Roasting a turkey slowly will keep it moist and tender.
Cooking a turkey too fast can often lead to a dry, tasteless meal. Since turkey can be used in so many different recipes, you want to do everything you can to prevent this from happening. The best way is to take your time and cook your turkey slowly.
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Give your turkey a quick rinse under the sink and lay it in your roasting pan. Check to see if there is a bag of innards or a neck. If there is, then remove them. Add some water to the bottom of the roasting pan.
3. Dress up your turkey for a little bit for flavor and so it doesn't dry out. Generously rub vegetable oil all over your bird, including its legs and sides. Now when you are adding the spices, they will stick to the turkey because of the oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder all over the turkey. You want to use a good amount of the spices, but don't dump the whole bottle on there.
4. Cover your turkey with tin foil or your roasting pan's lid. Place your turkey in the oven and cook according to the weight of your turkey. An 8- to 12-lb. turkey would take approximately 3 hours to cook; a 12- to 14-lb. turkey, 3 3/4 hours, a 14- to 18-lb. turkey, 4 1/4 hours; and an 18- to 20-lb. turkey would take 4 1/2 hours. Anything over 20 lbs., you should check after 5 hours.
5. Carefully remove your roasting pan from the oven and check the temperature of the turkey's breast. If your cooking thermometer says 170 degrees, you're good. Anything less than that and the turkey needs to go back in to the oven.
Tags: your turkey, your roasting, turkey hours, turkey slowly, turkey would
