Cook from frozen (turkey e.g.)

[Chorister]

Hi - my first post. It's Canadian Thanksgiving, and for the first time we bought a stuffed cook-from-frozen turkey. Something that troubles me about cook-from-frozen directions is that not all frozen items are at the same temperature. They can vary from 0 C. to -273 C. (absolute zero). They can be deep frozen or just barely frozen. The more deeply frozen, the longer must be the cooking time. This is more likely to matter in something as large and dense as a turkey.

Does anyone have any experience with this? If the directions call for 6 hours at 325, how much can that time vary when the bird is deep frozen?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I offer my sincere thanks to anyone who replies to my post!

 

[Andy M.]

There are a lot of variables that can effect the time. Your best bet is to cook according to the directions and check the internal temperature. If it's not done, go for another period of time and re-check.

The two biggest problems with cooking from frozen is that, by the time the center is cooked, the exterior, where all the meat is, is dry; and ensuring the internal temperature has reached a minimum of 161F everywhere, including the stuffing.

 

[Chorister]

Thanks Andy!

 

[BreezyCooking]

Yup - in this case your meat thermometer is going to be your best friend. And while many modern turkey-roasting methods now frown on constantly opening the oven to baste, in this situation I think occasional basting would definitely be a good idea. One more thing - if the instructions don't specify otherwise, I'd also count on roasting the bird for at least part of the time under an aluminum foil "tent" help keep it from getting too brown before the interior is properly cooked through.