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I am an epic failure any suggestions would be appreciated I am cooking for Thanksgiving for the first time this year and I need some turkey help. I have only cooked a whole turkey once before and it turned out horrible. I bought a little 10 lb. turkey to practice on this morning and it turned out horrible. I put it in a cooking bag and according to the directions I cooked it for 2 hours on 350 degrees....it was raw in the middle. I put in a meat thermometer and it read 165 degrees in the thigh and it was still not done on the breast. WTH??? What am I doing wrong???? I need any help or suggestions any of you have. I just sent DH to get an oven thermometer to see if maybe my oven is off but I have a feeling it's me. I have 12 people coming for Thanksgiving and am honestly thinking of serving meatloaf LOL |
You are braver than I ! I usually call Honey Baked Ham (they have turkey, too) or Cracker Barrel and get the whole meal delivered :D Decorate the table and stand at the door with Mimosas in hand and call it done😄 |
That is tempting......we have a Cracker Barrel about 30 minutes away. I just put in my oven thermometer and it seems my oven is off 25 degrees so if I turn my oven to 350 and cook, it is really at 325. I sure hope this is the problem...even when I bake cookies (the frozen dough variety) they are either burned or raw in the center. Cracker Barrel may have a new customer this year. |
Yep, I get everything there. Comes in a nice box to carry it in - I get lots of extra sides. Good luck. At out Cracker Barrell we just drive around to the back door and they come out with it to the car with the food. |
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Thanks for the tip. I am calling them....my turkey experience has not been fun. |
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hummmm, now I'm gonna see if there is a Cracker Barrel near me. |
Sounds like your only solutions are to quickly get a new stove delivered (we had to do that last year for the same reason; went to Lowes one day and had it delivered the next), OR get anything that needs in-oven cooking catered by Honey Baked or Cracker Barrel or some other local restaurant. So sorry you are in a panic! :( |
Oh my gosh! Twelve people coming to dinner...I'd be a wreck! I've never cooked a whole turkey either! I am the queen of deception. I have great serving bowls, platters, elevated stands, etc. I buy restaurant food and dish it into my serving wear and keep things warm in the oven until company arrives. (This works especially great for out of town guests that dont know your local restaurants. :D) To make it convincing i put saucepans in soapy water in my sink or load some in the dishwasher, along with wooden spoons, spatulas, etc, so it looks like ive been busy cooking. Put the restaurant wrappers in your outside garbage can, NOT your kitchen can (I've been busted before.. ) You're not a failure! For those of us that don't excel culinary, the appliances are always the problem! When they are old "they don't work well anymore" and when they are new, "they don't make them like they used to." Now find a cracker barrel! Or, by me, our local grocery stores also allow you to order complete Thanksgiving dinners, so check yours. Ive bought full dinners from Meijer before and it was delish! |
We have never cooked our turkey in a bag. Instead, we cover with tin foil. We cook at 325 degrees, 20 - 30 minutes per pound. More like 30 minutes with stuffing inside the bird. Usually we use Butterballs with Pepperidge Farm stuffing, so we don't add salt or baste with butter. We baste with the juices in the pan periodically while cooking. We prefer our turkey well done, so usually do not pay attention to the thermometer. To fix your stove, check the instruction manual for knob adjustments. If you have a gas oven, you may want to check the ignition heating element thingy. We had to replace ours recently. It would start, but then wouldn't heat the oven properly. |
A couple things....have you checked to see if your oven is actually cooking at the temp you set it too? You may want to get an oven thermometer (something like  this ), which you can pick up almost anywhere...Target, your grocers etcetera. Turn your oven to 400 and see if it actually cooks AT 400 according to the thermometer.Also -- did you fully dethaw the turkey? It can take a couple days to fully dethaw if you're doing it in the fridge. We bake in an oven roasting bag too...we first brine the turkey for 1.5 days, then bag roast it - hubby raves over it! (I don't eat meat, so I haven't tasted it) |
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DH brought home an oven thermometer and I have discovered my oven bakes 25 degrees cooler than I set it on. This answers the question why cookies, cakes and everything else I have cooked has turned out questionable from time to time. My turkey was completely thawed and I rubbed butter on the skin before I put it in the cooking bag. According to the directions for the bags, my 10 pound turkey was supposed to cook on 350 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I put a thermometer in the thigh at the end of 2 hours and it read 165 degrees, I took out the turkey and it was raw in the middle of the breast. Everyone tells me cooking a turkey is so easy....this makes me stress out even more. I tried calling our Cracker Barrel and I am too late to get my order in for them to cook my turkey so I have to cook this stupid turkey. To make matters worse DH couldn't find an 18 - 20 lb. turkey so now I have (2) 10 lb. turkeys defrosting in my refrig. that I have to cook. I am breaking out in hives worrying about cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I feel like these turkeys are mocking me and staring back at me every time I open the refrig. door. |
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Maybe set your oven even a little bit hotter than normal...like the 25 degrees + 10-15 more...? Also, cook it wayyyy ahead of time in the morning, so that you do have plenty of time to keep cooking it if you need to. If it's done early, don't worry, just keep it warm and/or warm it back up later. I so hope it goes well!! |
LOL, that's why we all like to go out for a steak on Thanksgiving haha |
Aww sorry you're stressing over your turkey. I also hear everyone say they are so easy but I find them very challenging. That is why we have a Thanksgiving tradition of Honey Baked Ham. Sounds like you might be onto something with your oven. Good reminder that I need to check mine too! |
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