Turkey Cooking Time Per Pound

Thanksgiving and/or Christmas cannot be imagined without turkey. As a matter of fact, there are a number of Thanksgiving recipes, which have turkey as the main ingredient. It is one of the traditional dishes used for Thanksgiving and Christmas in a number of parts all around the world. One can cook turkey using different methods. One can opt to grill it, bake it, roasting it, smoke it or deep frying it. Whatever be the method, you would want to opt for, it is important that you serve moist and tender turkey meat. More often than not, in most cases the meat becomes very dry and people do not enjoy it as much as they would ideally. It is therefore necessary to know the cooking time required to cook per pound of turkey. In most cases, the bird is either under cooked or overcooked. In this write up, we will read about turkey cooking times and temperatures.

How Long to Cook a Turkey

Although turkey cooking time per pound is important, there is one step which will ensure you have a moist and well flavored turkey recipe for lunch or dinner. Brining a turkey will help to infuse flavor and will also be of help in the bird retaining moisture. There are certain variables, which need to be considered, when one has to know the exact turkey cooking times per pound. The variables include size of the turkey, weight of the turkey, cooking temperature and moisture content. There is a formula, which can be used to determine the turkey cooking time. Multiply the weight of the turkey in pounds with 15. This will give you the number of minutes necessary to cook a turkey. If you are going to stuff turkey, then you will have to add 20 minutes to the total cooking time.

With Stuffing
Most of us like to cook turkey with stuffing. One of the tips for cooking a turkey is to make use of a meat thermometer to know if meat is cooked to perfection. The table given below, mentions the cooking time required, when the meat is cooked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To know if the meat is cooked, the internal temperature, at the thickest part should reach 165 to 170 degrees.

Turkey Weight	Time Required
6 to 8 Pounds	2 ½ to 3 ½ Hours
8 to 12 Pounds	3 to 3 ½ Hours
12 to 14 Pounds	3 ½ to 4 Hours
14 to 18 Pounds	4 to 4 ¼ Hours
18 to 20 Pounds	4 ¼ to 4 ¾ Hours
20 to 24 Pounds	4 ¾ to 5 ¼ Hours

Without Stuffing
If you are not going to stuff turkey, then you may want to pour chicken or turkey broth or stock around the turkey, when you are cooking it. This will ensure the meat is moist and soft. Now let's turn to the important part of how to cook a turkey, i.e. the exact cooking time required for cooking turkey.

Turkey Weight	Time Required
4 to 8 Pounds	1 ½ to 3 ¼ Hours
8 to 12 Pounds	2 ¾ to 3 Hours
12 to 14 Pounds	3 to 3 ¾ Hours
14 to 18 Pounds	3 ¾ to 4 ¼ Hours
18 to 20 Pounds	4 ¼ to 4 ½ Hours
20 to 24 Pounds	4 ½ to 5 Hours

In Convection Oven
If you have a convection oven, then let me tell you cooking turkey in convection oven will not take a very long period of time. Naturally, unstuffed turkey will take much lesser time as compared to stuffed turkey. Before we turn to the table, a tip if you are cooking turkey in a convection oven. Cover the turkey with aluminum foil to avoid it from drying out.

Turkey Weight	Time Required for Unstuffed Bird	Time Required for Stuffed Bird
8 pounds	1 ¼ Hours	1 ½ Hours
12 pounds	1 ¾ Hours	2 Hours
14 pounds	2 Hours	2 ¼ Hours
18 pounds	3 Hours	3 ¼ Hours
20 pounds	4 Hours	4 ¼ Hours
24 pounds	4 ¼ Hours	4 ½ Hours

On a Grill
If you are fan of grilling, then you will want to know, the amount of time required for cooking turkey on a grill. The timings given in the table along should not be used to know, if the bird is grilled to perfection. You will have to constantly keep a watch on the bird. The table below mentions the time for unstuffed bird. You will need to add 20 to 30 minutes to get the time required for stuffed bird.

Turkey Weight	Time Required
8 pounds	1 ½ Hours
12 pounds	2 ¼ Hours
14 pounds	3 Hours
18 pounds	3 ½ Hours
20 pounds	3 ¾ Hours
24 pounds	4 ½ Hours

Before I end this write up, I would like to tell you that the cooking time for per pound of a turkey is approximate, as a number of factors will also come into play. You can choose to deep-fry turkey as well. The turkey cooking times per pound would be about 3 to 5 minutes per pound. The temperature of oil should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit.