the foil onto a hot bird.

Answer 3

You need a digital instant read thermometer from a place like bed bath and beyond or williams sonoma. I love mine and it's easy you poke it in the thigh area and if it reads the correct temp it's done. Mine has a cable that allows me to close the over and set an alarm to go off when the meat or poultry is done. I think turkey is done somewhere around about 180 degrees faherenheit. If you get food poisoning you'll wish you had spent the money. Also these things DO NOT cook like the store bought ones. Wild turkeys almost always have far less fat than the storebought varieties and tend to be very dry. That 20 minute a pound stuff might be close as one other person noted to getting it right but the juice should run clear(no blood from poking it in the thigh).

Answer 4

pull on a leg or a wing. If it falls easily from the body and all liquids are clear, then that bird is cooked!

Answer 5

15 minutes per pound

Answer 6

20 minutes per lb. and the leg joint will turn also.

Answer 7

if it doesn't squawk when you eat it
no seriously i heard one hour/pound.
yank it out and weigh it dude.

no salmonella!
call your grocer mabye?