Always rotate 1/4 turn once in a while when roasting or baking large objects in any oven.

dcarch

Did you check the internal temperature of the thigh in question? Turkey meat can have a pink look to it that many confuse with it not being fully cooked when it fact it is.

Ann

Oh my, I didn't even think of rotating it. Good idea, dcarch, thanks.

ann_t, I didn't check the internal temperature of that thigh, but it was really rather raw-looking, redder than pink. It reheated beautifully, though, and wasn't at all over-cooked as so often happens with fully-cooked turkey :)

Dancingcook, You really don't need to rotate the turkey. Just make sure that you put the turkey in the oven legs first. Usually the back of the oven is the hottest and the legs will cook more evenly.

Ann

I agree, I've never rotated a turkey, but mine always went in "feet first" because Grandma told me the dark meat took longest to cook and the back of the oven was the hottest.

I never argued with Grandma, I just did it. Now I use an electric roaster, and Grandma is probably shaking her head...

Annie

Annie1992 and Ann, I hadn't thought about placement at all. My turkey went in sideways. I used "convection roast" and thought that that would get the heat to every part of the bird. In future, I'll do as you and Grandma say, and put it in "feet first". Thanks for the tips.

Another who puts the bird in "feet first" and has not had a problem with it cooking unevenly. Annies Grandmother was right!

Alexa

Also thinking that the thigh was cooked but just "redder"...had something to do with hormones and the turkey growing rapidly...makes the meat near the bone look rare when in reality it's not.
Also don't ever rotate a turkey....but for sure do sheets of cookies!
Linda C

My oven isn't big enough for my turkey roasting pan to go in feet first (or rotate 1/4 turn) but this year I stuck the frozen half in the back.

Yeah I guess it's time to finish my kitchen remodel and replace the fridge with one that won't freeze my "fresh" turkey...

Does your fridge happen to have cold spots, Dancingcook? Mine apparently does.

Another feet first person here.....funny that has never come up before in all our "turkey discussions" I just plain do it without thinking.

I found that I got a "pinker near the bone" turkey when I used a roasting rack. For years now I have just placed the bird on the bottom of the roasting pan (sans rack) and have never had that problem since.

I know this is not what most of you would want to do:

For a large turkey, I want it to be the tenderest, well cooked all the way thru without over cooking it, and well roasted golden brown outside. I would put the whole bird in a leak proof plastic bag and immerse the whole bird in a big bucket of very hot water (but not hot enough to cook the meat). After the whole turkey is hot inside and out, then in the oven it goes.

It cooks very fast all the way deep inside because the inside meat is already hot, so the meat is tender and juicy.

Otherwise it takes an entire day for the turkey to get to room temperature.

dcarch

I big cold turkey in a pot of hot water is a good way to keep the meat at just the proper temperature for bacteria growth.
Much better to put it directly into the oven.
Linda c

I'm not a pro and I certainly don't know everything but... The way I understand it a convection oven is supposed to get heat to every part of whatever it is that you're cooking.... So, with that reasoning, apparently, your oven isn't working right????

Perhaps the oven door wasn't closed all the way????

In all my years of cooking I've always cooked my turkey in an old time, black with light blue spots, enamel roaster, with the lid on the whole time, and have always put it in breast first... ( for some reason, this year, you could actually squeeze clear juice out of the breast meat?? ) I personally think the main reason it cooks evenly is my oven, it's a Thermador and has an exhaust fan... It's supposed to suck the warm air from around the outside of the oven and exhaust out outdoors but it really evens out the heat... If I burn the cookies it the back of the oven the ones in front are burnt too... LOL

Rita

" Posted by lindac --I big cold turkey in a pot of hot water is a good way to keep the meat at just the proper temperature for bacteria growth.
Much better to put it directly into the oven. "

This topic of cause can lead to an endless heated discussion. Still, let me give it a try.

What first gave me the reasons to try to find a way that led me to use my method:

1. A frozen 20-lb turkey will take five to six days to thaw in the frig, and there is never room in a freezer to keep a turkey. We all know how much other stuff you have to get for the Thanksgiving dinner in the refrigerator.

2. A turkey from the frig directly to oven, takes too long to cook to reach safe temperature all the way deep inside, and by that time, the meat outside, thatÂs more than half of the turkey, is very overdone, tough and dry. Or worst, the inside meat is still bloody when you are serving to your friends and family.

Please understand that I am not recommending to anyone to be unsafe. The many cities I have traveled to outside of this country, including Argentina (meat capital of the world) and recently to Paris, it is not unusual for meats to be sold without refrigeration for the whole day.

Pathogens can grow in the refrigerator temperature as well. Generally, it is considered unsafe for temperature to be from 41 to 140 degrees (I think, please check for accuracy).
The other important factor is time. Given it enough time, anything can go bad. That why it doesnÂt take long for meats to go bad in a frig. I hate to think what is going on in an uncooked turkey for more than six days in a frig.

Here is what I have been doing for more than ten years.

Reserve in advance a turkey from the supermarket.
Pickup the frozen turkey on Thanksgiving day.
Prepare hot water to about 120 degrees.

Dump frozen turkey with its plastic bag in hot water, and keep water temperature at about 120 to 130 degrees.

I donÂt know if this is absolute correct, I never timed it. Depending on how big and how frozen the turkey is, about an hour later, the whole turkey is completely warmed up ready for seasoning and stuffing.

Because the turkey is hot (but not cooked) at this time, it does not take long in the oven for the temperature to reach 165 deep inside without overcooking the outside. Just simple law of thermal dynamics.

The entire process gives very little time and opportunity for harmful pathogens to multiply.

I advice you not to use my method. It is unorthodox.

Go cold turkey. :-)

dcarch

Thanks for all the tips. FYI, I brined the turkey, so it had fully thawed. Like Ritaotay, I used an old blue/black enamel pan, although I didn't use the lid, just put foil over the top until the last hour. Like Chase, I didn't use a rack. Next time, I'm going to make sure to put it in "feet first". I will probably not use the convection roast setting, just regular roast. I appreciate all the help and combined wisdom shared on this forum. Moving on now to prepare for Hannukah :) Happy holidays to all.

The difference between all the unrefrigerated meat in the stalls in Argentina...or Paris or Venice or wherever is that meat recently was alive....who knows just how old that turkey was when it was packaged not how long it has been in the store. Also people in those places are more resistant to the bacteria that grow in the foods.
do you drink the tap water in, say Cuernevaca? No? But the Mexicans do with no ill effects.
Putting a 20 pound very cold bird in very hot water (but not hot enough to cook it) will result in a turkey that has had the skin at an unsafe temperature for a dangerously long period of time.
If it works for you....why then please continue, but I feel compelled to inform people that this is not a recommended practice....any more than preserving meat without a pressure canner is recommended.
It's not safe.
I just today heard that we have had an improvement in the safety of raw poultry sold in the US this year. Only 75% was contaminated with salmonella as compared to 80% last year.
The safe way to defrost a turkey is in the refrigerator or in COLD water.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: food safety

Dcarch, I'm glad you advised others to not try your method.

I very seldom buy a frozen turkey. But I do buy fresh turkeys and keep them in the fridge often for a few days before they are roasted. Gives me time to presalt. Before roasting I leave the turkey out for 60 to 90 minutes to semi warm up. Of course it isn't at room temperature but at least the chill is off. For the last 10 years or so I've been roasting using the high heat method and have never had a problem with part of the turkey being over cooked and some parts being undercooked. Even when I did roast using the traditional 350°F method, this was not a problem either.