Help with cooking turkey

[MOMTOCUTESTDOGEVER]

Whenever I have cooked a turkey in the past, I have followed the directions and took the temperature of the turkey before serving it. The temperature is where it is supposed to be for serving, but when I put it on the platter and the juices start running, there is obviously blood in them.

How do you cook your 22-24 pound turkey, in the oven? I'm obviously not cooking it enough, but I am following the directions.

 

[We_Love_Disney]

Did you let the turkey rest long enough? After you take it out of the oven you should let the turkey sit for about 20 minutes before you carve it.

A little bit of pink in the juices is fine, it does not mean your turkey is undercooked.

There are hundreds of sites online that can give you hints, directions, and advise on cooking your turkey. I suggest reading through a few and then deciding what is going to work best for you.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'd reccommend investing in a meat thermometer. I never really had any problems cooking my turkey through without one, but I'd pull it out every few hours and cut into the thing to check on it too. DH bought me a good digital meat thermometer (also works well for candy, I'm told. I spent a LONG time learning how to tell what the various stages were for icings and candies using a cup of water and my fingers, so there's no way I'll use it.) so I just stick that thing in the coldest, deepest part of my bird and shove it in the oven and then just have to look at the temperature.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Whenever I have cooked a turkey in the past, I have followed the directions and took the temperature of the turkey before serving it. The temperature is where it is supposed to be for serving, but when I put it on the platter and the juices start running, there is obviously blood in them.

How do you cook your 22-24 pound turkey, in the oven? I'm obviously not cooking it enough, but I am following the directions.

Firstly you need to get an meat thermometer. They make digital and reg. ones. This is placed in the raw turkey in a certain spot and stays in place while cooking the entire time.

Here is the Butterball site to explain how/where to do that.

http://www.butterball.com/tips-how-tos/how-tos/know-when-your-turkey-is-done

Secondly, you need to make sure your turkey is thawed completely. If it is frozen at all it will cook unevenly.
A thawed turkey can sit for 4 days in your fridge.

Stuffing the turkey also changes the time that the turkey is done. Place a meat thermometer in the center of the stuffing and done is listed as 165 in the center of the stuffing. See Butterball site.

Thirdly, get an oven thermometer and place in your oven. This will tell you if your turkey is cooking at an even temp and correct with the temp.

Fourth....what else are you cooking in the oven along with the turkey? Constant opening of the door and cooking other things like stuffing, rolls, etc....will mess up cooking times as well. It will cook unevenly.

Fifth, they just don't "clean out" poultry like they used to. I have run into blood in the center cavity with chicken and turkey with fresh birds a lot. Not sure what is up with that. Never seem to have an issue with a frozen bird like that.

 

[RitaZ.]

Like others said, buy a meat thermometer. Insert it in the deepest part of the turkey. Make sure that the thermometer isn't touching bone and that it remains in the turkey while it's cooking.

I use Reynolds cooking bags to make my turkey. I wouldn't use any other method. The turkey always comes out perfect! I use a combination of tips from Butterball and Reynolds (the cooking bags) to prepare the turkey. Once it's in the oven, I only check the temp on the thermometer toward the end of the recommended cooking time. That's it.

 

[C.Ann]

When my late DH was still working, the Butterball turkey guy gave him about 200 turkey pop-up timers (each one sealed in a plastic bag) and I have used one every single time I cook a turkey for years and years.. I'm not sure if you can buy them or not, but the ones I have are very, very accurate..

Good luck with your turkey..

 

[ontariomonkey]

Definitely get the meat thermometer. Takes out the guess work. Ours is wireless so we can bring it outside or down to the basement if we're hanging out and still know what is going on with the bird.

BTW food safety websites I have read say not to trust those pop-up thingies.

 

[donaldduck352]

I'm totally converted to deep frying turkey..