How long and at what oven temperature should you bake a turkey?

Answer 1

You should use a meat thermometer... Look for 180F in the thigh and 170F in the breast.

Weight................. Unstuffed................ Stuffed
8 to 12 pounds..... 2 3/4 to 3 hours........ 3 to 3 1/2 hours
12 to 14 pounds.... 3 to 3 3/4 hours........ 3 1/2 to 4 hours
14 to 18 pounds.... 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours.. 4 to 4 1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds.... 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hours...4 1/4 to 4 3/4 hours
20 to 24 pounds.... 4 1/2 to 5 hours........ 4 3/4 to 5 1/4 hours
24 to 30 pounds.... 5 to 5 1/4 hours........ 5 1/4 to 6 1/4 hours

"Open Pan Method" NTF Roasting Guidelines for a Fresh or Thawed Turkey
Roast in a 325 degrees F Conventional Oven on the Lowest Oven Rack

Answer 2

Whether you're a novice cook or a seasoned pro, this will help you roast a tender, juicy, picture-perfect turkey every time. It's easy with the Butterball Open Pan Roasting Method.


Place thawed or fresh turkey, breast up on a flat rack in a shallow pan, 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep.
Brush or rub skin with oil to prevent the skin from drying and to enhance the golden color.
Insert oven-safe meat thermometer deep into the lower part of the thigh muscle, but not touching the bone. When thigh is up to temperature and if turkey is stuffed, move thermometer to center of stuffing for stuffing temperature.
Place in a preheated 325°F oven.
When the turkey is about two-thirds done, loosely cover the breast and top of drumsticks with a piece of lightweight foil to prevent overcooking the breast.
Use this roasting schedule as a guideline; start checking for doneness 1/2 hour before recommended end times:
Net Weight (in pounds) Unstuffed (in hours) Stuffed (in hours)
10 to 18 3 to 3-1/2 3-3/4 to 4-1/2
18 to 22 3-1/2 to 4 4-1/2 to 5
22 to 24 4 to 4-1/2 5 to 5-1/2
24 to 30 4-1/2 to 5 5-1/2 to 6-1/4



If unstuffed, the turkey is done when the meat thermometer reaches the following temperature:


180°F deep in the thigh; also, juices should be clear, not reddish pink when thigh muscle is pierced deeply.
If the turkey is stuffed, move the thermometer to the center of stuffing to read temperature. If both the thigh and the stuffing have reached temperatures listed below then the turkey is done.


180°F deep in the thigh; also, juices should be clear, not reddish pink when thigh muscle is pierced deeply.
165°F in the center of the stuffing.
Before removing stuffing and carving, let turkey stand 15 minutes to allow juices to set.

Answer 3

There are many factors in determining the temp to cook the bird. Here's a few suggestions: 1. Is the bird thawed or fresh? Either is preferable to trying to roast a frozen bird. 2. Unlike mom and grandma did it, it is considered unsafe to cook your stuffing inside the bird. Because it takes so long to heat to the center, the stuffing can become bacteria farms while the outside of the bird is cooking. My solution; I usually put a whole, fresh apple and a small, yellow onion into the cavity of the bird. This allows moisture to "steam" out as the bird cooks. When it is finished, I generally take the apple and onion out and chop them up to add to my stuffing that I make and bake after the bird is finished. (I can also add juices from the bird to the stuffing.) 3. Covered or uncovered? Covering a bird traps moisture and, again, steams it which is faster than simply cooking in dry heat. However, the steaming also prevents browning, which most people prefer. Cooking uncovered browns nicely, but tends to end up with the drier bird we think of at holidays. I usually start with a cover, in a large roasting pan for a small bird or foil for a large one, and remove it halfway through (somewhere between 120 and 140 degrees on a cooking thermometer pushed into the thick part of the breast). I also put bacon slices over the larger, meatier areas. It seems to add a little flavor and the bacon takes most of the drying while protecting the turkey. (I don't worry if the bacon looks a little burnt, as long as the turkey is still brown underneath.) 4. Simple answer, I cook my bird at 350 degrees, under these circumstances. If it seems to be cooking too quickly for my pre-arranged dinner time, I might turn it down to 300 to add some time. Finally, when it is cooked, I like to carve it ahead. I know people like sitting around the table watching dad or granddad hack at it, but I like having the pieces cut and arranged by white and dark, to make selection easier. Also, if I need time to finish the meal, I'll put the cut meat into a casserole dish, add some turkey broth, and hold it. Since my oven is probably full of stuffing and rolls baking, or pies finishing off, I set the casserole dish on a VERY low burner on the stove and keep an eye on it.

Answer 4

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Turkey Preparation


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TURKEY PREPARATION



Choose a turkey which allows enough for about 1 pound per person. To thaw a turkey, allow 3-4 hours per pound. Thaw the turkey under refrigeration. Reserve neck and giblets for giblet gravy, discarding the liver. Prepare your gravy while the turkey cooks, which will take a few hours.

Allow 20 minutes per pound for 8-12 pound birds, 15 minutes per pound for 12-16 pound birds or see the chart below.

Season turkey by rubbing with olive oil and/or rendered salt pork and a teaspoon of soy sauce. Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder.

Most turkeys are too large for the internal temperature of the bird to reach sufficient temperatures quickly enough to kill bacteria present in stuffing which has been refrigerated. For this reason, you should plan to prepare the stuffing separately.

NOTE: You can improve the flavor of your turkey dramatically if you have an injector gadget available. This item looks like a large hypodermic needle which you can fill with butter and/or rendered salt pork to inject into the turkey meat. This additional step prevents the turkey from becoming dry without the need for additional basting, providing the proper cooking times and temperatures are observed. Follow the directions included with the injector.

Alternatively, you can achieve good results by slicing wide strips of salt pork or slab bacon, and laying the strips across the turkey breast. Other methods of preventing the white meat from drying out are to wrap the bird with several layers of cheesecloth, and continuously basting it with melted butter and/or drippings. Another method is to start the roasting with the bird upside down, turning it over for the last hour and finishing off at a higher temperature.

Slow, steady cooking works best, keeping in mind that the lower the temperature, the longer the cooking. Good results can be had by roasting at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, but you can also achieve excellent results at 325 F. The rule of thumb is to select a lower temperature if you allow sufficient time in advance. Once the temperature of the bird reaches 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit, you can increase the oven temperature to 400 F for a brief time for browning. At this point the turkey will finish cooking rapidly so if you add this browning step it's important to pay close attention and constantly monitor the bird's internal temperature.

A perfectly cooked bird requires the use of a thermometer, preferably, an instant-read thermometer. If you rely on the pop-up timer, the white meat will be overcooked and dry. For perfect white meat, which cooks at a lower temperature than does the dark meat portion of the bird, a compromise must be reached. You should determine which portion is preferred and plan to favor either the white meat or dark meat, temperature-wise. The best temperature to remove the turkey for perfectly cooked white meat is 155-160 degrees breast temperature. Be certain that the thermometer does not touch bone or the results will be inaccurate.

Allow the turkey to sit an additional 20 minutes with the oven door open and it will be done to a perfect 160-165 degrees. For perfectly cooked dark meat, add an additional 10 degrees, but you will be slightly sacrificing the quality of the white meat. At 180 degrees, the white meat will be overcooked.

The following chart is for whole turkey cooked at an oven temperature of 325 degrees. Allow slightly longer times for turkeys which are cooked in a slower oven, and conversely less time for a higher temperature oven. If you have a convection oven, cut time by as much as 1/3 or consult manufacturer's instructions.

Answer 5

Roast turkeys at 325. Use a probe thermometer. It's the only way to know when it's done. Stick the probe into the thickest part of the thigh and set it for 165 degrees. When the thermometer goes off, it's done. Take the bird out of the oven and tent it with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving it. If it's a really big turkey [18 lbs or better] let it rest for 20 to 25 minutes. Allowing the bird to rest will give the juices time to redistribute and not leak out all over the place when you carve it.

Answer 6

PLEASE cook the turkey upside down, it takes about an hour longer than what it usually takes right side up, BUT, the breast meat soaks in the juices, add about a half inch of water on the bottom of the pan first.. omg, me and my wife cooked one upside on accident and stumbled on the best juicest tasting turkey i have ever had... logically think about it

Answer 7

the directions to follow should be on the package but if you get a Reynold's roasting bag, it will roast a lot faster, be easier for clean up and have all the drippings together making it easier to get to for gravy. Also, when you get the turkey out of the bag pour some of the liquid over it to keep it moist. (don't forget to get the bag(s) of giblets out of the cavities)

Answer 8

i find 350 degress works for me .how long depends on the size of the bird.usually an hour for every 5 pounds should be sufficient

Answer 9

350.but it should be on the wrapper..it goes about 20min per pound