Guide to storing & cooking your Turkey

Home Storage

Traditional Turkeys up to 8.17kg (18lb Farm Weight) should fit into a standard household fridge.

  • Clear the bottom section of your refrigerator.
  • Place the turkey breast down on a plate.
  • Pull the skin on the neck open to allow air flow.
  • Cover loosely with tinfoil.
  • Check that the temperature of your refrigerator is below 5*C and that the door is kept firmly shut.

Preparation

*Please use the chart below as a guide only, every oven will vary so use the Pop-Up cooking timer provided as your final guide. Once the internal temperature of your turkey reaches 81*C the timer will pop up like a golf tee indicating that it is fully cooked & eliminating the need to skewer. 

Everyone will have their own method of cooking a Turkey but ours is as follows:

  • Place Turkey on a roasting tray, cover with a lattice of streaky bacon if desired.
  • Cover with tinfoil (shiny side inwards).
  • Preheat your oven to the highest possible temperature.
  • Once full heat is achieved place the turkey in the oven & immediately turn the temperature down to: Fan Oven 160*C. Non-Fan Oven 180*C. Gas Mark 4 for the duration of cooking.
  • With 30-40 minutes of cooking time left remove the tinfoil to allow the skin to brown & bacon to crisp up.
  • Watch out for the timer popping – it may pop before or after estimated cooking time – remove the fully cooked bird from oven.
  • Cover the cooked Turkey with tinfoil & a couple of clean tea towels to keep the heat in & allow the turkey to rest for 30-60 minutes before carving.
  • Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge or can be frozen to use later.

Stuffing your Turkey

There are many opinions on this, but we think that stuffing the cavity with breadcrumb stuffing makes for the tastiest stuffing, with the turkey juices adding extra flavour & moisture to the stuffing.

Stuff the turkey 30 minutes before cooking (stuffing any further in advance than this is not recommended as it blocks the airflow through the cavity of the uncooked bird). The neck of the bird is great for stuffing with sausage meat stuffing & again the turkey juices add an extra dimension to an already tasty product.

If you choose to stuff your Turkey please add an additional 20 minutes to your calculated cooking time.

Cooking Times

*Weights & Cooking times are approximate & meant as a guide only - we supply a Pop-Up Cooking Timer with all our turkeys which will  let you know exactly when your turkey is fully cooked. For more details on our Pop-Up Timers please click here

Cooking Temperature: Fan Oven 160*C. Non-Fan Oven 180*C. Gas Mark 4

Farm Oven Ready  Oven Ready  Approximate Cooking Times* 
Weight* Weight lb* Weight kg* Unstuffed
12 lb 10 lb 4.6 kg 3hr 20m
13 lb 11 lb 5 kg 3hr 40h
14 lb 12 lb 5.3 kg 4hr 
15 lb 12.5 lb 5.7 kg 4hr 10m
16 lb 13.5 lb 6.1 kg 4hr 30m
17 lb 14.5 lb 6.5 kg 4hr 50m
18 lb 15 lb 6.9 kg 5hr 
19 lb 16 lb 7.3 kg 5hr 20m
20 lb 17 lb 7.6 kg 5hr 40m
21 lb 17.5 lb 8 kg 5hr 50m
22 lb 18.5 lb 8.4 kg 6hr 10m
23 lb 19.5 lb 8.8 kg 6hr 30m
24 lb 20 lb 9.2 kg 6hr 40m
25 lb 21 lb 9.5 kg 7hr 
26 lb 22 lb 9.9 kg 7hr 20m
27 lb 23 lb 10.3 kg 7hr 40m
28 lb 23.5 lb 10.7 kg 7hr 50m
29 lb 24.5 lb 11.1 kg 8hr 10m
30 lb 25 lb 11.5 kg 8hr 20m

Slow Grown White Turkey from McCartney's of Moira