You will need to bake a turkey that weighs 20 pounds in the oven for 4 to 5 hours if it is unstuffed, and for 4 14 to 5 14 hours if it is stuffed, if you bake it at the lowest temperature that the USDA advises, which is 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Which temperature is better for a turkey: 325 or 350 degrees?
Which temperature, 325 or 350 degrees, should I cook a turkey at? Although cooking a chicken “low and slow” is a good rule to follow, there is no one tried-and-true method for doing so without risking the bird’s skin being burned. You can cook it a little warmer for about the same amount of time, or just a little less time overall, but all of our temperature instructions make the assumption that you are cooking at 325.
At 325 degrees, how long should a turkey be cooked per pound?
Assuming that you will be roasting your turkey in an oven preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, you should count on 15 to 17 minutes of cooking time for each pound of an unstuffed turkey. When cooking a stuffed turkey, plan on spending 20 to 22 minutes per pound of bird. 8-12 pound.
At what temperature should a 20-pound turkey be cooked?
While cooking the turkey at a higher temperature will result in a more quickly cooked bird, it also increases the likelihood that the turkey may be overdone, dry, or even burned. Because of this, we advise 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
How long should I cook a 20-pound turkey?
There is no set time for cooking. For instance, the cooking time for a turkey weighing 20 pounds will be between 4 1/4 and 5 hours; after 4 1/4 hours, check the temperature on the thermometer.
Should I use aluminum foil to cover my turkey?
We have discovered that roasting a turkey with the breast covered in foil produces much more moist results than roasting the turkey without any foil. Because of this, we prefer to just wrap the breast in foil to ensure that the cooking time is distributed evenly.
Is cooking a turkey covered or uncovered preferable?
Should I cover the chicken as it roasts or leave it uncovered? A: The guys at Butterball suggest roasting the turkey in a roasting pan with the lid off. According to Butterball, the breast portion can be covered with aluminum foil at the two-thirds mark of the cooking time in order to prevent it from drying out.
How long does a 20-pound turkey take to cook at 350 degrees?
The amount of time it takes to cook a turkey can change based on a number of factors, including the temperature of the oven, whether or not the turkey is filled, and whether or not the recipe asks for the bird to be prepared without stuffing. When roasting a turkey without stuffing it, we recommend cooking it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 13 minutes per pound.
How long does a 21-pound turkey take to cook?
Depending on how filled your turkey is, the cooking time for a turkey weighing 21.5 pounds at 325 degrees Fahrenheit might range anywhere from 4.5 to 5 hours. The overall cooking time has to be increased by at least 15 minutes if it is stuffed with your preferred filling.
How long does a 20-pound turkey take to defrost in the fridge?
The calculation is as follows: Prepare for a thawing time in the refrigerator of 24 hours for every 5 pounds of frozen turkey (for example: budget 4 full days of thawing in the fridge for a 20-pound turkey). Maintain the wrapping on the turkey, and check on it periodically to determine whether the baking sheet or roasting pan requires any further draining.
How much time should a turkey rest?
Helping Hands for Thanksgiving
As soon as the temperature reaches 165 degrees or even a slightly lower level, remove it from the oven. The length of time spent resting will vary according to the size of the bird, but it will be a minimum of twenty minutes. Depending on how warm the atmosphere is, a big bird could be able to hold its breath for up to forty minutes at a time.
What is the shortest safe cooking time for a turkey?
Ensure food safety by following the guidelines provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which states that the minimum temperature for cooking meat and poultry should not go below 325 degrees Fahrenheit. To ensure that the turkey is well cooked, it should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Does the turkey roasting pan have water in the bottom?
Arrange in a single layer on the bottom of the roasting pan. On top of the veggies, place the turkey with the breast side facing up. The roasting pan should have about a half an inch of liquid (either water or stock) added to it. This will prevent the oven from drying out and will also ensure that the turkey stays juicy.
At 165 or 180 degrees, is turkey done?
Even though some recipes call for the turkey to be cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit, the bird can be consumed without risk once it reaches a temperature of 165 degrees. When the breasts are cooked past 165 degrees, the flesh can become dry, while the dark meat can be cooked to 180 degrees.
How long should turkey be cooked per pound?
When cooking a turkey that has not been stuffed, the conventional rule of thumb is 15 to 20 minutes per pound of bird. It is recommended to adhere to this procedure and bake one of these crowd-pleasing stuffing recipes in a separate dish as roasting a stuffed turkey is no longer regarded safe for food preparation (not to mention that doing so dries up the bird flesh).
How long should a turkey be left out before being cooked?
The turkey should be brought to room temperature before being placed in the oven; thus, remove it from the refrigerator at least an hour (for a whole turkey) or thirty minutes (for a cut) before cooking it. Keep it covered and put it somewhere cold.
What can I do to keep my turkey moist?
Here is a useful piece of advice: to prevent the turkey breast from drying up and to ensure that it remains juicy: Make a triangle out of a huge square sheet of foil by folding it. After you have rubbed olive oil on one side of the triangle and formed the foil (with the oiled side facing down) over the turkey breast, you can then remove the foil; this will protect your turkey breast and prevent it from becoming dry.
How is crispy turkey skin made?
The fat should be rubbed into the skin.
The next step you can do to assure that the skin of your turkey will turn out wonderfully crispy is to massage it with a fat, such as butter or oil, after you have properly dried off the surface. Because oil does not include any water, it will produce a skin that is more crisp than butter, which has at least 20 percent water by weight.
Before carving a turkey, how long should it rest?
Before you cut a thing, let your turkey rest — at least 30 minutes — so its juices don’t end up on the cutting board.
How frequently should a turkey be basted?
Most recipes will tell you to baste your turkey every thirty minutes. But our rule of thumb is actually every forty minutes, and here’s why. You don’t want to open the oven too many times, or else the whole bird will take much long to cook, and that’s a huge inconvenience.
What is placed inside a turkey’s cavity?
Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, quartered onion, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
How hot should a turkey be cooked?
You’ll need a meat thermometer to make sure you cook your turkey to the right temperature. Insert it close to, but not touching, the thigh bone. If it reads 180 degrees F in the thigh and 170 degrees F in the breast, it’s done and ready to serve.
How long should a turkey cook in a convection oven at 325 degrees?
Range & Wall Oven – Cooking a Turkey in a Convection Oven
| Minutes/lb. | Oven Temp | |
|---|---|---|
| Unstuffed (10-15 lbs.) | 8-11 min./lb | 325 |
| Unstuffed (over 15 lbs.) | 7-10 min/lb. | 325 |
| Turkey Breast | ||
| 4-6 lbs. Breast | 16-19 min/lb | 325 |
At 325 degrees, how long should a stuffed turkey bake?
Using a 325°F oven, here’s a rough per pound guide from the pros at foodsafety.gov. These stuffed turkey cooking times have been tested and proven to work well by our Test Kitchen team: For 10- to 12-pound turkey, roast 3¼ hours to 3½ hours. For 12- to 14-pound turkey, roast 3½ to 4 hours.
Is a Butterball turkey washed?
Should I wash my turkey? “No, you really shouldn’t. The thing that’s great about Butterball turkeys is that they’re all cleaned out and everything like that. And if you wash your turkey, you’re getting raw juices splashing all over your kitchen.
Can a turkey be cooked on low for the entire day?
You can slow roast a turkey overnight without checking on it periodically. Roasting a turkey is so much easier when cooked overnight. This slow-roasted Overnight Turkey Recipe is hands free once it’s in the oven. With this recipe, you can rest, literally, assured that your turkey will be ok when you wake up.
How long does a 22 lb. Butterball turkey take to cook?
For an unstuffed bird, Butterball recommended the following cooking times:
- 6-7 pounds: 2-2½ hours.
- 7-10 pounds: 2½-3 hours.
- 10-18 pounds: 3-3½ hours.
- 18-22 pounds: 3½-4 hours.
- 22-24 pounds: 4-4½ hours.
- 24-30 pounds: 4½-5 hours.
Can I thaw my turkey outside all night?
Can you leave a turkey out to thaw overnight, perhaps? The short answer is no. Here are the wrong ways to thaw your bird and the safest way to thaw a turkey.
Can you refrigerate turkey that has been defrosted in cold water?
It is safe to cook turkey thawed in cold water then put back in the fridge.
Can a turkey be cleaned the day before it is cooked?
And other food safety tips. Step away from the sink, and no one will get hurt. You don’t need to wash your turkey before you roast it, and doing so can be dangerous.
Before carving, how long should a 20-pound turkey rest?
A: Ideally, your turkey should rest 30 to 40 minutes to let the juices redistribute. (This gives you enough time to make gravy, too.) We usually recommend that the turkey get back into the refrigerator within 2 hours, so by the time you carve and serve, that timeframe works pretty well.
Do I need to tent my turkey?
After the turkey has been cooking for approximately two thirds of the total length of time required (the exact amount of time may vary depending on the size of the bird), Butterball recommends covering the breasts with a tiny tent made of aluminum foil. The turkey breasts’ cooking time will be lengthened as a result of this change.
Without a thermometer, how can you tell when a turkey is done?
In the absence of a thermometer, you may determine whether or not your turkey is cooked by inserting a fork into the muscle located in the middle of the thigh, as recommended by Nicole Johnson, co-director of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. When the fluids flow clear and no longer have a rosy or crimson tint to them, this is a good indicator that the turkey is ready to be served.
Which turkey part needs the most time to cook?
Because the thickest area of the thigh takes the longest to cook, specialists advise measuring the temperature of the turkey there, being careful to avoid the bone when doing so. This is because the thickest part of the thigh is also the part of the turkey that has the most fat.
Do you wash the turkey?
You should wash your hands, but you shouldn’t touch the turkey! There is a widespread misconception among customers that washing their turkey would eliminate pathogens and render it safer. However, it is quite difficult to remove germs from the bird by washing. Instead, fluids that splash about during cleaning can spread bacteria not just onto the surfaces of your kitchen but also onto other meals and utensils.
Do I need to add broth to the turkey pan?
Before I start cooking the turkey, I also like to pour one cup of chicken broth or stock into the bottom of the pan it will be cooking in. This will produce a climate in the oven similar to a steam chamber, which will assist maintain the breast’s moisture but will not prevent the skin from browning.
When cooking a turkey, what do I put in the pan’s bottom?
Onions, celery, and carrots should be diced and placed in the bottom of the roasting pan. Remove a few leaves of the herbs from their stems and mix them in with the veggies.
Which temperature is better for a turkey: 325 or 350?
Which temperature, 325 or 350 degrees, should I cook a turkey at? Although cooking a chicken “low and slow” is a good rule to follow, there is no one tried-and-true method for doing so without risking the bird’s skin being burned. You can cook it a little warmer for about the same amount of time, or just a little less time overall, but all of our temperature instructions make the assumption that you are cooking at 325.
Where on a turkey should you insert a thermometer for the best results?
The following are some pointers to bear in mind: When cooking a whole turkey, you should put the thermometer into the part of the breast that is the thickest, the part of the thigh that is the innermost, and the part of the wing that is the innermost. Check to see that the thermometer does not come into contact with any bone, gristle, or the pan itself.
How should a cooked turkey be rested?
After it has finished cooking, the turkey should be removed from the tray and placed on a board to rest. While you are cooking the roast potatoes, cover the chicken with aluminum foil in a loose manner for at least an hour.
How long should you cook a 20-pound turkey?
Roast your turkey at these temperatures if it weighs between 18 and 20 pounds:
350 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 4 14 hours. 325 degrees Fahrenheit for between 4 1/4 and 4 1/2 hours.
Should I use aluminum foil to cover my turkey?
We have discovered that roasting a turkey with the breast covered in foil produces much more moist results than roasting the turkey without any foil. Because of this, we prefer to just wrap the breast in foil to ensure that the cooking time is distributed evenly.
How long does a 20-pound turkey take to cook?
There is no set time for cooking. For instance, the cooking time for a turkey weighing 20 pounds will be between 4 1/4 and 5 hours; after 4 1/4 hours, check the temperature on the thermometer.
When cooking, should you turn the turkey over?
Cook the bird with the breast flesh facing down, as if it were upside down, then flip it over halfway through the cooking process based on your assessment. If you are using a kettle and have all of your charcoal on one side of the grill, you will want to rotate the turkey as you turn it so that it does not overcook on one side. This will prevent the turkey from being undercooked on the other side.
Can I open the turkey the evening before?
4. Take the turkey out of its wrapping the night before. It is possible to achieve the perfectly browned and extra-crisp exterior of a bird by first allowing the skin to dry out in the refrigerator for eight to ten hours before cooking the bird. 5.
Can you store a turkey in the fridge without covering it?
The skin of the turkey will turn out crispier if you remove the plastic wrap from it the day before roasting it and then let it exposed in the refrigerator overnight.
Should I cook my turkey with butter or oil?
Don’t butter your bird
Although inserting butter beneath the skin may hasten the process of the skin browning, it will not make the meat any more juicy. However, butter contains around 17 percent water, and according to López-Alt, this will cause your bird to have a blotchy appearance. Instead, apply some vegetable oil all over the surface of the meat before roasting it.
Does a turkey ever have an apple in it?
Apples. When stuffing your turkey, you might want to consider cutting an apple or two into quarters. During the cooking process, they will impart a very mild taste that will bring to mind the season of autumn and provide the turkey with a little bit of additional moisture.
How can a turkey avoid becoming dry?
When it comes to roasting an entire turkey, Tommy advises that the legs should be cooked for a longer period of time than the breast. “When the breast is done, take the bird out of the oven, remove the legs, and then put them back in,” the recipe instructs. ” This prevents the breasts from becoming dry.
Should I put my turkey in an oven bag?
Using a Reynolds® pan to prepare the Thanksgiving turkey is a traditional practice. The Turkey Oven Bag is an excellent tool for ensuring that your turkey will retain its natural juices and luscious flavor while also achieving a delightfully browned exterior. The greatest thing is that all of the wonderful juices stay in the Oven Bag, so following these simple instructions won’t even need you to clean the roasting pan.
How can you get turkey skin that is golden?
To summarize, if you want the skin on your bird to be the crispiest and most golden during the holiday season or on your next Sunday night chicken, the best way to achieve this is to rub oil and spices under and over the skin of the bird, then leave it uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This will allow the skin to develop a golden brown color.
Do you let a turkey rest with its wings covered or not?
Depending on how warm the atmosphere is, a big bird could be able to hold its breath for up to forty minutes at a time. You should cover it with foil, but only loosely; you don’t want to lock in the moisture, as this will cause the skin to steam and ruin the crispiness you’ve worked so hard to produce.
How should a turkey be prepared the night before?
Put the turkey in a dish that is only slightly larger than it needs to be to accommodate it, then wrap it securely in plastic wrap. Keep refrigerated for up to a couple of days. Take off the plastic wrap that was covering the turkey and put it back in the refrigerator one day before you intend to roast it. The skin will become more dry and will take on a transparent appearance.
How long after cooking should turkey rest?
3. Before you can begin slicing the turkey, it has to rest. It is important to let the meat rest for around 45 minutes so that it may reabsorb the fluids; otherwise, the juices would run out when you slice it, leaving the flesh dry. It is not required to tent the turkey with foil in order to keep it warm while it is resting, and doing so will cause the skin to get soggy.
Should I put liquid in the pan with the turkey?
The roasting pan should have about a half an inch of liquid (either water or stock) added to it. This will prevent the oven from drying out and will also ensure that the turkey stays juicy.
What can I do to keep my turkey moist?
Here is a useful piece of advice: to prevent the turkey breast from drying up and to ensure that it remains juicy: Make a triangle out of a huge square sheet of foil by folding it. After you have rubbed olive oil on one side of the triangle and formed the foil (with the oiled side facing down) over the turkey breast, you can then remove the foil; this will protect your turkey breast and prevent it from becoming dry.
How is crispy turkey skin made?
The fat should be rubbed into the skin.
The next step you can do to assure that the skin of your turkey will turn out wonderfully crispy is to massage it with a fat, such as butter or oil, after you have properly dried off the surface. Because oil does not include any water, it will produce a skin that is more crisp than butter, which has at least 20 percent water by weight.
A turkey shouldn’t have an orange in it.
If you want a turkey that is moist and has a subtle taste, try stuffing it with citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes instead of traditional stuffing. If you do not use conventional stuffing, which is often laden with butter that soaks into the meat, you will reduce the number of calories and fat grams that you consume.
Do you salt a turkey’s interior?
The turkey may be seasoned in preparation by salting it, which is also one approach to keep the meat moist. When raw poultry is coated in salt, the juices that are contained within are brought to the surface.