Our 26 Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to cook a turkey at 325 or 350? ›

It's better to cook a turkey at 350°F after preheating the oven to 450°F. This makes the skin crispier and ensures the turkey will get cooked evenly.

The most straightforward approach is to roast an unstuffed turkey, breast-side up, for 13 minutes per pound of turkey at 350°.

At 325°F for an unstuffed turkey: 10-12 pounds: cook 2 3/4 to 3 hours. 15-16 pounds: cook 3 1/2 to 4 hours. 18-20 pounds: cook 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

"Often, consumers will inquire about adding water to the bottom of their roasting pans. We do not recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan. Cooking a turkey with steam is a moist heat-cook method and is acceptable, sure, but is not the preferred method for cooking your turkey."

To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.

10. Calculate turkey cooking time and temperature. The simplest way to figure out turkey roasting times is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey (that's about 3 hours for a 12- to 14-lb. turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey.

While 1 pound per person could feel like too little, and 1 1/2 pounds for each guest might be over-doing it, 1 1/4 pounds of turkey per mouth is the perfect balance. At that rate, feeding a large party of 15 or more people requires 20+ pounds of turkey.

How do you know when a 25 pound turkey is done? ›

Brining for too long can result in meat that tastes overly-salty and has a spongy texture. If you're not ready to roast the bird after 18 hours, remove it from the brine, rinse it, pat it dry, and refrigerate for up to two days.

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

You should always rinse the turkey after wet or dry brining. Once rinsed, you can let the turkey air dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator for several hours, or pat it dry with a paper towel.

We recommend roasting turkey at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 13 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey. We've done the math for you — check out the chart below to determine both turkey cook times and estimated servings (with leftovers!).

Here are some guidelines: Unstuffed Turkey: For an unstuffed turkey, you can use the 13-15 minutes per pound guideline. This means that a 15-pound turkey, for example, would take about 3 hours and 15 minutes to 3 hours and 45 minutes to cook at 325°F.

Oven-Roasted Turkey

We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird.