Turkey with dressing

[gonefishing]

As we don't usually cook turkey this part of the world, i have started experimenting with turkes...I cook my fully thawed turkeys with dressing in it at 450 °F sealed in aluminum foil. I throw away the timer and I don't open it at all until it's done. I'm trying to develop a simple chart with a sliding scale so can take the turkey weight and cross reference it with the cooking time when I bake it. I usually bake a 20 pounder for 3 1/2 hours and it comes out perfect. I did a 17 pounder once at about 3:06 and it came out perfect. However when I did a 24 pounder at 4 hours (my straight line estimate) that wasn't enough. So maybe a curve would be better than a straight line. However I really don't know. If you have worked out perfect cooking times for various weights of turkey with dressing in it I'd like your input. It doesn't bother me what temperature you do yours (350 °F or whatever) as long as you have worked out the perfect time for cooking all your various turkey weights while cooking in a similar manner to the way I do. It would give me useful information that I could work with.

 

[Marcus]

In the United States, cooking a turkey is a tradition at Thanksgiving, a holiday we celebrate late in November. Honestly, I've never prepared a turkey. The only advice I can give you is to keep experimenting and you'll find the answer.

 

[kitchenelf]

All I can add is a friend of mine insisted that she cook the turkey at Thanksgiving that I normally cook. It was stuffed (which I never do) and wrapped in foil and also, about 22 - 24 lbs. She told me her mother ALWAYS cooked hers for about 4 hours and it came out perfect every time! Well, I had a houseful of very hungry people by the time that turkey was done. It took about 3 hours longer than she anticipated and I ended up, at one point, yanking all the stuffing out and cooking it separately because it was NOT coming to temperature.

Not that this info helped but it clears up that 4 hours is NOT enough. 7 may have been too much if done at one time but we kept opening the foil to test for doneness.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Gonefishing...

In my part of the world I use a thermometer to check for doneness. 165* in the thickest part of a trukey thigh seems to be about...perfect!

Have fun and...Enjoy!

 

[Charleysaunt]

What Uncle Bob said. I cook a stuffed turkey--usually 22#--uncovered so it is crisp and golden brown--and it is usually done in 4 hours. It looks like a picture in Bon Appetit.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Don't know where you live ... you didn't include that in your User Profile when you signed up ...

The short answer is ... there are variables - that is why you need a thermometer. Try looking around the Butterball Turkey site. They have some cooking time guidelines.

The reason there is no absolute answer for "it takes x minutes to cook an x lb turkey at x degrees" is because not all turkeys are the same density (the density is why the white meat and the dark meat cook at different rates) nor are they equally symmetrical - the breast of one bird can be thicker than that of another although they are the same weight. And, when you stuff them ... there is the problem of the density and moisture content of the stuffing - you've converted a non-symmetrical hollow tube into a non-symmetrical solid cylinder where the densitiy of the "core" will vary depending on ingredients and compaction.

If you can find a copy of Harold McGee's "The Curious Cook" you might get a better understanding of why there is no linear chart of absolute times. I'm sorry - I'm in the process of moving and my copy is already packed away or I could tell you which chapter to read. Although he was not dealing with hollow foods (he was working with solids) it will give you an insight into the complexities of creating a table like you are looking for.

 

[licia]

I use a basic guide for the size then check at intervals til it is done. Also, I don't roast mine with stuffing inside. We like our stuffing in a casserole and feel it is much safer.

 

[Andy M.]

There is no reason to re-invent the wheel. There are many tried and true recipes for perfectly roasted turkey on the internet.

 

[ChefJune]

I'd suggest getting yourself one of those digital thermometers (Polder) that has a timer connected to it. You put the probe in the thick of the thigh, set the controls for 160 degrees F and set the timer part on the counter next to the stove. When your bird reaches the designated temperature, the alarm sounds, and sounds, and sounds, until you take the bird from the oven. You don't have to worry about whether it is up to temp or not, it will be!

Since the turkey will continue to cook for a substantial period of time after it comes out of the oven, I always remove at 160 and leave the probe in as it cools. I get to see how high it actually DOES go (170, generally) and I never have dry breast meat.

OTOH, I never roast a turkey with the dressing inside, and don't recommend it, if only for HACCP reasons.

 

[Barb L.]

Did you all know there is more meat on two 12 lb. turkeys than a 24 lb. one! A lady use to raise turkeys told me this. The larger birds just get a larger Carcass ! Told my brother this, because he always cooks for 25 during the holidays, now he always does two - One in the oven and one deep fried at times. !! LOL, 6 mos. is Thanksgiving !!

 

[Katie H]

Be quiet, Barbara. Thanksgiving and Christmas are waaaay too close.

I've NEVER cooked a turkey that wasn't stuffed and I've probably cooked close to 150 turkeys in my cooking life.

Most of the time I cook about a 15- to 20-pound turkey for the two of us. The largest one I ever cooked was 33 pounds, unstuffed. That's when all 5 of the children were living at home.

My smaller ones take from 4 to 6 hours to cook. I usually put them in the oven about noon and expect to serve dinner at 6 p.m. or so.

I start the roasting at a high temperature and, then, reduce the temp for the bulk of the cooking time.

 

[turtledove]

Between this thread and my youngest daughter who told me this morning that they were roasting a turkey just to have for sandwiches; guess who had to thaw a turkey and roast it today? LOL! I did make dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy too. I think I prefer to have turkey at other times of the year instead of holidays.

 

[philso]

...I cook my fully thawed turkeys with dressing in it at 450 °F sealed in aluminum foil. ...

450 °F??? wow!!!

i cook mine at around 325 °F or so (i'm on centigrade here in japan).

i always stuff my turkeys. in order to keep the breasts from drying out by the time the thighs are done, i cover them with strips of bacon and cover those with a double layer of aluminum foil. about 1 or 1 1/2 hours down the line, i remove the aluminum foil, and then an hour or so later remove the bacon. i use a meat thermometer to make sure it's up to temp. seems to work well for me.

 

[philso]

Did you all know there is more meat on two 12 lb. turkeys than a 24 lb. one! A lady use to raise turkeys told me this. The larger birds just get a larger Carcass ! Told my brother this, because he always cooks for 25 during the holidays, now he always does two - One in the oven and one deep fried at times. !! LOL, 6 mos. is Thanksgiving !!

as if we weren't busy enough on turkey day, maybe next nov. we could all post our prestuffed turkey's weight, and the left over carcass's weight.

anyone good at math??

 

[gonefishing]

Don't know where you live ... you didn't include that in your User Profile when you signed up ...

The short answer is ... there are variables - that is why you need a thermometer. Try looking around the Butterball Turkey site. They have some cooking time guidelines.

The reason there is no absolute answer for "it takes x minutes to cook an x lb turkey at x degrees" is because not all turkeys are the same density (the density is why the white meat and the dark meat cook at different rates) nor are they equally symmetrical - the breast of one bird can be thicker than that of another although they are the same weight. And, when you stuff them ... there is the problem of the density and moisture content of the stuffing - you've converted a non-symmetrical hollow tube into a non-symmetrical solid cylinder where the densitiy of the "core" will vary depending on ingredients and compaction.

If you can find a copy of Harold McGee's "The Curious Cook" you might get a better understanding of why there is no linear chart of absolute times. I'm sorry - I'm in the process of moving and my copy is already packed away or I could tell you which chapter to read. Although he was not dealing with hollow foods (he was working with solids) it will give you an insight into the complexities of creating a table like you are looking for.

Thanks michael.. i am from Singapore (if you've caught pirates of the caribbean- you would have heard of this island state)
Appreciate the HELP! thanks!!

 

[AllenOK]

I don't know about over in Singapore, but here, there's usually a time/temperature chart for a given weight, on the package.

I usually go by the 20 minutes / pound @ 350 degrees F "rule of thumb". Using my formula, a 20 lb bird should take 400 minutes, or 6 hrs 40 minutes.

Now, I usually start checking the temperature of my bird one to two hours before it's done, to get an idea of how close to done it is. I'm glad I do this, as last thankgiving, my bird was done an hour before I thought it would be. I may have to lower the temp to 325 degrees F, or shorten the time / pound.

 

[Constance]

My husband is big on meat thermometers, but I cooked without one for so many years, I don't usually need one. My grandma always said the turkey or chicken is done when you can wiggle the thigh easily. I've read since that the turkey's overdone when it reaches that point, but I haven't found that to be true.
My method for cooking a turkey came from my first MIL. It's unconventional, but works well. I cook the turkey breast side down, so the juices from the back will drip down and baste the breast. I set the temp at 325 F and cover the bird with foil until it's almost done, then turn the temp up to 425 F, flip the bird, and cook it uncovered for about 15 minutes to brown the breast.
When I take it out of the oven, I cover the bird loosely with the foil and let it stand while I make the gravy.
I always cook the dressing (stuffing) separately, uncovered, as I like it to have a crisp crust on the outside, and be moist on the inside. Since I make it the night before, I start it out at 350 to warm it through without burning it, then raise the temp to 400 to crisp it up.

 

[Caine]

I normally stuff all my turkeys, I usually select a bird of around 15 pounds, I always use a Reynolds cooking bag, and I have two probe thermometers; one for the turkey's thigh and one for the stuffing, for safety's sake. The turkey stays in the oven until the thigh is at least 165F and the stuffing is 180F.