Thawing a Frozen Turkey
- Remove the turkey from the freezer
- Put it in the refrigerator.
- Temperature in a working refrigerator should be in the 30's F
- Allow time for thawing = 5 hours per pound
- Remove turkey from refrigerator and let set at room temperature (about 70 degrees) for at least 2 hours before cooking.
- NOTE: You can remove it from the package, remove the neck and giblets and season at any time but be sure to cover the turkey if this is done before the 2 hours is complete.
Cooking times below assume the turkey is completely thawed, dried, seasoned, etc.
Home Convection Oven
- calculate total cooking time = 9 minutes per pound
- preheat to 400 degrees F - first 20 minutes
- reduce to 350 degrees F - cook for the rest of time you calculated
- measure internal temperature with instant read thermometer
- remove when it reaches 155 degrees F measured at the center of the meat masses (breast, thigh)
- let set for 20 minutes
- during that time, sometime, the internal temperature will rise 10 degrees F reaching the USDA suggested temperature of 165 degrees F for safe cooking of poultry.
- if you doubt it has reached this safe temperature, measure it while setting OR don't remove it until it reaches 165 degrees F.
WARNING: This is a "recipe" and does not suggest you should avoid generally suggest safety rules for dealing with poultry. Don't let it get warm for too long. Don't undercook it and eat it. I suggest you Google "poultry cooking safety tips" for more indepth info on the subject.
