How long does it take to cook a 16 to 20 pound turkey?
Do you cook a 16 lb turkey at 325 or 350? If your turkey weighs 15 to 16 pounds, roast it at:
350°F for 3½ to 3¾ hours. 325°F for 3¾ to 4 hours.
How long does it take to cook a 16 pound turkey at 325? For one 12- to 14-pound turkey, roast at 325°F for 3 to 3¾ hours. For one 14- to 18-pound turkey, roast at 325°F for 3¾ to 4¼ hours. For one 18- to 20-pound turkey, roast at 325°F for 4¼ to 4½ hours. For one 20- to 24-pound turkey, roast at 325°F for 4½ to 5 hours.
Should I cover my turkey with foil while cooking? Just make sure you uncover the lid about 30 minutes before the turkey’s done roasting so the skin has a chance to get crispy. Covering the bird with foil mimics what a roaster lid would do — it traps steam and moistness so the turkey doesn’t dry out — all the while allowing the skin to crisp up.
How long does it take to cook a 16 to 20 pound turkey? – Related Questions
Should you wash your turkey?
“USDA recommends that you do not wash your turkey,” said Wendy Mihm, a director of food safety education at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “It risks cross-contamination, you can get those turkey juices in and around your sink.”
Do you roast a turkey covered or uncovered?
Q: Should I roast the bird covered or uncovered? A: The Butterball folks recommend cooking the turkey uncovered in a roasting pan. If you put foil on the breast, remove it about 30-45 minutes before the turkey is done to allow the breast to brown.
What temp should a turkey be cooked at?
You’ll need a meat thermometer to make sure you cook your turkey to the right temperature. Insert it close to, but not touching, the thigh bone. If it reads 180 degrees F in the thigh and 170 degrees F in the breast, it’s done and ready to serve.
How often do you baste the turkey?
Most recipes will tell you to baste your turkey every thirty minutes. But our rule of thumb is actually every forty minutes, and here’s why. You don’t want to open the oven too many times, or else the whole bird will take much long to cook, and that’s a huge inconvenience.
How long should a turkey rest?
Keep in mind that during the resting period, the turkey will keep cooking, and the internal temperature will rise by 5 to 10 degrees. Pull it out as soon as the temperature hits 165, or even a little lower. The amount of resting time depends on the size of the bird, but at least 20 minutes is needed.
How many hours does a 16 pound turkey need to cook?
The rule of thumb for cooking a turkey is 13 minutes per pound. So our 16-pound turkey was estimated to cook in about 3 1/2 hours. However, some factors like brining the bird, cooking with an empty (un-stuffed) cavity, and leaving the legs un-trussed will contribute to much faster cooking.
How long do you cook a 16 pound Butterball turkey?
16-18 lbs. – 2 1/4-2 1/2 hrs. / 3 1/4-4 hrs. / 2-2 1/2 hrs. Turkey breasts cook up tender and delicious, and are easy to roast when you follow these instructions: Preheat oven to 325° F.
How long does it take to cook a stuffed 16 lb turkey?
A stuffed turkey takes longer to cook than an unstuffed turkey. Roast a stuffed turkey for 15 minutes per pound at 350 degrees F. It is important to check the temperature of the stuffing; it should be 165 degrees F (75 degrees C) when you insert the thermometer into the center of the stuffing.
When should I tent my turkey?
When to Tent a Turkey
You can choose to tent a turkey during the beginning of the roasting period and remove the tent for the last 30 to 45 minutes for browning, or you can wait until the turkey reaches a golden brown color before adding a tent of foil.
Where do I put the thermometer in the turkey?
The tip of the thermometer should be placed into the thick part of thigh without touching the bone. Remove the turkey when it reaches 180°F. The breast must reach 170°F and if the turkey is stuffed, check the temperature of the center of the stuffing to make sure it’s cooked to 165°F.
Should I put butter on my turkey?
Don’t butter your bird
Placing butter under the skin won’t make the meat juicier, though it might help the skin brown faster. However, butter is about 17 percent water, and it will make your bird splotchy, says López-Alt. Instead, rub the skin with vegetable oil before you roast.
Do you put salt on a turkey?
We recommend brining or salting a turkey to make it moist and flavorful. Salting turkey in advance is one way to season the meat and keep it juicy. When salt is applied to raw poultry, juices inside are drawn to the surface.
Should turkey have a smell?
Fresh ground turkey doesn’t really have any smell to it. However, once you start cooking it, it can give off a strong turkey smell. And that’s all you’ll get from good meat. But if the meat has gone bad, it can smell sour and sickening.
Do you put water in the bottom of the roasting pan for turkey?
Add water to the roasting pan to keep the turkey from drying out. Grandma always added water to the bottom of the roasting pan, at the start of the cooking. This keeps the bird from drying out.
Do you cut the tail off a turkey before roasting?
The triangular flap of skin on the butt end of a turkey, which is the stub of the tail, should absolutely, definitely be left intact before the bird goes in the oven to roast, concur hounds. This bit roasts up crisp and fatty, and is highly prized by many.
Do turkeys cook faster in oven bag?
Easy Juicy Thanksgiving Turkey
The oven bag takes out a lot of the extra work, no brining, basting and so forth. Plus the turkey cooks faster in an oven bag and clean up is easier! The oven bag locks in flavor and the steam in the bag bastes the turkey as it cooks.
How do I keep my turkey from drying out?
“When roasting the whole bird, the key is to cook the legs longer than the breast,” Tommy says. “Once the breast is cooked, remove the legs and put them back in the oven. This stops the breasts drying out.”
How do you tell if a turkey is done without a thermometer?
To find out if your turkey is done without a thermometer, pierce it with a fork in the mid-thigh muscle, explains Nicole Johnson, the co-director of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. “When the juices run clear, and no longer reddish or pink in color, it’s a good indication that your turkey is done.”
Can I prep turkey night before?
Unwrap your turkey the night before.
Leaving your bird uncovered in the fridge for 8-10 hours before cooking dries out the skin, which will give it that beautifully browned, extra-crispy exterior that we all dream about.
How do you clean a turkey before cooking it?
Rub down the sink, as well as all cutting boards and countertops, with hot water and soap. Then, make sure to sanitize them with a cleaning solution. The USDA says you can make one at home with one tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach and one gallon of water.
Does turkey continue to cook while resting?
Cook your turkey until your thermometer reads 155 -160 degrees. (Yes, we know that new safe cooking guidelines say to cook your bird to 165 degrees (they used to say 180!), but remember that your turkey will continue to cook after removed from the oven and it’s temperature will increase by 10 degrees while resting.