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How to Roast a Turkey

By eHow Food & Drink Editor

Roast a Turkey

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Roasting a turkey isn't as hard as it sounds. Here's a basic recipe to get you started. In this case, the turkey is not stuffed, so you might want to prepare a stuffing on the side. Serves six.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

12- to 14-lb. turkey, thawed if purchased frozen
olive (not virgin) oil for brushing
salt and pepper
stuffing (see related eHows)

Step1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Step2

Remove turkey from its wrapping and remove neck and giblets from inside the cavity. Set aside to make gravy later (see Related eHows).

Step3

Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.

Step4

Put oven rack on lowest level of oven.

Step5

Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.

Step6

Rub the outside of the turkey with olive oil.

Step7

Salt and pepper the turkey's body and cavity.

Step8

Roast turkey about 3 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 to 180 degrees F.

Tips & Warnings

In general, a turkey should be roasted 10 to 12 minutes per pound if it is not stuffed and 12 to 15 minutes per pound if it is stuffed.
In general, you shouldn't cover a roasting turkey (or any roasting meat); you want the skin to get a nice, deep brown all over, and you don't want it to steam in its own juices. However, if the turkey begins to brown too quickly, well before it's likely to be done, you can cover the brown parts loosely with aluminum foil. (This is likely to happen with larger birds.) Try to cover as little of the turkey as possible so you don't create steam.
Be sure to check out other eHow turkey recipes - search the site for "turkey."

Comments

KittyJ said

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on 11/21/2007 Cooking until the temp registers 175 to 180 will result in a dried out bird. You should cook until it reaches 165, remove from the oven, and tent with foil for a half hour. The internal temp will rise to 175, and the bird will be perfect.

Lung said

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on 11/16/2007 I like to use butter instead of olive oil for more flavor!

tmayac2001 said

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on 11/14/2007 If you put a couple a bacon strips right on the top of the breast it will be moist.

Anonymous said

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on 1/4/2006 For any size (up to 23 pounds) stuffed or not:

Clean and dry the turkey, stuff if desired. Butter inside of brown paper bag from store with 1 stick of butter. Put turkey in the bag then into a shallow pan (I use a broiler pan without the rack) and close bag (I staple it closed). Cook at 500 degrees for one hour, 400 for the next hour, 300 for the last hour. The bag will be charred, but will not catch fire as long as it does not touch the sides of the oven. Don't peek! After the 3 hours remove from oven, take the bag off and let the turkey sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Get your camera out to take picture of the best looking turkey ever! It not only looks good, it taste great. I get calls every year to remind friends and family how to do the 3 hour turkey.

Anonymous said

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on 12/30/2005 If you roast it in foil on a rack, you won't have to baste it! Then, to brown it, just take off the foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking and brown it. To avoid it boiling, you'll want to poke a couple of holes in the bottom of the foil so the excess liquids drain out.

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