my turkey was supposed to cook 4 hours but the red dot timer popped after 2 1/2 hours. is it safe to eat?

Question

i dont' have a thermometer to check the internal temperature but it's browned. it weighs 13 pounds and i have stuffing in it

Answer 1

My suggestion is to make a few small cuts into the thickest parts of the turkey (the drumstick, the side of the breast) and see if the juices are running clear. If there is still a little bit of blood then it needs more time. If you are concerned about it drying out, rebaste it before you do anymore baking. I don't know what you'll be using this turkey for so I don't know if you need to keep it "whole" for appearance sake or if it is underdone and you don't mind it being in pcs. you can always dejoint it at the legs, wing, thigh and breast and rebake only the parts that are undercooked...and the parts that are done won't dry out.
Interestingly enough, some people found ways to dejoint the breast portion from the back,thigh& leg portion bake them separately and put them back together in a way that you cannot tell it was taken apart. Martha Stewart does it that way.

Answer 2

Turkey Red Dot

Answer 3

Yes, go with what everyone is saying about 161 degrees (thats about 180 in the leg) .. but I think your main problem with time being off, is that you're basting! Basting does absolutely nothing for a turkey. Throw a little butter or oil on top of the skin, sear it at 500 for a half hour, then bring it to 350 until your thermometer reads normal. See the problem with basting is that you're opening the oven constantly, letting heat out. It doesn't seem like much time, but it does take time to build the heat back up again! If you leave that door closed, it WILL cook up in the right amount of time :)

Answer 4

The only reason it popped up is because your turkey reached the correct internal temperature (165F), not that it has finished cooking. I would put it back in for the remaining amount of time, checking in every now and then to see if maybe your oven temperature is perhaps too high, so the bird doesn't burn on the surface.

Answer 5

30 minutes per pound over 8 pounds no matter what. ignore the red button. Use meat thermometer to verify, also you can use a skewer and stab it into the buld of the body, once removed if red juice follows keep cooking, if white juice follows you did good remove and eat. Keep in mind that a large piece of meat such as this or a roast will continue to cook for as long as ten minutes after removal from heat source due to internal temperature, don't let it get overdone.

Also, if you do need to keep it in, braise the skin with water or stock and cover with foil in order to keep browned skin from getting charred or turning too dark.

Answer 6

I always cook my turkey (stuffed) at least an extra 45 mins to an hour, I dont trust undercooked meat.