Turkey how long per pound

Ready, timers set, go! Kitchen Tips and Tools. Delish Shop. United States. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Hungry For More? Prepping and cooking your Thanksgiving turkey is no small endeavor. Anything that large is difficult to cook in the oven because the outside inevitably cooks faster than the inside.

But fear not, here's a guide for how long it takes to cook a turkey to the right temperature while maintaining its succulence. If you haven't already bought your turkey, we advise that you buy a turkey between 12 and 15 pounds because anything larger than that will not cook as evenly—meaning certain portions of the bird will be overcooked while other portions are just reaching the proper temperature.

If you have to get a pound monster, we'll still provide a range for your turkey cook time, but know that the texture of the meat will most likely be tougher and not as juicy. Instead, you can cook the stuffing on the side in a casserole dish.

Add some stock to replace the juices the stuffing would have absorbed in the cavity. Try placing onion quarters, celery stalks, parsley, thyme, salt, and black pepper inside the turkey before roasting.

At the same time, add a few halved shallots, sliced carrots, some celery, and 2 cups of water to your roasting pan , under the rack. The vegetables will perfume the meat and flavor the drippings as the turkey cooks, while the water keeps things from burning.

Loosely cover the bird with aluminum foil, shiny side out to deflect heat at the very beginning. Tenting with foil keeps the skin from getting too dark too soon. Remove the foil about halfway through cooking to let the skin brown. Traditional recipes call for basting the turkey every half hour to moisten and flavor the bird. Basting is a simple process that just requires opening the oven and carefully spooning or using a turkey baster to squirt the pan juices all over the turkey.

You can add butter to the roasting pan for a richer basting solution, or have turkey broth simmering on the stove to use if the pan juices run dry. Basting will certainly help the skin brown up nicely, but opinions vary on whether the liquid actually penetrates the skin to moisten the flesh.

And remember: An open oven door lets heat escape, lowering the ambient temperature and lengthening the roasting time. If, however, you prefer to roast your turkey at a higher or lower temperature, follow these guidelines. The following cook times are for unstuffed birds. Our rule of thumb is to avoid stuffed turkeys and instead to bake the stuffing alongside so that it can easily reach a safe temperature.

According to the USDA the bird must reach this temperature before you take it out of the oven. Whichever turkey roasting temperature you choose, be sure to use an accurate food thermometer to confirm the final temperature. In the past, home cooks used to look at the color of the meat as an indication of doneness: The turkey was pierced with a knife and if the juices were clear instead of pink it was considered done.

But this is not a reliable method for several reasons. First, pinkness can disappear before a safe temperature is reached. A meat thermometer comes in handy all holiday season. Tracking the temperature helps to ensure that you get a perfect roast turkey every time. To check the temperature of the turkey, you can use either an instant-read thermometer which you insert after cooking, as it gives a reading immediately or a remote food thermometer the type that has a probe you insert before cooking, which connects to a digital display that sits on your counter.

This gives the juices time to settle into the bird and be reabsorbed; carving it up too soon will just allow the moisture to run out, leaving you with dried-out meat on top of a puddle on your cutting board. Tented with foil, you can leave the bird in a warm place for up to 40 minutes, which gives you plenty of time to make gravy.