Safely Cooking a Turkey For Any Occasion

Once you have thawed out your turkey, you are ready to begin cooking it. One problem that many people run into when they are trying to cook a turkey is how to safely cook the turkey. Many turkeys come with pop up timers already inserted into the turkey, but the truth is you cannot rely on those timers because many times they do not work. The main thing to cooking a turkey is to ensure that it is cooked for the proper length of time, which can be affected by many different variables, including the size of the turkey and the type of roasting pan that you are using.

The first thing that you need to do to safely cook your turkey is to make sure that the oven is at the correct temperature. You will want to set the oven temperature to at least 325 degrees, you do not want to go any lower than that because, and then the turkey will not cook thoroughly. To find the recommended temperature you can look on the turkey packaging, but most turkeys recommend 325 degrees.

The next thing that you will need to do is place the thawed turkey on a flat wire rack inside of a shallow roasting pan. The roasting pan should be about 2 to 2.5 inches deep, and the turkey will need to be placed breast up. Once you have the turkey in place you can tuck the wing tips under the shoulders, this prevents the wing tips from being caught on the oven. You can also place a tent of foil over the turkey to prevent the turkey from browning too quickly; you will take it off after about 1 1.2 hours of cooking to allow the turkey to brown properly.

The third step is to place the turkey in the oven, which does not have to be preheated, How long you have to cook the turkey for is going to vary based on how big the turkey is, but even after cooking it for so many hours it still might not be done. To ensure that the turkey is cooked thoroughly you will want to check the turkey with a food thermometer after the minimum cooking time has gone by. The turkey should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees; you will need to check the thickest section of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh to ensure it has been cooked thoroughly.

Once the turkey has reached, 165 degrees remove it from the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes. Once it has sat for 20 minutes you can begin carving it.

By: Ray Hanley

About the Author:
Ray Hanley is an author and publisher. Please visit our web site at http://www.CuisinartHandMixer.org which helps people find the best Cuisinart Hand Mixer for the kitchen.