For a perfect Thanksgiving turkey—golden on the outside and tender on the inside—temperature matters! If your turkey is underdone it can be dangerous to consume and lead to food-borne illnesses for you and your Thanksgiving guests, but if it’s overdone, an otherwise scrumptious bird becomes dry and flavorless. However, since there are many different ways to cook a turkey, the temperature you’re aiming for can vary slightly, which only makes things more complicated. Yet, with the right balance of heat, you can have a perfectly cooked bird that’ll earn raves from your Thanksgiving guests. Here’s what temperature to cook a turkey so it stays juicy and delicious.
Oven-Roasted Turkey
For a classic roast turkey, begin by preheating your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit; you want it nice and hot at the beginning. However, if the oven temperature is too high for the entirety of the cooking time, the turkey will dry out. Starting the turkey in a hot oven gets the skin crispy and burnished—just what you want. We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird. By covering the pan with foil when you lower the oven temperature, you’ll prevent the skin from burning while you cook the bird the rest of the way through.
A 12- to 14-pound turkey will take roughly two hours at 350 degrees to cook through, but the cook time will vary depending on the size of the bird. For a heavier turkey, you can estimate that each additional pound will take about 15-20 minutes longer.
Smoked Turkey
For a smoked turkey, you want to aim a bit lower than 425 degrees. Instead, set your smoker to 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Within this temperature range, a spatchco*cked turkey will take 10 to 12 minutes a pound to smoke. For most turkeys, that means at least an hour of cooking time, if not much more. You’ll know your turkey is done when the thickest part of its thigh reaches 165 degrees; just make sure your meat thermometer isn’t touching any bone.
And if you’re opting to deep-fry your turkey, you’ll want to preheat the oil to 350 degrees and maintain that temperature while the bird cooks. The turkey is done cooking when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees. The temperature will rise as the bird rests—you're looking for a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.
For grilled turkey, follow the same general premise of roasting. This means you'll start at a hot temperature for a good sear, such as 425 degrees Fahrenheit, then move to lower (indirect) heat to cook the bird the rest of the way through.
Instant Pot Turkey
If you’re using a gadget like an air fryer or Instant Pot, just cook the turkey at 350 degrees until cooked through. For a golden top, finish it off by broiling the surface in the oven.
First things first, the USDA advises that you cook a whole turkey to 165 degrees all the way through as measured with a meat thermometer. Every bird is different, so it’s best to keep a thermometer on hand to check the internal temperature for doneness. Make sure to stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh when checking the turkey’s temperature.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can also check the turkey’s doneness by cutting slits in the meat and seeing if the juices run clear. This method is less reliable than the thermometer approach, but it’s still effective.
Begin by roasting your turkey at 425°F for 40 to 45 minutes before lowering the temperature of the oven to 350°F for the rest of the cooking time. Like the other method, it's a good idea to brush the turkey every 15 to 20 minutes with butter or olive oil to help the surface brown and keep the meat moist.
We recommend roasting turkey at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 13 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey. We've done the math for you — check out the chart below to determine both turkey cook times and estimated servings (with leftovers!).
“When roasting the whole bird, the key is to cook the legs longer than the breast," Tommy says. "Once the breast is cooked, remove the bird from the oven, remove the legs and then put them back in. This stops the breasts drying out."
When roasting meat and poultry, set the oven temperature to 325°F (163°C) or higher. Explore the charts below to learn how to get great results every time you cook.
In recent years, brining has become more popular and can be done with either a wet or dry brine. A wet brine involves immersing the turkey in a salt-water solution for 12-24 hours. Dry-brining is where salt is rubbed over the turkey skin for 24-48 hours before cooking.
To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.
Preheat oven to 325° F. Drain juices and pat dry with clean paper towels. Place turkey breast-side-up on a flat rack in a shallow roasting pan 2 to 2½ inches deep. Turn the wings back to hold the neck skin in place.
Turkey is a lean meat, and Healthline reports that turkey has slightly less fat in its dark meat than chicken. Another reason why turkey may be dry is due to its poor breast-to-leg ratio. By the time one gets the leg meat to cook to temperature so it's safe for consumption, the breast meat often has dried out.
You can pour a little of water in the bottom of the roasting pan, but keep in mind the turkey will release drippings as well as it cooks. However, if you're making gravy, it's best to add about a cup of water to the roasting pan.
Baking at 325 degrees can help prevent the edges of baked goods from becoming too dry or overdone while allowing the center to fully cook. This can result in a more evenly textured and moist final product.
Slow cookers generally operate between 190°F (on the low setting) and 300°F (on the high setting). In comparison, when using an oven as a slow cooker, you'll typically set the temperature between 325°F (similar to the low setting) and 375°F (resembling the high setting).
Get a tray that fits in your fridge and lay the cut pieces close together while overlapping—this will help prevent your turkey from drying out. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. On turkey day, remove the carved bird from the fridge and let it come to room temperature (it should take about an hour).
"A low temperature will cook the meat very nicely inside and keep it juicy without drying it but you want to high temperature at some point whether it's at the beginning of the end to crisp up the skin and the melted butter to get an extra crispy skin," Guillard says.
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