Over the years, I have found that the best thing to do to come out with a good tasting turkey, is to do almost nothing to it at all! It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
1. Thaw your Turkey
Place your frozen bird in its original packaging on a tray in the refrigerator to thaw. A 6-12 pound bird will take about two days to thaw in the fridge. A 20-24 pound bird will take as much as 3 ½ days to thaw completely.
A faster thawing method is called “The Cold Water Method.” For a quicker thaw, place your bird in a large pan or in the sink and cover completely with cold water. A small bird (6-12 pounds) will thaw in about 4-6 hours, a medium size bird (12-20 pounds) will take 6-8 hours, and a large bird (20 pounds and up) will take approximately 10 hours to thaw.
- Prepare your Turkey
Some people try to make this a very difficult process, but it is really the simplest part of all. Remove the metal or plastic clamp from the end of the turkey’s legs, by pushing in and up with your thumb on the end of first one leg then the other, then squeeze the clamp together with your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward you until it comes out. Remove the giblets (usually in a paper package) from inside the body cavity. Sometimes the giblets and/or the neck bone are stored inside a fold of skin at the turkey’s neck. Be sure to check both places. Set these aside for later use in broth or gravy.
**Note: I don’t ever place stuffing inside the bird while it is roasting for two reasons. I think that it draws some of the moisture away from the meat, making it less juicy and tender, and there is also a real danger of food poisoning from bacteria that can grow in the dark moist environment created by the stuffing inside the turkey.
- Roast your Turkey
Place your turkey, breast side up, in a COVERED roaster pan and bake in the oven according to the following time table: Weight Oven Temp. Cooking Time (in hrs.)
| 8-12 lbs. | 325°F | 3-3½ | |
| 12-16 lbs. | 325°F | 3½-4 | |
| 16-20 lbs. | 325°F | 4-4½ | |
| 20-24 lbs. | 325°F | 4½ -5½ |
I have found that the key to having a tender juicy turkey is to make sure that the pan is covered. If your pan does not have a cover, the next best thing is to cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. I do not use a foil “tent” as recommended in some cookbooks, because this allows the dry heat of the oven free access to your turkey. I don’t check it. I don’t baste it in its own juices or anything else. I just cover it, bake it and let all of the natural juices that God put into the meat do their “magic!”
How to Tell if your Turkey is Done
Most turkeys will have a pop-up thermometer inserted in the breast. When the red center pops out, the bird is done, but if for some reason your bird does not have this, then here is how to tell if it’s done: Near the end of the prescribed roasting time, remove the cover from the roaster pan, and grasp the turkey’s leg using a potholder or hot pad, and pull gently away from the body. If the thigh joint separates easily, then the bird is done. If it does not, recover the pan and allow bird to roast a little longer, rechecking at 15minute intervals. Or, of course the most foolproof method is to use a meat thermometer. Insert the thermometer in the thickest portion of the breast, also inside the wing and inside the thigh. Make sure that the tip of the thermometer does not touch bone or gristle. The turkey is done when the meat thermometer reads 165°F.
When the turkey is done, allow to set for 30 minutes before carving.
Refrigerate any leftovers.