How to cook a turkey by weight

Follow this ultimate guide to produce the best centre piece on the day, prevent a dry turkey and ensure that it’s cooked in a way that eliminates any health risks.

Table of Contents Show

Our Turkey Recipe Cheat-Sheet
How to Safely Thaw a Frozen Turkey
How Long Does a Frozen Turkey Need to Thaw?
What If Your Turkey Is Still Frozen?
Should You Brine Your Turkey?
How (and When!) to Make Turkey Gravy
Last but Not Least: Carve the Turkey
Anyone Can Cook a Turkey (Even You!)
How To Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving
Ingredients
Instructions
Recipe Notes
What to Do With Leftover Turkey
How long do you cook a turkey based on weight?
Is it better to cook a turkey at 325 or 350?
How many hours do you cook a 20 lb turkey?
How many minutes per pound should I cook my turkey at 325 degrees?

Spend as much as you can afford on your turkey, and ensure it's free-range, and you will be rewarded with a flavoursome bird.

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It's best to defrost a frozen turkey in a fridge (at a temperature of 4°C) allowing 8-12hr per kg. If you need, defrost in a cool room (10-15°C) and allow 3-4hr per kg. Before defrosting, remove all the packaging, take out giblets and store seperately. Store turkey, lightly covered, on a deep plate or dish at the base of fridge, whilst it defrosts. Before cooking, make sure there aren't any ice crystals in the birds cavity. Cook within 24hr. Remember never to refreeze defrosted meat.

Timings:
Oven ready weight (at room temp) / Approx defrosting time
2-2.5kg / 20-24hr

3-3.5kg / 24-28hr

4-4.5kg / 32-36hr

5-5.5kg / 40-44hr

6-6.5kg / 48-52hr

7-7.5kg / 56-60hr

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We would recommend not stuffing the cavity as this will prevent hot air circulating and you might end up with uncooked meat. Instead, if you want a stuffed bird, loosely stuff under the skin at the neck end only, using enough stuffing, so as not to break the skin of the neck cavity. Secure the neck skin with skewers or cocktail sticks.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Whether you’re roasting a turkey for the first time, or just need your annual Thanksgiving and holiday-season refresher, this guide will help you through the steps to a perfect turkey: Crispy skin, tender meat, well-seasoned, and so delicious you’ll wonder why you waited a year to eat it again. This is the easiest, simplest way to roast a whole turkey.

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How To Cook A Turkey: The Simplest, Easiest Method

This method will work with any type of turkey: Big or small, brined or not, free-range or otherwise. Cooking times will vary, but the basic technique will be the same. For reference, the turkey in the photos was a pre-brined 16-pound turkey from Williams-Sonoma.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Our Turkey Recipe Cheat-Sheet

How big of a turkey? This method is best for a 12 to 16 pound bird. (Buy 1 to 1 1/2 pounds turkey for each guest.)
How long to cook the turkey? 13 minutes of cooking time for each pound of turkey if roasting empty and 15 minutes per pound if stuffed.
What temperature to cook the turkey? Preheat the oven to 450°F then drop the temperature to 350°F after putting the turkey into the oven.
What temperature should the turkey be? The turkey is done when it registers a minimum of 165° in the thickest part of the thigh.
How long to rest the turkey? Rest the turkey for at least 15 minutes before carving.

How to Safely Thaw a Frozen Turkey

Be sure to let your turkey completely thaw before cooking. The best way is to loosen the wrapping and place the turkey on a baking sheet, then thaw in the refrigerator. This is the safest, most hands-off way to thaw a turkey, but it could take several days depending on the size.

How Long Does a Frozen Turkey Need to Thaw?

How To Safely Thaw a Frozen Turkey

A frozen turkey needs 24 hours thawing time for every five pounds of turkey. For quicker thawing, place the turkey in a cold water bath (it is not safe to thaw a turkey with warm water) and change the water every 30 minutes until it’s thawed — about a half-hour per pound.

What If Your Turkey Is Still Frozen?

If your turkey isn’t completely thawed yet — no worries! You can roast your frozen turkey and it will turn out just fine! If your turkey is still frozen — fully or partially — just follow our instructions for cooking a frozen turkey. You’ll be fine (and your gravy will be even more delicious).

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Should You Brine Your Turkey?

Any turkey will taste better if brined in salt for a day or two before cooking. Brining your turkey is not necessary but it is a good idea. This method has become popular over the last few years and involves immersing the turkey in a salt-water solution or dry-brining in salt for a day or so before cooking.

We Tested 8 Ways to Get Crispy Turkey Skin

The end result is moist, well seasoned white and dark meat and perfectly crispy skin. We’ve had great results with brining and heartily endorse it, although our method here will still work without brining.

How (and When!) to Make Turkey Gravy

After roasting the turkey should rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. This is a perfect time to make gravy. Move the turkey to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. This way you can use all those tasty pan drippings for gravy making. (If you’d rather check things off in advance, it’s definitely possible to make gravy ahead of time, too.) Read these how-tos for more:

How To Make Turkey Gravy for Thanksgiving
How To Make Gluten-Free Gravy
How To Make Gravy Without Turkey Drippings

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Last but Not Least: Carve the Turkey

Relax, carving a turkey is just like carving an extra-large chicken. Make sure you have your serving platter, paper towels, a sharp chef’s knife, and tongs at the ready. Here’s what to do:

Remove the wings first, and then the thighs — pop out the joints that keep these pieces attached to the bird and cut straight through the joint.
When carving the breast meat, slice close to the rib cage with the flat of your knife right up against the rib bones.
Once you have the meat off, you can separate the thighs into thighs and drumsticks, and carve the breast meat into individual slices.

Why Does Turkey Make You Sleepy?

For a good demonstration, watch our cooking school video on carving a chicken.

Anyone Can Cook a Turkey (Even You!)

Are you ready? Let’s cook some turkey! If you get anxious during roasting, just remember that roasting a turkey is just like roasting a large chicken. The same methods and ideas apply. Even if you don’t get fancy with spices or brining or special basting liquids, your turkey will still turn out browned, moist, and flavorful.

Please share your own stories, advice, and recipe suggestions in the comments below!

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412 Ratings

How To Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving

Print Recipe

Here is our super basic, super simple, super easy recipe for roasting a super beautiful turkey.

YieldMakes 1 turkey

Prep time 20 minutes

Cook time 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours

Show Nutrition

alcohol-free
egg-free
kidney-friendly
fish-free
peanut-free
low-potassium
shellfish-free
pork-free
sugar-conscious
gluten-free
tree-nut-free
soy-free
wheat-free
low-sodium
red-meat-free
sulphite-free
low-carb

Per serving, based on 10 servings. (% daily value)

Calories 163
Fat 18.4 g (28.3%)
Saturated 11.7 g (58.3%)
Carbs 0.0 g (0.0%)
Fiber
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 0.2 g (0.4%)
Sodium 4.4 mg (0.2%)

Ingredients

1
whole turkey (12–16 pounds), thawed if frozen
2 cups
low-sodium chicken broth, vegetable broth, water, or other liquid
2 sticks
(1 cup) melted unsalted butter or oil, for basting (optional)

Equipment

Roasting pan (or an alternative roasting dish)
Roasting rack (or something to lift the turkey off the pan)
Turkey baster, brush, or ladle (optional, if basting)

Instructions

Prepare the turkey for roasting. Thirty minutes to an hour before roasting, take the turkey out of the refrigerator. Remove any packaging and the bag of giblets (check in the body cavity and in the neck cavity). Set the turkey breast-side up on the roasting rack set in a roasting pan and let it sit while the oven preheats. This takes the chill off the meat, which helps the meat cook faster and more evenly. It also gives the skin time to dry out, which promotes browning and crisping. (Note: Your turkey will likely still feel cool to the touch after sitting at room temperature — that's fine and you can continue on with roasting.)
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Position an oven rack in the bottom third of your oven, remove any racks above it, and heat the oven to 450°F. If you brined your turkey, as we did, no need to do anything now. If your turkey is straight out of the package, rub it with some salt and pepper before putting it in the oven. We recommend leaving your turkey un-stuffed and un-trussed, both because it's easier and because the turkey will cook more evenly.
Add liquid to the roasting pan. When ready to roast, pour the broth or water into the roasting pan.
Place the turkey in the oven and turn down the heat. Place the turkey in the oven and turn down the heat to 350°F. We recommend roasting turkeys breast-side up. Some people like starting the turkey breast-side down to shield the breast meat, but the idea of flipping a hot, sputtering turkey is not our idea of a good time. Instead, we prefer to simply shield the breast meat with aluminum foil toward the end of cooking if it starts getting too browned.
Roast the turkey. 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. Plan on the 13-minute-per-pound rule, but start checking the temperature of your turkey about halfway through the scheduled cooking time to gauge how fast it's cooking.
Baste the turkey every 45 minutes. Every 45 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven, close the oven door (don't let that heat out!), and baste the turkey all over. To baste, tilt the pan if needed and use a turkey baster or spoon to scoop up the pan liquids and drizzle them on top of the turkey. Basting with pan juices cools the surface of the turkey and slows down cooking, which in turn keeps the breast meat cooking at close to the same rate as the legs and thighs. In the last 45 minutes or so of cooking, you can also baste the turkey with melted butter or oil. This helps crisp up the skin and turn it a beautiful deep golden brown.
Check the turkey's temperature. Begin checking the turkey's temperature about halfway through the estimated cooking time. Check the temperature in three places: the breast, outer thigh, and inside thigh. In every case, the meat should be at least 165°F when the turkey has finished cooking. If any place is under that temperature, put the turkey back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Shield the breast meat with foil if needed to keep it from overcooking.
Rest the turkey before carving. Remove the turkey from the oven. Grab one side of the roasting rack with an oven mitt and tilt the whole pan so the liquids inside the turkey cavity run out into the pan. (These juices are used to make the gravy.) Then, lift the whole turkey (still on the rack) and transfer it to a clean cutting board. Tent the turkey loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This gives time for the meat to firm up and the juices to be re-absorbed into the muscle tissue, making the turkey easier to slice and taste juicier.
Carve the turkey. Carve the turkey the same way you would carve a chicken; see the video above for a walk-through of the process. Remove the wings first, then the thighs, then the breast meat. Once you have the meat off, you can separate the thighs into thighs and drumsticks and carve the breast meat into individual slices.
Don't forget about the leftovers. One final note! Once you've sat down at the table, don't forget about the turkey back on the counter. The leftover meat needs to be refrigerated within two hours of cooking, after which the risk of something nasty taking up residence starts to increase exponentially. Be safe!

Recipe Notes

Ways to Add Flavor to Your Turkey: Rub your turkey with butter or oil for a richer flavor and browner skin, rub minced herbs or ground spices into (or beneath) the skin for more flavor, place a few halved lemons or garlic cloves inside the cavity of the turkey.

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Nutritional information is based on a 15-pound turkey basted with 1 cup of butter.

What to Do With Leftover Turkey

Leftover turkey is truly the gift that keeps on giving. From sandwiches to soups to salads, there are endless ways to enjoy it in the days after Thanksgiving. Here are a few of our favorite ideas:

How long do you cook a turkey based on weight?

How Long to Roast a Turkey:.

4 to 8 pounds (breast only): 1 1/2 to 3 1/4 hours..

8 to 12 pounds: 2 3/4 to 3 hours..

12 to 14 pounds: 3 to 3 3/4 hours..

14 to 18 pounds: 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours..

18 to 20 pounds: 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hours..

20 to 24 pounds: 4 1/2 to 5 hours..

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

You can use either of these temperatures when cooking a turkey. 325 degrees will yield more tender meat, while 350 degrees makes the turkey cook more quickly while imbuing it with a richer taste.

How many hours do you cook a 20 lb turkey?

For example, a 20 pound turkey will take 4 1/4 to 5 hours to cook, check the temperature on the thermometer after 4 1/4 hours. 4.

How many minutes per pound should I cook my turkey at 325 degrees?

Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the bird between the breast and part of the thigh (being sure not to hit bone). It's done when the thermometer just reaches 165ºF. In general, you should plan to cook a turkey for around 15-20 minutes per pound of turkey at 325ºF to get to that temp.