smoking a turkey<\/a> for a while. Fortunately, there is a quick and easy way to thaw the turkey and save valuable time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPut the ice-covered turkey in a large pot or pail of cold water and submerge it. For best results, Ensure the cold water is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit<\/strong>. With this temperature, the turkey should thaw at around 30 minutes per turkey pound<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo, if the turkey weighs 10 pounds<\/strong>, it will thaw entirely in about five hours<\/strong>. So, ensure that you time the defrosting process correctly so you don’t keep your hungry guests waiting for long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Turkey Isn’t Cooking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Another problem you might face is the fact that the turkey doesn’t cook. First, try to wrap the turkey in foil, place it in a roasting pan and increase the heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider raising the oven temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit<\/strong>. Then, continue cooking for 2 minutes per pound until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit<\/strong>. Remember to test the turkey after it’s finished cooking to ensure all parts are done. Then, you can serve the food and enjoy all your hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. Turkey Isn’t Cooked Evenly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n If you notice some parts of the meat aren’t entirely done, you can carve the cooked parts and place the undercooked meat back in the oven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternatively, you can slowly boil the raw turkey parts in a pot of turkey stock. Remember to check the turkey’s temperature to ensure it’s just right before you serve. You can wrap the cooked parts in foil so the meat stays warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Dry Turkey<\/h3>\n\n\n\n If the turkey tastes dry, you’re probably guilty of overcooking the bird. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways you can moisten the bird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, pour heated broth over a platter of sliced turkey to give it a moist look and flavor. Ensure you don’t go overboard. You don’t want your precious meat swimming in a large amount of broth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, you can spritz the meat with warm turkey or chicken broth\/juices as you carve it. This technique will add more moisture to the bird and prevent further drying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only does dry turkey lack moisture, but it also lacks fat. So, whisking some butter into the gravy and drizzling it on top of the bird can replace the lost turkey fat and make it taste juicier. Afterward, it’s dinnertime!<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat is the Ideal Cooking Time for Turkey?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The perfect cook time for turkey isn’t straightforward. The answer depends on the cooking temperature, the bird’s weight, and the presence or absence of stuffing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ideally, the turkey should cook at a rate of roughly 13 minutes per turkey pound <\/strong>when the smoker or oven is preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit<\/strong>. For instance, if the turkey weighs 20 pounds, you’ll need to cook the turkey for 260 minutes<\/strong> which is 4 hours<\/strong> and 20 minutes<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIf the bird is stuffed, cook it for 15 minutes per pound<\/strong>. So, a stuffed 20-pound turkey<\/strong> will cook for 5 hours<\/strong>. Also, pay attention to the meat’s internal temperature. For this, you’ll need a thermometer<\/strong>. This tool is a must-have for monitoring the meat’s temperature to better judge the cooking time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo, use a thermometer to check the temp of the meat and stuffing. If the temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit<\/strong>, it’s serving time. However, if the temperature is lower, you’ll need to let the bird cook for longer. When taking the temperature, be careful not to touch any bones<\/strong>, as this can cause skew the readings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWrapping It Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Turkey, while tasty, can be challenging to cook. The meat is delicate, with complex protein layers that cook at different rates. So, if your turkey is cooking too fast, lower the temperature, wrap it in foil or try the faux Cambro method discussed above. You can be sure that the turkey will taste delicious whichever method you try. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A common complaint from BBQers is that their turkey cooks too fast. In my experience, cooking turkey requires a mix of patience and finesse. However, many things can still go wrong when you’re smoking this delicate bird. If you’ve noticed this bird is cooking too fast, I found that lowering the oven temperature helps greatly. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"table_tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9514"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18904,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9514\/revisions\/18904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9514"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=9514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}