Tips on Cooking Stuffed Turkey

Tips for cooking stuffed turkey will help you create the most successful dish.

Stuffed turkey is traditionally served on the Thanksgiving holiday, but you can enjoy it year-round. Turkey stuffing is prepared by filling the bird's body and neck cavities with a combination of herbs, spices, rice, fruit, potatoes, bread, nuts, vegetables and other ingredients prior to roasting it in the oven. Familiarizing yourself with tips for cooking stuffed turkey will help you create the most successful and flavorful dish. Does this Spark an idea?

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Preparing the Stuffing
- Prepare your stuffing immediately before it goes inside the turkey. Avoid uncooked and raw ingredients. Cook all food separately before adding it to the stuffing mixture and then cook the turkey as soon as possible. Cooking your stuffing the day before and then chilling it in the refrigerator increases the risk of bacterial contamination.
Stuffing the Turkey
- If you're using a frozen turkey, make sure it's fully thawed before stuffing, recommends Good Housekeeping.com. Remove the turkey's giblets and neck. Use 1/2 to 1 cup of stuffing for each pound of turkey. Pack the stuffing loosely inside the neck and body cavities, since it will expand during cooking. Tie the ends of the turkey drumsticks together with string, which will help the stuffing remain in the body cavity during cooking. To keep the stuffing inside the turkey's neck cavity, use toothpicks to hold in place the excess neck skin over the opening.
Cooking
- Cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil. Place the stuffed turkey in a preheated oven set to at least 350 degrees. Roast the turkey with the breast side down for the first hour of cooking. Remove the foil after 1 to 1 1/2 hours of cooking to brown the turkey's skin. Cooking times will vary depending on if your turkey was bought frozen or fresh. Cook 10 to 15 minutes per pound for a fresh turkey and 20 minutes per pound for a defrosted turkey, recommends FoodNetwork.com. Stick a meat thermometer into the deepest spot on the turkey between the breast and the leg to check if the turkey is done. Remove the turkey from the oven when the meat thermometer reads 180 degrees and the internal temperature of the stuffing is at least 165 degrees.

Photo Credit Roasted Turkey image by William Berry from Fotolia.com

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