How Long To Cook A Turkey: Tips For The Kitchen

This Thanksgiving, do you want to serve a moist turkey with golden-crisp skin? Even if it's your first time, our roast turkey recipe will give you the assurance you need for your turkey to turn out perfectly.

How Long To Cook A Turkey: Tips For The Kitchen

Stuffed with Aromatics: Stuffing the cavity with aromatics will give the meat a nice flavor. We used carrots, yellow onion, and celery leaves.

Why This Recipe Works

Dry Skin: Avoid rinsing the turkey because doing so can spread dangerous bacteria throughout your kitchen. Instead, dry it off with paper towels and leave it in a roasting pan to warm up to room temperature for an hour.

Why This Recipe Works

Butter: Apply softened butter to the skin of the turkey (It will only stick if the skin is dry.) then liberally sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Why This Recipe Works

Rest: Lay the turkey on a cutting board with grooves and cover it with foil. Allowing it to rest for 30 to 60 minutes will allow the juices to re-distribute, adding moisture to the meat. Slice the meat into 12 inch pieces to prevent drying out.

Why This Recipe Works

Basic pantry staples are required for our perfect roast turkey recipe. Let's discuss the main components. We filled the bird's cavity with celery leaves, carrots, and yellow onions for flavor. Dairy: We covered the turkey's skin in butter, but you could also use olive oil or duck fat.

Ingredients

Broth: To keep the meat moist while roasting and to make the giblet gravy, we used low sodium chicken broth. Spices: Table salt, black pepper, and coarse kosher salt were used. Meat: A 14-pound, fully thawed turkey was used.

Ingredients

How long should a turkey be cooked? It can be stressful to know how long a turkey should cook for the holidays. With the help of our Thanksgiving turkey cook time guide, eliminate any uncertainty. This recipe is for a 350°F-cooked, unstuffed turkey.

Turkey Cook Time

Get everything you need to make our ideal roast turkey together. Butter and spices should be measured. Pour the chicken broth and chop the celery leaves, onions, and carrots for the aromatics.

How to Make

How can a turkey be defrosted in the safest and simplest manner? The frozen turkey should be set on a tray breast side up, still in its original packaging, as this is the best method.

How to Thaw

A 16-pound turkey will need four days to thaw, or one day for every four pounds. Before cooking, a fully thawed turkey can be kept in the refrigerator for an additional one or two days.

How to Thaw

What is the fastest way to defrost a turkey? The turkey should be kept in its original packaging and placed in the kitchen sink's ice water. Make sure the ice water is changed every 30 minutes. This will prevent contaminating bacteria from growing and keep the water ice-cold.

How to Thaw

Can my frozen turkey defrost on the counter? It is never a good idea to thaw a turkey at room temperature (best in the refrigerator or ice water), as the bird will thaw on the outside and heat up above 40°F, which will encourage the growth of bacteria and possibly make someone sick.

How to Thaw

How can you tell that it has thawed? Test the temperature at the breast and thighs using a probe thermometer. It should be between 32°F and 40°F, or refrigerator temperature.

How to Thaw

Which is better for turkey: dry brining, salt water brining, or no brining? Choose what works best for you this holiday season from among the chefs in each camp.

The Brining Debate

Wet Brine: Because brining produces juicy, tender meat, some home cooks prefer to brine their turkey. Since the majority of store-bought turkeys have already been brined, it is best to brine an organic or wild turkey.

The Brining Debate

Before roasting, let it warm up to room temperature for an hour. Oven rack should be placed at the bottom. The middle of the oven is where it should roast. To flavor the meat from the inside out, kosher salt should be sprinkled inside the cavity after it has been patted dry.

Expert Tips

For crisp, golden skin, rub kosher salt and butter all over the skin. For the first hour and a half, roast it with the drumsticks at the back of the oven. Brush it with melted butter or baste it with pan juices. Before carving, tent the bird with foil and allow it to rest for 30 to 1 hour. The juices will redistribute as a result.

Expert Tips

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