I'm cooking my first turkey!

[ally79]

I have my first ever turkey cooking in the oven right now, and we made homemade stuffing and everything! I have cooked turkey breasts before, and I have eaten turkey at holiday dinners, but I have never eaten a turkey that was stuffed before. I am really excited to see how the whole thing turns out. It better be good because it was a 12 lb turkey so there will be a LOT of it!

 

[winterybella]

I have my first ever turkey cooking in the oven right now, and we made homemade stuffing and everything! I have cooked turkey breasts before, and I have eaten turkey at holiday dinners, but I have never eaten a turkey that was stuffed before. I am really excited to see how the whole thing turns out. It better be good because it was a 12 lb turkey so there will be a LOT of it!

Congrats on preparing your first turkey. I hope it turned out well. I hardly ever bake a whole turkey and whenever I have it has been a big thing. It's just so much meat to season and it has to be just right. I hope yours turned out really good; all 12 lbs of it.

 

[ally79]

We ended up having to cook the darn thing twice! We cooked it according to the directions, and it temped perfectly. Then after we let it rest I went to cut it and it bled everywhere so we put it back in the oven. All in all it turned out good, but it was definitely an adventure. I will know better next time that 3 hours is NOT long enough to cook a 12 lb turkey no matter what the directions say!

 

[winterybella]

We ended up having to cook the darn thing twice! We cooked it according to the directions, and it temped perfectly. Then after we let it rest I went to cut it and it bled everywhere so we put it back in the oven. All in all it turned out good, but it was definitely an adventure. I will know better next time that 3 hours is NOT long enough to cook a 12 lb turkey no matter what the directions say!

Oh dear! I am sorry the turkey put up such a fight, but I am glad you won the battle. I don't mind baking the parts. I do it all the time and with a 99.9 success rate. I do stay away from the big whole bird whenever I can though. Did you cover it with foil? I am surprise to hear it took more than 3 hours at 12 lbs?

 

[ally79]

We did have it covered with foil after the first hour. For the first hour we were just trying to get a nice color and have the skin crisp up, and after that happened I covered it and then basted it with chicken stock every so often. It was definitely a learning experience! Now I know why my mom only buys turkey breasts and not the whole turkey!

 

[Rosyrain]

Was the turkey still frozen in the middle I wonder? Normally 3 hours is long enough for a 12 pound turkey so I am not sure what happened in your case. I am glad it turned out well for you in the end though. We too have had the same problem in the past. The dark meat always takes longer to cook than the light meat. Sometimes we will just cut off some of the done white meat to eat and then throw the dark meat back in the oven.

 

[winterybella]

I would usually cover mine from the beginning to make sure it cooks first. When I know it's cooked through I uncover to allow for browning and crispness. I much prefer the parts but ever so often you're are expected to go big. It looks good on the table for large gatherings. Anyway, it turned out well and that is the most important thing.