How to Cook a Turkey FAST: 90 minute turkey recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to cook a turkey low and slow or hot and fast? ›

While higher temperatures will cook a turkey faster, they'll also increase the chances that your bird will singe or even burn on the outside before the inside is cooked through. This isn't a weeknight meal that you should be rushing through; low and slow is the way to go.

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.

The most straightforward approach is to roast an unstuffed turkey, breast-side up, for 13 minutes per pound of turkey at 350°. That works out to approximately 3 hours for a 12- to 14-pound bird (a 12-pound turkey is pretty standard).

I tried the spatchco*ck method of roasting a turkey and it cut the cooking time down to 75 minutes. Spatchco*cking involves cutting out the backbone and roasting the bird flat. The turkey was delicious, beautiful, easier to carve, and not that hard to make.

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.

Place roast, skin side up, on a flat roasting rack in 2-inch deep roasting pan. Do not add water to pan. Roast uncovered according to Cooking Schedule or until meat thermometer in center of breast roast reaches 170° F and in center of turkey roast reaches 175° F.

What Temperature to Cook the Turkey? Cook your turkey at 325 degrees F for most of the cook time; in the final 45 minutes, remove the cover or foil tent from the turkey, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and baste the bird with butter. The initial lower oven temperature cooks the turkey through evenly.

While the best temperature to cook a turkey is always 325°F, how much time your bird will need in the oven will depend on its weight. An unstuffed 8-pound turkey can take less than 3 hours, while a stuffed 24-pound turkey can take over 5 hours.

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.

A 20 pound turkey will take between 4 to 4 1/2 hours to come to temperature if your oven is 325°F. Here are some other cook times if your bird weighs differently: 10-12 pounds: cook 2 3/4 to 3 hours at 325°F. 15-16 pounds: cook 3 1/2 to 4 hours at 325°F.

How many minutes per pound to cook a turkey at what temperature? ›

As a general rule of thumb, plan on about 20 minutes of cooking time per pound of turkey. An 8- to 12-pound unstuffed turkey typically takes 2 3/4 to 3 hours to roast in a 325 degrees F oven.

However, a general guideline for roasting an unstuffed turkey at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) is approximately 20 minutes per pound.

Slow cooking turkey GUARANTEES juicy and succulent meat!

I find it is best to start the turkey at a fairly high temperature (400°F), roast for about twenty minutes and then lower the heat to 350°F for the remainder of the cooking time. Sometimes I forget to lower the oven, though, and the turkey still comes out fine, just perhaps a little darker than I would like!

It is not safe to cook any meat or poultry in an oven set lower than 325 °F. At lower temperatures, meat stays in the Danger Zone (between 40 °F and 140°F for too long.

The bigger the bird, the lower the temperature you should cook it (and for a longer time), Guillard says. "You want to make sure it's (cooked) throughout without getting too brown on the outside," he says. For example, if he had a 20 pound turkey, Guillard says he would cook it at around 300 degrees.