Cooking a turkey can be intimidating, but really it is quite simple. Follow these steps below and you will be serving a perfect turkey this year!
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Remove turkey from packaging and rinse well under cold water. Be sure to remove the neck and giblets.
- Place turkey in a suitable roasting pan and brush outside with melted butter.
- Put turkey in oven and reduce temperature to 350˚F.
(Note: The turkey will need to cook at this temperature for 15 minutes per pound.) - Cook for one hour.
- After one hour, begin basting the turkey every 15 minutes for the remainder of the cooking time.
- The turkey is fully cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
(Note: Always insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey.) - If the turkey is stuffed, stuffing must also reach an internal temp of 165˚F.
- Remove turkey from oven and allow to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before carving.
- When carving, be sure to use a sharp knife and slice against the grain
Try also:
- Stuffing the cavity of the turkey with cut up oranges and lemons. This will keep the white meat moist while cooking and also adds a nice citrus note to the basting liquid.
- Instead of a whole turkey, you can roast a hotel breast (just the white meat parts of a turkey). Follow the same cooking instructions as above but start basting after 20 minutes.
- Many readers said they like to use a cooking bag for the turkey to save on the mess. While we agree that using a bag will help save the mess, we like the crispy skin too much to use one.
- Cornish hens or quail also make nice alternatives to the traditional turkey and take much less time to cook.
For more recipe ideas, visit Macaroni Kid EATS!
