Cook this one only if you want to be responsible for the turkey forevermore.
Everyone tells you to uncover the turkey during the last half of the cooking. This makes for the dry turkey everyone has grown up with.
I‘ve even come up against a cooked in the bag turkey, at the same dinner. This turkey won hands down.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Clean turkey inside and out.
Prepare stuffing.
Melt 2 sticks of butter.
Loosely stuff bird. Do not pack. Stuffing expands.
(I only put half the stuffing in the turkey. I put the rest aside. When the stuffing comes out of the turkey, I mix the two. Then its not too dry, or too mushy.)
Place Turkey in pan. Turkey lifters are a great things to have.
I always just tuck the legs under that flap of skin.
Place meat thermometer in thickest part of thigh muscle- Not touching a bone.
Brush bird with melted butter coating every part well.
Lightly sprinkle the turkey with garlic powder.
Turn oven down to 325.
Put the turkey in the oven uncovered and forget about it for at least ½ hour. Check and baste with juices from pan every half hour until bird is nicely golden brown.
Cover completely with foil. Continue cooking until bird should be about done. I turn the pan after about an hour.
Turkey cooks at about 15 to 20 minutes per pound depending on your oven. Mine is more like 20 minutes.
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Side Note-
So if you are cooking a 20 lb. bird, at 20 min. per pound – it would take 400 minutes, or 6 hours and 40 minutes. The turkey will be nicely browned at 3½ to 4 hours. So from the time you cover the turkey, you will have about 3 hours to do other things.
If you plan to eat at 3, and you are cooking a 20 lb. Bird- It will need to be in the oven by 8 AM.
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Check meat thermometer. When done, it should register 165 degrees. Stuffing should also register 165 degrees. If not done, baste and put back for another 15 – 20 minutes.
If done, take the bird out of the oven and let it sit for 15 – 20 minutes before trying to carve. Any earlier and you will just shred it. Get the other items in the oven in the meantime.
I really try to delegate the carving!
And have a really good knife on hand for best results.
Next steps – How to get a turkey dinner for 12 on the table