Try as we might, it’s difficult to estimate exactly when a turkey might be finished cooking. In fact, that’s true of all cuts of meat, especially when they’re this large.
If your turkey is taking longer than expected, what can you do to speed things along? And is there anything you could have done to prevent this from happening in the first place?
Turkey Taking Longer Than Expected
When a turkey is taking too long to cook, it’s usually because the cooking temperature is too low. Try increasing it slightly to see if that helps. Alternatively, you can cut the turkey into smaller pieces, as these will cook faster than the whole bird.
How Long Does it Take to Cook a Turkey?
If you’ve set the oven or smoker to 325, the turkey should cook at a rate of 15 minutes per pound. You should increase this estimate by a few minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey, as the stuffing will also need to cook to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
At lower temperatures, you can expect the turkey to take longer to cook. At 275-300 degrees, plan on a per-pound estimate of 20 to 25 minutes per pound, depending on whether or not the turkey is stuffed.
For roasted turkey, 325 to 350 degrees is the recommended temperature range. If you’ve opted to use the smoker, it’s better to cook the meat more slowly. 275 degrees is preferable, but you can ramp it up to 300 if your smoker runs on the cooler side.
If the turkey is very large, you can reduce your per-pound estimate by 2-3 minutes. Leaving the turkey in the oven or smoker too long can cause it to dry out.
Recommended Internal Temperature For Turkey
Turkey is a poultry product, which means it should cook to 165 degrees at minimum in order to be safe to consume. This rule applies to whole muscle cuts as well as ground meat products.
The bacteria that cause food poisoning can die off at lower temperatures, but the meat needs to hold at these temps for longer periods of time. At 165, the bacteria will be destroyed in a matter of seconds, so you should cook it to this temp just to be safe.
We should point out that the breast meat is at its best when you remove it from the heat at about 160 degrees and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. In fact, whole turkeys should rest for 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how large they are.
The thighs and drumsticks, meanwhile, should cook to 180 degrees before you take them off the heat. That way, the meat will be silky and tender instead of stringy and rubbery.
Often, the dark and white meat will reach their respective target temperatures at roughly the same time. If that’s the case for you, all you need to do is let the turkey rest for a while before carving.
On the other hand, if the breast is done before the legs and thighs, you don’t want to leave the whole bird in the smoker or oven. If you do, the breast meat will have a chalky texture that’s reminiscent of sawdust.
When the breast has cooked to 160 degrees, take the turkey off the heat. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then carve off the breast meat. Set this portion aside, loosely tented with foil, while you return the rest of the turkey to the oven or smoker.
If you notice that the breast meat is nearing the finish line and the dark meat still has a way to go, try tenting the breast portion with foil. Try not to use the foil too early, though, or the skin might turn rubbery from the excess moisture.
How To Tell When a Turkey is Done
There’s only one foolproof way to determine when a turkey has reached the optimum serving temperature, and that’s to check it with a meat thermometer.
An instant-read meat thermometer is one of the most useful tools in a chef’s arsenal. It’s especially important for people who like to grill, since all cuts of meat can cook at slightly different rates.
To test a turkey for doneness, insert the thermometer probe into the thickest portion of the breast. Once you’ve gotten a readout on that, check the spot where the drumstick attaches to the rest of the bird.
Take care not to touch any bone when testing the temperature. Bone doesn’t have the same thermal properties as the meat itself. That means you could get an inaccurate readout if the thermometer hits the bone.
Turkey Taking Longer Than Expected: Possible Causes
You can map out an estimate based on the weight of the bird and the cooking temperature, but that’s not always good enough. Sometimes, other factors can prolong the cooking time beyond what you might consider reasonable. Here, we’ll explore a few of them.
Erratic Cooking Temperature
It stands to reason that the turkey will cook more slowly if the cooking temperature keeps dipping too low. This is a common issue when you’re using a grill or smoker to prepare the meat, but it can occur with indoor ovens, too.
Whenever possible, try not to cook outdoors when the weather is cold and/or windy. If the ambient temperature is too low, your smoker will have a hard time keeping up.
You can combat this issue by investing in a grill or smoker cover and keeping the unit in a sheltered area. Keep an eye on the grill temperature, too. If you notice that it’s consistently lower than the set temp, you can adjust the settings accordingly.
When your indoor oven runs too cold, a faulty heating element is likely to blame. You might also have a malfunctioning thermostat or a damaged sensor. Have a professional take a look at the unit, and repair or replace it as needed.
Frozen or Partially Frozen Turkey
You don’t need to thaw a turkey before you cook it. However, if you start cooking the meat before it thaws, it will take longer to reach the target temperature.
Turkeys that are completely frozen will take 50 percent longer to cook than fully thawed ones. If the bird is mostly thawed but still frozen in the cavity or other places, add 25 percent to the estimated cooking time.
Turkey Taking Longer Than Expected: Tips and Techniques
If the turkey is taking too long to cook through, there are a couple of things you can do to move things along.
The obvious answer would be to increase the cooking temperature until the turkey is done. However, you need to be careful. The last thing you want is for the skin to burn to a crisp while the meat itself is still undercooked.
If you’re smoking the turkey at 275 and it’s taking too long, try boosting the temp to 300 or 325. For roasted turkey, try not to increase the temperature past the 375-degree mark.
Alternatively, you can carve off the breast meat, as we discussed earlier. Even if the breast needs to cook longer, it will hit the target temp faster when it’s separated from the rest of the turkey.
The legs and thighs will cook more quickly once you carve away the breast meat, too. You can even divide the remainder of the carcass in half to speed things along even more.
In general, turkey parts cook faster than whole turkeys, so dividing the bird should help you reach your goal that much sooner.
About Spatchcocking
It may be too late to help you this time, but if turkey taking longer than expected is a common problem for you, you might want to consider spatchcocking the bird next time around.
Spatchcocking, or butterflying, means removing the backbone from whole poultry so that it lies flat. While it takes a bit of time to prepare the bird this way, doing so can reduce the cooking time by up to 50 percent.
When the turkey is thawed, take it out of its packaging. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity and cut away the hock lock, if necessary. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and place it on a work surface with the breast side facing down.
Using poultry shears, cut along one side of the backbone, snipping through the rib bones. Use your hands to spread the turkey, opening it as you would a book. Repeat the cutting process on the other side of the backbone until you’re able to pull it free.
Flip the turkey so that the breast side faces up. Press down on the breastbone with both hands until you hear a cracking sound. At this point, the turkey should be lying relatively flat on the work surface.
You can discard the backbone, if desired, or use it to make turkey stock. The stock will come in handy if you’re smoking the turkey and don’t have enough drippings to make gravy the traditional way.
The Bottom Line
We’ve found that it’s better to overestimate the cooking time than to make a low-ball estimate. If the turkey is done too soon, you can always keep it warm in a low oven or faux Cambro until serving time.
Of course, some circumstances might be beyond your control. If the turkey is taking too long, use one of the tips we’ve suggested. You should be able to get the meal on the table before you know it.
Best of luck, and happy grilling!
