Turkey cooking times are the most Googled food question every November. Here's the definitive guide: roasting times by weight, safe internal temperatures, and how to keep it from drying out.
Undercooked turkey is a food safety risk. Overcooked turkey is a dry, flavourless disappointment. Getting this right requires knowing the correct cooking time and, more importantly, the correct internal temperature.
Cooking times are guides; temperature is the truth. The only reliable way to know your turkey is cooked safely is a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone.
Stuffed turkey: Add 30–45 minutes to the above times. The stuffing also needs to reach 74°C.
A turkey crown (breast only, no legs or wings) cooks significantly faster than a whole bird of the same weight because the dense leg meat is the slowest part to reach temperature.
Brine it. A wet brine (salt dissolved in water, submerge the turkey overnight) or dry brine (rub salt all over and refrigerate uncovered overnight) significantly improves moisture retention. The salt changes the protein structure of the muscle fibres, reducing moisture loss during cooking by 15–20%.
Don't overcook the breast. The breast dries out faster than the thigh. Some cooks start the bird breast-down for the first hour, then flip. Others shield the breast with foil for the last 45 minutes.
Rest properly. Resting is non-negotiable. Juices redistribute as the turkey rests — cutting into it immediately after the oven means those juices run out onto the board. Cover loosely with foil and a clean towel, and rest for the times shown in the table above.
Let the thermometer be your guide. Remove from the oven at 71–72°C — it will reach 74°C+ during the rest period (carryover cooking).
A frozen turkey must be fully defrosted before cooking. In the fridge (the only safe method):
Plan ahead — this is the step most people forget until Christmas Eve.