Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner, and we’re putting together our holiday menus so everything goes off without a hitch. With all your side dishes and desserts that need space in the oven, you may be wondering how you’ll cook such a large turkey! We’ll solve that problem by showing you how to cook turkey in a roaster oven, freeing up the main oven for the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. See the recipe below for our Test Kitchen's tried-and-true recipe for cooking a Thanksgiving turkey in the roaster oven. And when it's finished roasting, presenting the gorgeous turkey is easy - just dress it up on a large platter with fruit and herbs.
Turkey in a Roaster Oven
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine ingredients for seasoning rub.
- Remove the rack from the roaster oven. Cover and preheat oven to 325°F.
- Remove giblets and neck from cavities of turkey. Set aside and use for giblet gravy. Rinse bird inside and out with cold water.
- Place turkey on rack. Place onion and celery inside turkey. Brush turkey with butter or oil.
- Rub turkey with Seasoning Rub.
- Using handles on rack, place rack with turkey in roaster oven and cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Turkey is done when internal temperature of breast reaches at least 165°F.
- Let turkey rest 30 minutes before carving.
Notes
- Always thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. A 12-15 pound frozen turkey will take 2-3 days to thaw in the refrigerator. If pressed for time, this size turkey can be thawed in cold water in 6-9 hours. Be sure to change the water often.
- The roaster oven cooks a turkey in less time than a regular oven, but use a meat thermometer to make sure your turkey is thoroughly cooked.
- Turkey cooked in a roaster oven will be very moist, but less brown than a traditionally roasted turkey. Seasoning rubs add flavor and enhance the appearance of a roaster oven cooked turkey.
- Visit www.foodsafety.gov for more information on safe internal cooking temperatures.
More Thanksgiving Tips:
How to Protect a Pie Crust From Burning
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