Quote:
Originally Posted by kindlekitten
I think y'all are cooking your turkeys too long!  even a 26 pound turkey only needs to cook 6 and a half to 7 and change hours and unless you are having thanksgiving brunch or lunch, you're going to end up with some overdone birds! here's the goodhousekeeping link which should help. if you have a thermometer, you want your bird at 175, if you don't I always rely on the leg test... see if it pulls away from the body easily.
I'll be happy to PM my cell number if anyone needs last minute texting help!  |
We usually want to eat about 3 p.m. We have "linner" for Thanksgiving, LOL. The USDA guidelines say 4 1/2 to 5 hours for a 20 - 24 lb. bird, mine's barely 20, so I'm going to go with 4 1/2. That won't be too awful. We're on a second shift schedule here, Chris works 3 - 11 p.m. or 1 a.m. and I work mainly 5 p.m. -midnight, so we sleep later than "normal" people. Early for me is 10 a.m. So I figure, set the alarm for ten, wrestle turkey into oven, go back to bed for an hour or so (if I'm not awake after wrestling the turkey). That gives him coming out about 2:30 - while he's resting I can throw the dressing and dessert in. We'll probably end up eating around 3:30 with that schedule, which is good enough. I might throw everything back an hour, even, to allow for Chris sleeping late and therefore eating breakfast late, so he'll be hungry.