How to Cook a Turkey
We are right here with a detailed guide to preparing perfect roast turkey, starting with which turkey to buy and ending with the best way to store leftovers.
Turkey Cheat Sheet
- How Much Meat Per Person? 1 to 1 1/2 pounds turkey per person
- How Long Does It Take to Thaw a Turkey? 24 hours per every 5 pounds
- How Much Salt Goes In Brine? 3/4 cup kosher salt for every gallon of water needed to cover the bird
- How Long to Brine a Turkey? 8-plus hours in the refrigerator
- How Long to Roast a Turkey? 20 minutes per pound
- At What Temperature Is Turkey Cooked? The thigh meat and stuffing (if used) should register 165 degrees F
- How Long to Rest a Turkey? 30 minutes before carving
Which Turkey Should You Buy?
- Size: Smaller birds – under ten pounds – tend to be more tender than larger ones, and they also cook more evenly. If you are feeding a big crowd, it’s better to cook two smaller birds than one large one.
- Fresh or frozen: According to the National Turkey Federation, “There is no quality difference between a fresh and frozen turkey.” It all comes down to whether or not you have time to thaw the bird.
- Basted or Self-Basting: These birds are injected or marinated with a solution of fat, stock and spices, which increases the moisture in the meat but also can mask the natural flavor of the bird. You don’t need to brine these birds.
- Free-Range/Free Roaming/Cage Free: Because these birds have access to outdoor space and can move around, they develop some muscle, leading to more robustly flavored and complex-tasting meat.
- Kosher: These birds have been killed according to Jewish dietary laws, salted from the inside out, soaked and washed. The salt pulls out moisture from the meat, making for denser meat and full flavor. These birds are often more expensive than non-kosher turkeys and don’t need to be brined.
- Natural: This simply means that the meat hasn’t come into contact with artificial or synthetic ingredients.
- Organic: Although these birds are more expensive than others, many regard them as having the fullest flavor. That’s because they’re raised without chemicals, antibiotics, roughage fillers, chemical fertilizers and pesticides – and they’re free range.
How to Thaw a Turkey
What to Do If Your Turkey Is Still Frozen
How to Brine a Turkey
Wet Brining
- Add the brining mixture – 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per quart of liquid – to a pot or container that’s large enough to hold the brine and the turkey. Flavor the brine with 1 to 2 cups of juice, beer or spirits, if desired. You can also add herbs and spices.
- Submerge the turkey and transfer the container to the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse it inside and out with cold water and pat it dry. At this point, you can let the turkey rest uncovered in the fridge for up to 1 day so the skin dries out and becomes crispier in the oven.

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Dry Brining
- Dry off the turkey with paper towels.
- Make a seasoning blend: ¾ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon baking powder per pound of turkey (the baking powder helps crisp the skin), plus your favorite herbs and spices.
- Rub the blend all over the whole bird.
- Refrigerate the uncovered bird on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan for 24 to 72 hours; pat the bird dry before roasting.

Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
How to Prep a Turkey
How to Tuck Turkey Wings
How to Truss a Turkey

Matt Armendariz, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
How to Season a Turkey
How to Cook a Turkey
- Preheat the oven. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Stuff the turkey if you wish. Fill the cavity loosely with stuffing – ½ to ¾ cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
- Tent the seasoned bird with foil. If you followed the steps above in our section on how to prep a turkey, at this point your bird will be dried off, trussed, seasoned, brushed with oil and resting in its roasting pan. All you have to do now is put a layer of foil over the top of the roasting pan, which will shield the turkey from burning.
- Roast the turkey for 2 hours. Resist the urge to peak, and if possible, roast the turkey all on its own without other sides in the oven.
- Remove the foil and baste the bird. Brush the turkey all over again with olive oil or butter. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Increasing the temperature during the last bit of cooking time will make for extra crispy turkey skin.
- Cook until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. This will be for about 45 more minutes (2 hours 45 minutes total) for an 8 to 10 pound turkey. If you stuffed your bird, you’ll need to add a bit more time on because stuffing makes the bird cook more slowly. Make sure the stuffing reaches a temperature of 165 degrees F in the deepest part.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Leave it tented with foil as it rests. If there’s stuffing inside, leave it in the bird while it rests.
How Long Should You Cook a Turkey?

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Where to Put a Thermometer In a Turkey
How to Make Turkey Gravy
- Pour the turkey pan drippings into a fat separator or measuring cup. If you’re not making the gravy in the roasting pan, you’ll want to deglaze the pan with some warm stock and rub up all the caramelized bits on the bottom. Pour this through the fat separator too.
- Spoon off the fat collected on top.
- Create a roux. Add turkey fat or butter to the roasting pan or saucepan. Then sprinkle flour over it in a 1:1 ratio of fat to flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is light brown and fragrant.
- Gradually whisk in hot stock. If you’re cooking in the roasting pan, rub the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to collect all the tasty caramelized bits on the bottom.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to low.
- Add the roasting juices from the fat separator.
- Simmer, whisking occasionally, until the gravy thickens. The gravy should coat the back of a spoon.
- Season the gravy and stir in other flavorings. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a splash of brandy or fresh herbs like thyme.
- Strain the gravy. This will get rid of any last bits of fat.

How to Carve a Turkey
- Place the turkey on a cutting board, breast-side up.
- Remove the legs. Slice through the skin between the leg and body on one side; pull the leg away from the body, then cut through the joint to remove the leg. Repeat with the other leg.
- Separate the drumsticks from the thighs. Locate the joint in the middle of each leg and cut through it.
- Pull each wing away from the body and cut through the joint to remove.
- Remove the breast meat. Slice downward along the breastbone, following the curve of the ribs on each side.
- Place each breast on the board skin-side up and slice.
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