How many hours should I cook my turkey for?!
How often should I baste it?
I have never made one before
Answers: And do I just stick it in a roaster with abit of water in the bottom and put spices in it and onions in the botton?
How often should I baste it?
I have never made one before
Preheat oven to 325. Rub some butter on the bird, cover and cook for 15 minutes per pound. After an hour see if you have enough juice to baste it and then baste it every hour.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Let...
about 2 or 3 depends on the size
Perfect Roasted Turkey
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Clean the turkey with water, (make sure you take everything out of the cavities) and dry with paper towels. Melt a stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter in saucepan or microwave. Add 2 T of garlic powder, 1 T coarse (Kosher) salt, teaspoon of pepper, and 2 T paprika. Paint the turkey with a poultry brush, or just pour the mixture over the turkey and spread it evenly with your fingers. I also put kosher salt in the cavity.
Put turkey in a roasting pan with 1/2 cup water and a cup of white wine in the bottom. Roast for 1/2 hour at 450 degrees, then lower heat to 350 and continue to cook allowing about 15 minutes per pound. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. (If you don't have a thermometer - pierce the skin - if the juices run clear, the turkey is done.) Baste every 20-30 minutes. If the skin turns brown too fast, cover with tin foil while it roasts.
Allow if to sit for about 20 minutes before carving.
Enjoy!
I seem to remember 15-20 minutes per pound -- longer amount of time for bigger birds typically, & how sure you want it done.
If you get a "Butterball" with a popup button -- it will tell you when it's done. A lot of the turkeys are slef-basting too -- read the label to be sure what you have & what they suggest.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays & Happy New Year too!!!
Here's how I cooked mine for Thanksgiving and it was delicious and moist.
Set the oven at 325 degrees F. I used an electric roaster.
I had a 14 pound bird.
Loosen up the breast skin from the meat. Melt a stick of butter and mix some spices in it. Any you like. Then stuff the butter up under the skin, in as far as you can get.
Cut the onions in chunks and put them in the cavity of the turkey.
If you have the butter under the skin you don't have to baste it.
Put it in some kind of heavy roaster pan and cover it, even loosely with foil if you don't have a lid. It is best to put it on a rack in the pan.
Then just put it in the oven for 3 hours. That may be too long, you have to check it with a meat thermometer after a couple hours. If the leg meat is falling off the bone, it is done for sure.
Baste it with butter and the drippings and you can put alot of salt in the middle and either veggies or stuffing.
see vidoe and see if this helps.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/video/0...