How to Slow Roast Turkey in the Oven
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Slow roast turkey is an easy way to make any day feel like a holiday! Whether you’re roasting turkey on Thanksgiving – or just a regular Sunday – follow these tips for how to slow roast turkey including defrosting, prepping, proper cooking temperature, and what to do with leftovers.
Why you should make this slow roasted turkey recipe
Have you ever prepared a slow roasted turkey any other time than a holiday? I wonder why we only make turkey a few times a year? It’s such an easy dinner, the left-overs can be morphed into so many tasty dishes, and it’s a relatively inexpensive meat.
We’re all busy, I get it. That’s why I have lots of recipes in my back pocket that take under 30 minutes. Sometimes I just don’t have the time or energy to spend more than an hour preparing a meal. Making a slow roast turkey does take a bit of prep, so it’s definitely not the meal to choose when you’re in a hurry!
But on a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or even on any lazy Sunday, a slow cooked turkey is the perfect way to slow down, reflect, connect with the family, and appreciate what we have.
How to slow roast a turkey
First, make sure your turkey is completely thawed. (See more tips on defrosting below.) It’s ok to err on the side of an extra day or two in the fridge. If you’ve bought a fresh turkey, then you’re good to go!
Prepare your turkey by tucking some butter under the skin and filling the cavity with fresh herbs and quartered lemon. I like to add plenty of kosher salt under the skin and in the cavity with the herbs.
This method of using lemons instead of onions is one I learned in culinary school from an Italian chef who taught us Pollo al Limone. The lemon makes the breast meat unbelievably moist.
What size turkey should I buy?
This depends on how many people you’re planning on serving. Do you want leftovers? Do more people prefer dark or light meat? Will you have plenty of side dishes?
A good rule of thumb is to allow 1 pound of turkey per person, which includes bones and some leftovers. I find if we’re having more than 20 people, it’s easier to slow roast two smaller turkeys, provided you have access to two ovens. Two 12-pound turkeys will cook more quickly than one 24 pound bird and you’ll have twice as much breast or dark meat.
How long does it take to slow cook turkey?
It depends, of course, on the size of your turkey, the temperature of your oven and whether or not you’ve chosen to stuff your bird. If you use my slow roasted turkey recipe, with just lemons and herbs, your turkey should take about 15-17 minutes per pound.
Do you slow cook a turkey at 325 degrees or 350 degrees?
What temperature should you roast your turkey? When you slow cook turkey in the oven, I recommend 325 degrees fahrenheit. But you certainly can increase the oven temperature to 350 or 375 degrees if you’re finding your turkey isn’t cooking as quickly as you thought.
Sometimes this can be due to the stove running slower. That’s why I like to hang an oven thermometer inside my oven, because even if it’s off by 10 degrees it can slow down the roasting time.
What temperature should the meat be?
I always use a food thermometer! Looks can be deceiving and your bird could be brown and toasty on the outside and raw near the bone!
The internal temperature of turkey should be 165 degrees F. Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and then again into the thigh area between the leg and breast. Be sure the thermometer is not touching bone.
Should you baste your turkey or not?
While some people will say it makes no difference whether you baste or not, I love the act of checking on the bird and basting every thirty minutes or so. It gives me a chance to check the bird’s temperature and make sure the skin isn’t getting too brown. If it is, I’ll tent it, or lower the heat a bit, depending on the timing of the dinner.
Is it stuffing or dressing?
When I was growing up we always stuffed our turkey. The juices from the bird mingled with the stuffing and made it extra moist.
After cooking school, I couldn’t imagine putting cooked stuffing into a raw bird! I haven’t roasted a turkey with stuffing for decades. It also adds time to the roasting process. An unstuffed turkey cooks faster and there’s no danger of cross-contamination.
Try these delicious sides with your slow roasted turkey: Cranberry Chutney, Cornbread Dressing, Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Browned Sage, and Homemade Creamed Corn.
Food Safety for a Slow Cooked Turkey
If nothing else, the one thing I have carried with me since culinary school in the early 80s was food safety and handling.
I wash my hands before cooking and frequently during prepping and cooking. Hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds after handling foods like raw eggs, meats or seafood as well as vegetables and fruits.
I always keep my hair in a ponytail, even when I’m cooking for my own family. Because no one wants stray hair in their food, even if it is your mom’s! I also always wear a chef’s half apron and tuck a clean towel in my waistband. The towel is for drying my clean hands and I never use it on dishes or a counter.
I’ve partnered up with the Water Quality & Health Council to bring awareness about food safety with the campaign #IPlateItSafe.
Defrosting the turkey
I think this might be one of the biggest problems around the holidays. People seem to underestimate the amount of time needed to defrost their bird. Then when it comes time to slow roast the bird, they realize it’s still half-frozen and try to “speed thaw” it.
To safely and completely defrost your turkey, allow about 1 day (24 hours) for every 5 pounds. I usually add an extra day for good measure. That means I’ll begin defrosting a 15 pound turkey on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Cross contamination
Cross-contamination occurs when two different food items are placed on the same surface without thorough cleaning in between. This is a health risk, especially at Thanksgiving when there is a lot of food preparation going on.
It’s imperative that you have one dedicated cutting board for raw meats and another one for vegetables. If you don’t, be sure to thoroughly clean and disinfect your board between uses.
Should you rinse your turkey in the sink?
Do not rinse raw meat or poultry in the kitchen sink! For many years there was debate as to whether you should rinse your turkey or chicken before roasting. This has been proven unnecessary.
Rinsing raw meat can spread germs to surrounding surfaces. Even though I do not rinse my turkey, after wrestling the bird around, I always disinfect the sink, counter and any other surfaces the turkey may have come in contact with.
Once the kitchen is cleaned and sanitized, I’m ready to prep the rest of the meal.
What Can You Make With Leftover Turkey?
We all know that the leftovers are the best part! My dad used to make us open-faced turkey sandwiches the next day with all the fixings on a slice of white bread.
After one day, my family is ready to try something else. Luckily, there are so many ways to transform leftover turkey! Use the turkey meat just as you would leftover chicken. Here are a few of my favorite ways to repurpose leftover turkey:
While you never want to refrigerate or freeze piping hot food, leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours. Sooner in warmer climates! Make sure you wrap the turkey well or keep it in covered containers. All leftovers should be tossed within 3-4 days. (You’ll probably be sick of them by then anyway!)
Have you ever wanted to try smoking a turkey? Here’s a recipe for easy smoked turkey!
This post was originally posted on November 26th, 2014, and has been updated to contain nutritional information.
Slow Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 12 pounds Turkey
- 4 ounces Butter diced
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- 2 Lemons cut into wedges
- 1 bunch Fresh herbs rosemary, thyme or oregano
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Wipe turkey dry and remove giblets. There is no need to rinse! (see information in post)
- Carefully separate skin from turkey with your fingers. Slide some butter and salt under the skin of the turkey.
- Fill cavity of bird with lemon wedges, herbs and more salt.
- Melt remaining butter and pour over bird. Baste turkey every 30 minutes (if desired)
- Roast until thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees F.
- Remove from oven and tent with foil and allow to rest 20 minutes.
Notes
- Cooking time varies depending on your oven, the size of the bird.
- We usually purchase a kosher turkey which is pre-brined, thus eliminating the need to brine.
- A general rule of thumb for an unstuffed turkey is 15-20 minutes per pound at 325 degrees F.
- How much meat per person? Figure on 1 pound per person, which allows for bones and leftovers.
A great post. I haven’t heard of this fast cooking turkey recipe and I’m with you on that. Ridiculous!
Thanks Mimi! Google the One Hour Turkey if you dare!
Love this post–I can picture your Mom collecting guests along the way. My only question: 1/2 a pound per person? I’m cooking for 8 tomorrow and have a 19.5 lb bird!!
Yes, Rita! It’s one pound per person…That was a typo! Mom caught it too!
Cynthia, consider yourself given a virtual standing ovation!! Hear, hear! I don’t understand it either, especially since cooking a turkey for 5 hours means peeking in the oven now and then and basting it! Such time consuming work, right? As if you have to stand by the oven for 5 hours!
I understand people not having time to make certain things, like recipes with 10 different steps on a weeknight, but the least we can do is give our family the tradition of slowing everything down (including the cooking) on Thanksgiving Day!
Great post, I’m sharing!!
CC
Thanks so much Christina! I agree, what’s the point?
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here, but there’s a similar opinion on Christmas here and it’s really annoying. There’s loads of adverts and magazine articles about how to rush through all the cooking when actually I quite enjoy slowing down for that one day a year when the shops are closed and you don’t have to do anything!
Really crazy Annie…I don’t get it!
Amen, sistah! I love the holidays and that every store is closed because of that very reason. Sometimes, in this constant rush to do everything at the same time, we forget to slow down and appreciate what we have. Slow cooked turkey is the BEST!
nothing beats doing things the old fashioned way Laura!
What a perfect turkey, it looks heavenly! What gorgeous crispy skin! And I’m with you all the way on this – low and slow.
Heartfelt – your mom has such a big and loving heart. Love the image of your Mom and daughter’s hands working together (so priceless!). I still don’t have the will to do a full on turkey so I’m envious of your talents with the bird. 😉
Very good instructions to help out people on Thanksgiving.
Totally with you on not shortening that special time on the holidays spent together baking, cooking, just in the kitchen. My family always congregates around the kitchen and I will spent hours just cooking and spending time with all of them in that one room!
Yay for turkey day! It takes a little cook time, but turkey really is easy and a great meal year round and oh the things you can do with the leftovers!
Cynthia, you got such a gorgeous color on that bird!!! We’ve been smoking our turkey for the past couple of years. The flavor is incredible, but the color is not nearly as pretty as this.
I would love to try a smoked turkey…or deep-fried!
A beautiful post and a helpful technique to know. I always forget that formula for the minutes per pound so it is great to have this post to come back to as a reminder. And the message of enjoying the holiday will be there to remind me to enjoy! Thank you!
thank you Katie!
I love this post Cynthia! Yup, let’s give ourselves permission to slow down for a day, spend the time with those we love and savor every delicious minute along the way. Your turkey looks amazing and I’ve never done it quite this way wiht the lemons — would love to try it over the holidays. xo
There’s too much rushing around at the holidays anyway Allie, we need to give ourselves permission to slow-down!
Dear Cynthia, call me old fashioned, but I prefer baking it low and slow as the saying goes. The kitchen is where the best memories are made…and I don’t think I trust the idea of cooking a bird under an hour…that’s all new to me! A beautiful post dear and such a sweet note to your mom. Wishing you a beautiful and blessed Christmas and New Years. xoxo, Catherine
Merry Christmas Catherine!
I 100% agree that slow-roasting a turkey is the way to go! I am actually starting culinary school in January and it is the food handling, storage etc I am very interested to learn more about it. I do already but would like to have more confidence in this area. This is a great easy to follow recipe!
Good for you Alisa. I have never once regretted going to culinary school. Good luck.
You were great at explaining everything step by step so well, it’s the great recipe for Thanksgiving!
Thank you Cristina!
Adding fresh herbs sounds like a great idea! This Turkey looks like it came out amazingly.
thank you Luna!
I am going to have to try this technique to see if my turkey is not too dry, looks amazing
let me know how it turns out.
This is exactly how I’ve always cooked my turkey for Thanksgiving! There is nothing better!
It’s my favorite holiday because everything is slow!
I’m with you, I love slow cooked meat I think it tastes wonderful and tender cooked like that. I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but we always have a turkey for Christmas . Great recipe.
Roast turkey works well for either holiday. When I lived in London, I recreated a thanksgiving meal in a tiny flat.
Love this article. Interesting “Do not rinse raw meat or poultry in the kitchen sink!” Thats so new to me thank you it wS informative!!
I’m always super careful when dealing with raw poultry in my kitchen.
This is such a great post! Even though we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here but trying a roasted turkey at home would be perfect to enjoy a meal with the family. I have never tried roasted turkey at home but would try it now!
It’s also perfect for Christmas too!
In the UK we do our Turkey for Christmas and I tend to roast a small turkey every year for my family then. This recipe looks so delicious and I do like how moist your turkey looks!
Oddly enough, my family doesn’t want turkey again for Christmas so we do prime rib, creamed spinach and trifle!
These are great tips. I always need help at perfecting my roast turkey. I’ll try this out.
I hope they help Lisa. Happy holidays!
Delicious recipe, perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
Indeed it is, thank you!