The USDA has some comprehensive food safety guidelines to help you cook your Thanksgiving turkey. While some cookbooks, and probably some chefs, might tell you that cooking times and temperatures should be changed to produce a moister bird, at least you'll get a safe bird from using the USDA's guide. First things first, you need to completely defrost your turkey before beginning. Keep the turkey in its original wrapper as it thaws and try to keep it as cool as possible. It should either be defrosted by being submerged in cold water or on a tray in the refrigerator.
Frozen turkey thawing timetable
Weight In refrigerator In cold water
4 to 12 pounds 1 to 3 days 2 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds 3 to 4 days 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds 4 to 5 days 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds 5 to 6 days 10 to 12 hours
When you're ready to cook the bird, make sure to have a meat thermometer on hand to quickly check fore doneness. The thermometer should be inserted into the thigh, since it takes longer to cook, and must not touch bone. The temperature of the meat needs to reach 165F before it is done. Test the turkey early to avoid overcooking.
Approximate roasting times for turkeyReady-to-cook: Approximate cooking time in 325-degree oven.
Stuffed Cooking time
8 to 12 pounds 3 to 3-1/2 hours
12 to 14 pounds 3-1/2 to 4 hours
14 to 18 pounds 4 to 4-1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds 4-1/4 to 4-3/4 hours
20 to 24 pounds 4-3/4 to 5-1/4 hours
Unstuffed Cooking time
8 to 12 pounds 2-3/4 to 3 hours
12 to 14 pounds 3 to 3-3/4 hours
14 to 18 pounds 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 hours
20 to 24 pounds 4-1/2 to 5 hours
If you're cooking your turkey stuffed, the center of the stuffing must reach 165F because of the raw juices that will drip into it. Since the very center will take much longer to heat through, there is a good chance that your meat will be dry before the stuffing is done. Cooking the stuffing separately is the best way to ensure not only good (and safe) stuffing, but a good turkey.
11-09-2006 @2:26PM Charlotte said... I have a question for the food scientists out there: Since killing the the bacteria that make us sick is a a function of both time and temperature (thus allowing different methods for pasteurizing milk), would it be possible to cook a turkey at a lower temperature for a longer period of time and still have a safe bird? For example, if the white meat is done at 165 deg., would it be possible to cook the bird at 166 deg. for a day or two to get a safe, moist bird?
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11-09-2006 @2:28PM Charlotte said... Rather, what about cooking it at 160 degrees for a day or two?
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11-09-2006 @2:32PM Nicole Weston said... The problem with that is that the bacteria would potentially be thriving and growing in a slow and warm situtation like that. Cooking at temperatures that low is frowned on by the USDA in other types of cooking (sous vide, for example), for the very season that the bacteria might not be able to be killed once they have developed and spread. The idea seems to be to get the meat from defrosted to done as quickly as possible for the safest dinner.
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11-09-2006 @3:59PM Punisher2K said... Well since you'll be removing all the moisture from the bird by cooking it that long, I don't think there will be any bateria left.
Plus no one will want to eat the turkey jerky anyway.
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11-09-2006 @4:14PM Allison said... Learned this from Adelle Davis (Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit) back in the early '70s. Cook your bird for one hour at 300 degrees. Long enough and high enough enough to kill off any bad stuff. Turn the thermostat down to your desired finish temp (I aim for 145 for poultry.) Walk away, go have fun, go to bed -- whatever. 10 or 12 hours or longer later, you will still have a succulent, moist, tender bird. The only things I've added over the years is brining which seems to add even more moisture by distributing it more equally through the tissue.
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11-09-2006 @5:13PM Cindy said... I've been brining my turkeys for several years now (to rave reviews from family). I've noticed that the turkey seems to cook more quickly than the charts indicate.
Perhaps the greater moisture in the meat allows it to heat faster?
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11-10-2006 @2:58PM Stephanie said... My turkeys _always_ cook faster than the charts, whether I brine them or not. I don't think it's my oven, I think it's the charts. Maybe when those charts we made the testers were slow basters (or basted a lot) so the oven cooled off too much.
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11-18-2006 @9:29AM Marilyn said... What is the best method to brine a turkey?
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11-22-2006 @3:19PM Joe said... I always seem to have a problem with internal temperatures. When I insert the thermometer into the thigh (not touching bone), it reaches the doneness temp sooner than when inserted into the breast. This makes more sense to me as the density and thickness of the breast should take longer to cook. A comment, above, by an "expert" states, "...inset into thigh as it takes longer to cook." Something with a diameter of about six inches should cook faster than one of 24".
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