There is nothing worse than waking up on Thanksgiving morning and your Turkey is still frozen.  There is no safe way to thaw a turkey in time to eat it, so what do you do?  Well you cook it from Frozen.  Dana and I were skeptical.  We did not think it could come out great.  However, it was the moistest Turkey that we have ever had. Plus it was the easiest turkey that I have ever.  Unfortunately it was so easy, the only photo I took was of the frozen turkey. My bad.

How to Cook a Turkey from Frozen

It is quite simple to do.  Just follow these easy steps.

Preheat the oven to 325°F and cook for the specified time based on the weight of your bird.

Below is instruction for a 12-14 lb bird.  If you have a larger bird you will need to cook it longer than the times below.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet or short walled pan with foil and place a cooling rack on it. Remove the plastic covering from the turkey and place it on the rack breast side down. Do not worry about the giblets.  Since the turkey is frozen you won’t be able to remove them.  Further turkey companies know that thousands of people forget the giblets and therefore they are made to be able to be cooked inside of the turkey.  However, we will remove them later, once the turkey has sufficiently thawed.

Cook the turkey for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the giblets from the turkey and flip the turkey breast side up.

By 3 1/2 hours the turkey should be well on its way to being cooked.  If you wish to stuff the turkey, do so at this point.  Using a large wooden spoon add the stuffing to the cavity.

At about 4 hours start checking the thighs and breast to be done. Check every 20-30 minutes for doneness.

When is my turkey done?  Safe temperature is 165 degrees.  However the table below shows when to pull the bird when cooking from frozen.  Based on this cooking strategy the thighs cooked faster, but this may not always be the case.  Make sure that you pull the turkey when the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh are at least 165 degrees.

My 14lb turkey was done at about 4 1/2  hours, the thighs were 178°F, the breast was at 165°F and the skin was golden brown.

Once your turkey is at temperature, remove the bird from the oven and cover it with foil.  Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.  I like mine to rest for at least 30 minutes.

How to cook a Turkey from Frozen

 

Author:

Rex

Recipe type: Turkey

Cuisine: American

Serves: 10

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 6 hours

Total time: 6 hours 5 mins

Print

 

The perfect way to roast a turkey from frozen. Frozent turkeys are cheaper and the results are by far better.

Ingredients

• 1 14-16lb turkey
• 1 cookie sheet
• 1 cooling rack

Instructions

1. It is quite simple to do. Just follow these easy steps.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
3. See http://www.savoryreviews.com for cooking times based on weight.
4. Below is instruction for a 12-14 lb bird. If you have a larger bird you will need to cook it longer than the times below.
5. Line a rimmed cookie sheet or short walled pan with foil and place a cooling rack on it. Remove the plastic covering from the turkey and place it on the rack breast side down. Do not worry about the giblets. Since the turkey is frozen you won’t be able to remove them. Further turkey companies know that thousands of people forget the giblets and therefore they are made to be able to be cooked inside of the turkey. However, we will remove them later, once the turkey has sufficiently thawed.
6. Cook the turkey for 2½ hours. Remove the giblets from the turkey and flip it breast side up.
7. By 3½ hours the turkey should be well on its way to being cooked. If you wish to stuff the turkey, do so at this point. Using a large wooden spoon add the stuffing to the cavity.
8. At about 4 hours start checking the thighs and breast to be done. Check every 20-30 minutes for doneness.
9. When is my turkey done? Safe temperature is 165 degrees. However the table below shows when to pull the bird when cooking from frozen. Based on this cooking strategy the thighs cooked faster, but this may not always be the case. Make sure that you pull the turkey when the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh are at least 165 degrees.
10. Cook till the thickest part of the thighs and the thickest part of the breast is at least 165 degrees and the skin is golden brown.
11. Once your turkey is at temperature, remove the bird from the oven and cover it with foil. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. I like mine to rest for at least 30 minutes.

3.1.09

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