Cooking A Frozen Turkey
No muss, no fuss. Unwrap, roast, tent, carve. The meat is so moist this is a great method for cooking your turkey in advance.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 128kcal
Equipment
- 1 low sided roasted pan preferred
- 1 roasting rack preferred
- 1 Instant read thermometer strongly suggested
Ingredients
- 13 1lb turkey refer to the chart in the notes for roasting time on other sizes.
- Fig, Balsamic, Orange Glaze or basting/glaze of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 ℉.
- Place a rack in or on a low sided roasting pan.
- Remove the turkey from the freezer. Cut the wrapper off. Do no attempt to season the turkey at this point.-Don't worry about the gizzards inside. The paper is food safe and will not affect your cooking. -If your turkey is pre-stuffed there is no action required at this point but refer to the temperature chart in the Notes for doneness.
- Position the turkey on the rack in or over the roasting pan such that all the juices will be caught in the pan. (See Note 1 if you have to use a more traditional roasting pan with deep sides.)
- Allow the turkey to roast undisturbed for 2 ½ hours. The turkey should be starting to brown lightly. Check the breast meat temperature. It should be around the 100 degree mark. This will give you and idea if your bird is cooking toward the low or high end of the estimated time.
- Optional: You may choose to tip the bird and allow the cavity juices to drain out. You may also choose to remove the giblet packet at this point. Neither are necessary. You may also choose to season the bird's skin at this point.
- Check the breast and thigh temperature 30 minutes before the lowest suggested cooking time. You may choose to lightly cover the bird with foil if it is browning too much. If you are using a Glaze plan to baste the turkey with it a couple of times from here on in. Check the internal temperatures every 20 minutes from here on until the breast reaches 160℉ and thighs reach 180℉. If your bird was a stuffed one, the stuffing should read 165℉. Insert thermometer deep in to the cavity to get a proper read. See Note 2.
- When the turkey has reached the correct temperatures, remove from the oven. Tilt the bird in the roasting pan to drain all cavity juices. Remove giblet packet with a fork or tongs if you haven't already. Transfer the bird to a platter and tent loosely with foil. Allow the turkey to rest 30 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.
- You can use the pan juices to start making gravy while the bird rests. See Note 3 for Gravy suggestion.
- Tilt the turkey when the tenting period is done to drain any other juices that may accumulated.Carve and plate the turkey or transfer it to a serving platter if carving at the table.
Notes
Cook Time For Frozen Turkey
Note times are estimated and internal temperature should be checked.
Breast should reach 160 degrees F and thighs should reach 180 degrees F before tenting. Stuffing should reach 165 degrees measured deep in the cavity.
Weight Time
8-12 lbs 4 - 41/2 hours
12-14 lbs 4.½- 5 ¾ hours
14-18 lbs 5 ¾ - 6 ¼ hours
18-20 lbs 6 ¼ - 6 ¾ hours
20 -24 lbs 6 ¾ - 7 ½ hours
Note 1- If you have to use a more traditional deep-sided roasting pan you will need a rack to keep the turkey off the bottom of the pan. Cover the Turkey/roaster with foil for the first 2 ½ hours of cooking. Remove the foil and rotate the pan front to back. Continue roasting according to the chart and check for internal meat temperature.
Note 2 - If you are afraid of overcooking your turkey, some experts say you can remove it when the breast reads 157 and thighs read 175 degrees %F. Some research has shown after standing 1 minute at these temperatures it is just as safe as the higher recommended temperatures. For more information refer to Thermoblogs' post on Turkey Temperatures and Doneness.
Note 3: You can follow these fun Gravy instructions using 3 cups of pan juices or pan juices and commercial broth to make up 3 cups.
Nutrition
Calories: 128kcal | Protein: 20g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 203mg | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg