Turkey roasting time?
 

I bought a Butterball turkey and read the instructions on the package which said to roast my unstuffed turkey at 325 degrees for 3 1/2 hours. That didn't seem long enough for me, so I checked on the Butterball web site and one of my newer cookbooks and it said the same thing. I have checked my oven with an oven thermometer, so I know it is the correct temp.

So I decided to up the temp to 350 and roast it for 4 hours. When I took it out the juices ran pink instead of clear. So today I was checking online and in an old Fanny Farmer cookbook and found that the recommended roasting time for a turkey the size I bought was 4 1/2 to 5 hours!

I can't understand why Butterball recommends a shorter time - unless they think the entire country have replaced their traditional ovens with convection ovens! Hope no one else had this problem on Thanksgiving day - it made dinner a bit later than planned.

Why don't you call the Butterball Hotline and ask them your question?
... and let us know what you find out.

Did you stuff your turkey?

What size was your turkey??

I'm guessing with the stated time of 3.5 hours your turkey was between 13 and 15 lbs. Cooking time for an un-stuffed turkey is *roughly* 15 minutes/lb. It can be slightly less if you use a closed roaster.

I brown my turkey first at 500, then cook in a covered roaster at 325 for the remainder of the time. My cooking time is slightly reduced. (This year I cooked a 13 lb Turkey in about 2 3/4 hours total).

I always bast my breast and cover it with foil and cook the turkey until the joints move freely. If you grasp the end of the drumstick and the whole hips joint moves freely you know the turkey is just about ready to fall off the bones. I go for about 20 minutes per lb. and if the turkey is a little dry, that is what gravy is for.:D

Yes ... we were kind of left in the dark about the size of the bird, weren't we!? :)

DHMom ... Your times make total sense to my general rules of thumb for timing too!



Tartan ... me too! shake hands with that bird and you find out if it's done!

I roast mine at 425 degrees for 25 min. Then turn oven down to 250 degrees...continue roast for 20 min for each pound. Turns out perfect every time. Idea of first 25 mins is to seal in the juices.

I had a 14.5 lb. Butterball and roasted it for 3.5 hrs. as directed. It was perfectly done, juicy and very succulent. Maybe there's a fluctuation in the oven or the bird still had areas of frost in it? There's nothing fancy about my oven but I know the 325 temp runs true.

Was it completely thawed? That can make a HUGE difference in cooking time.

I learned to cook and bake when very little, but the proper procedures I really learned while in Home Ec in High School. One of the most important things the teacher said we had to remember, was to use a meat thermometer. Always. Meat has to reach a certain temp to be safely done. As an example, turkey breast meat can look 'pink' instead of white like we expect it to be, as long as the internal temp is 165-180 degrees. Several years ago we had a Butterball that appeared pinkish in color, but the temp was 170. My DH refused to go near the bird to carve it. He saw pink juices also. We do buy a whole turkey and spend more on breast meat just for him because of this. The bone marrow can cause pink juices near the bones, as well as the bird not completely thawed in the center, but thawed during the cooking process. As long as the center of the breast is 180 and overall temp is 170, the bird is done. I personally don't trust any little blue plastic thing poking out of the bird telling me it is done. A working meat thermometer tells me when to take it out of the oven and let it rest for 30 min.
Here is a link with a lot of good info:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets/...Safe/index.asp

Mine was 22.5lbs and was put in a Reynolds turkey bag at 350* for 3 1/2 hours. Perfect as always.