Have smoked mine for many a year, first on a Brinkman charcoal smoker, and then on my Brinkman water smoker.

Now my DS has followed the tradition.

Good stuff

I think two smaller birds in the same oven would require the same cooking time.If you have a large enough pan put both in the same pan and insert into the oven head first.I think you could cook the turkey and breast at the same time.
I plan to cook 2 large breasts this year as that is everyone's favorite part.The rest is always just a waste.
I always cooked my turkey the traditional way,tented with foil.A few years ago I thought I would try the oven bag and have used one ever since.The bird is always nice and juicy and the pan is easier to clean!

A 12 pound bird takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. A 22 -24 pound stuffed bird takes around 4 3/4 to 5 1/4 hours. So you could save a little less than two hours by cooking 2 smaller ones.

So it really depends on the time of your meal.

I personally don't worry about how long because turkey pretty much doesn't need watching until the last hour or so. Once it's in the over I can go about doing other things.

We buy a Greenburg turkey. The company is located here in Tyler, TX. Oprah had it on her show once as one of her favorite things. They are delish!!!

If you use an oven bag, does the skin get crispy and brown?

I read somewhere that the oven bags steam the bird instead of roasting.

Tip? Add some Kitchen bouquet to the butter or oil that you rub on the outside of the bird. That's where the nice even brown color comes from that you see on TV.

Cooking times aside...you won't get the same taste.
Small turkeys(below 12-14 lbs) are hens, the larger ones, Toms, have much better flavor.

I've cooked Toms(used to be 26-28 lbs) for Thanksgiving for over 40 years, and had them ready for the table by 4PM.

Made the stuffing the night before, and put, covered, in the refrigerator. Then got up around 7, rinsed, stuffed and put the turkey into the oven.

My tip would be one I learned from my mother, many years ago:

Take a white cloth (an old pillow case works well), soak it in melted Crisco, cover your bird's breast with it and baste it about every 15 minutes - makes the breast nice and brown and crispy - oh so good!

Dumb question, but when you say head-first, do you mean that your pan is literally going from front to back, and that the bird's neck is facing the back of the oven?

I always put my pan in sideways (the ends are left to right). Have never put it in lengthwise. What's the advantage?

I know my big roaster wouldn't fit in lengthwise, anyway.

My hint for good holiday meals is to buy or build a house/kitchen with two ovens in the kitchen. I would definitely have to change my menu if I had only one oven.

My other hint is to try a fresh turkey if you never have. They are much moister than frozen ones.

jasdip - I think she means upside down - it's easier to do if you place the turkey breast side down on a v shaped rack. There are several chefs who recommend to start the turkey that way and then flip it - very carefully - over to brown the breast as it finishes cooking.

My other hint is to try a fresh turkey if you never have

Absolutely! Frozen turkeys are the pits.

I have no problem with a frozen turkey, if they are defrosted properly and cooked just right.

Been cooking Thanksgiving turkey's and dinners many years. I won't say how many :o) but all have been a success.

A few tips I've learned over the years:
-#1 thing: Use a meat thermometer and don't overcook the bird! A probe with a cord or remote reader is better than constantly opening the oven and letting the heat out. People talk about dry turkey, especially white meat and they're often cooking it to hockey puck stage. 155°-160° for white meat and 170°-175° for dark is fine.
-Let the bird rest before carving, as difficult as it is to do...
-Since the back of the oven is the hottest part (sans convection) the legs (dark meat) should be to the rear of the oven for the extra heat for extra cooking. Oh, and if you got stuck with one of those plastic pop-up indicators, pull it and toss it. They're worthless.
-2 smaller birds have more dark meat than one large and there's more waste on a larger bird. Turkeys have been bred to have more white meat since that's what more people prefer. The larger the bird the larger the skeletal system, hence lower meat to bone/waste ratio.

Another option many use is to cook a turkey breast with a small to medium turkey. You can also cook one the day before and prep gravy then reheat the meat in broth and have the gravy ready and still have drippings for gravy for leftovers.

The other advantage of two birds is if you're into the presentation thing, you can have one carved in the kitchen while you present the display bird so everyone can ooh, and ah over it. Then dig in and eat!

Cooking times will depend a lot on the oven too. If you overfill an oven it'll take longer to cook. If you have separate ovens of course there's no impact. I'm a fan of roaster ovens. Another thing that would help is to butterfly the turkey(s). If you have more than one you can use the two racks in a relatively large oven and air circulation will be better.

Yes, cooking bags steam rather than roast but really, unless you're a skin connoisseur or presentation is a big part of your "thing" it doesn't make much difference.

I was intrigued by butterflying the birds and I butterflied a turkey breast one year. It was great. Andrew Zimmern suggested butterflying the turkey and cook it on a rack over the stuffing/dressing to get the juices without the bacteria and have faster cooking all around. It definitely cooked faster and was very good.

Do not buy self-basting or "enhanced" birds. You can pre-salt or brine if you want and control it. The injected ones are fat and salt injected to keep them "moist" but that's not moist, that's greasy. Greasy does not equal moist to my tastebuds.

And the "fresh" vs frozen thing... Do you know what "fresh" means? "Fresh" does *not* mean that it was a bird raised by the farmer down the street with the bird wandering the countryside nibbling bugs and flowers who was butchered 5 minutes ago and you have a "natural" or "organic" (more sales terms) bird on your hands. The term "fresh" is a sales term. Turkeys may be labeled as "fresh" if they have been chilled to as low as 26 degrees. But at this temperature, tiny ice crystals can form in the meat. If the temperature fluctuates (during storage or transport, at the supermarket, or on the way to your home), these crystals can melt, combine with neighboring crystals, and then refreeze. Eventually, irregularly shaped ice crystals can start to poke the cell membranes in the meat making holes and the cell tissues in the muscles can start to lose their internal contents. Then when they are cooked, those birds will be dry. So the fact is, depending on how things are handled, properly handled/properly frozen can give you a better bird than improperly handled "fresh". Know what you're getting.

I cook it uncovered on a rack. When the breast is brown, I tent it with foil. To me, that is a roasted turkey. Lots of other ways amount to "steaming". Don't over cook and it won't dry out.

I think cooking 2 smaller turkeys is a great idea. More drumsticks! I've always found that smaller turkeys are moister (more moist? moistfull?).

I like that Kitchen Bouquet tip!

I'm now sad that Canadian Thanksgiving is long gone. BUT - Christmas is right around the corner so I'll be saving these great tips for then!

BJ

I was going to mention what Cynic did as well.
One large bird has a larger cavity, so you get more meat on 2 smaller birds.
Mom cooked a turkey and a boneless turkey breast for our TG.
It worked out great.

I love roast chicken and turkeys. DH will only eat white meat, won't even try the dark. So I'm stuck with the dark on every chicken dish.

Mom buys frozen turkeys when they're on sale, 2 are in our freezer and she has one in hers. They're defrosted for several days in the fridge, and everyone always says how good her turkeys are.

I prefer cooking my chickens covered, in my blue enamel roasting pan. They get brown and crispy and are so good.
I did roast one uncovered once, and the oven was such a mess afterwards. I don't want to clean my oven after each roasting of chicken and meat, hence the covering.

We do it differently - it takes a little more prep time but it makes carving a breeze and since the white meat and dark meat cook at different rates it solves the problem of dry meat.

1. Remove the backbone, saving the back, neck, bones and scraps to make turkey stock.

2. Remove the leg and thigh. Bone the thigh, adding the bone to the turkey stock. Then you can either truss the thigh with butcher's twine or stuff it and then tie it.

3. Remove the wishbone from the turkey breast and any extraneous skin, add to the stock. Truss the wings to the body by pushing a long skewer through them and securing it with string.

Cooking instructions: Preheat oven to 325. Mound the stuffing on an oiled cookie sheet or non-stick foil inside a roasting pan - that way it will slide off easily later. Season the breast inside and out, rub lightly with oil and then place on top of the stuffing. Surround the stuffing with a double strip of oiled foil or the non-stick foil.

Roast the breast - for a 14 pound turkey it will take 1 3/4 to 2 hours, baste every 20 minutes. You can add chopped carrot, onion and celery after the second basting to flavor the pan juices.

Roast the legs separately. They will only take 1 1/4 hour to reach 165. Place them in a pan (I put a rack under them) 1/2 hour after you start the breast and add carrot and onion to the pan.

To serve: place the stuffing and turkey breast on a platter, lay the 2 legs next to it - it almost looks like a whole turkey.

But here's the best part - you can easily slice the thighs since they don't have a bone and serve medallions of dark meat and you'll still have 2 drumsticks for those who prefer them. And you'll have a wonderfully flavorful stock for the gravy.

I always bake mine the day before, take it off the bone, put dark meat in one pan and the white in another. I too bake them breast down. My recipe is different from all of yours. I got it from my cousin when he worked as a chef. Put the bird breast down, fill the cavity with a half cup of salt, 1 stick of butter and he used rum, I use rum flavoring a whole bottle of flavoring and put inside the bird. To this add 1 quart of water to a big roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. It usually takes about 4 hours at 350 degrees. Let set a bit to cool down so you can take the meat off the bones. Pour some of the broth over the meat. Refrigerate and heat the next day. Saving the rest of the broth for the gravy. Great flavor.

Sue

My hint is this: Buy a cooked turkey breast. They sell them with the rotisserie chickens. Just heat and eat.It's just me and DH these days. We like enough meat for dinner Thanksgiving plus a little extra for sandwiches. I will never again cook a whole turkey.

I tried the flipping method last year and while the turkey came out great, the flipping part was a nightmare. Yes, I burned myself and had to get hubby to help. Anyone know an easier way to flip?

For those homes without double ovens: I find that I love my Nesco Roaster Oven and I use it not only for Thanksgiving but parties and also in hot weather to cook out on the porch. Been using it for years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nesco Roaster Oven

I always cook a turkey breast in the crockpot for DH and me. It comes out very moist and tender, very yummy.

It doesn't get browned like in the oven, of course, but if you slice it up and put it on a tray to serve, it's great.

A 15lb. turkey is a lot easier to flip than a 22 lb. bird. I start breast side down and flip toward the end so the turkey gets nicely browned. I use old pot holders (clean of coarse) and flip.

I can only put my turkey in one way,head or feet first,my ovens are long narrow.I have a aga stove 4 ovens,this is one time of the year I love my stove I can get everything ready put in different ovens guests come dinner is ready.
i oven is broil,bake 400+degrees
2 oven is bake 300+
3 oven is simmer, like crock pot
4 oven is warming oven,I have warming tray on top also and 2 large plates about 24" around.You start on the plates then finish in oven,one boils in like 2 minutes.the other you can make pancakes,toast etc on.

Georgysmom, that's a better idea than a bunch of paper towels!

Soak the bird over night in a pale of salt water. Guaranteed moist bird. My MIL always did this, I think she heard it on Martha Stewart. We grill/smoke ours. If we are inside cooking I use an oven bag, who eats the skin anymore? I don't think I have seen a bird, whole on a table since I was a kid...too long ago to talk about.

Wow -- what great and thoughtful responses -- my head is spinning with so much useful information!

"Presentation" is not a consideration. We all "oooh" and "aaah" when we look through the oven glass.

Our kitchen is less than 10 years new, and I regret not having two ovens. My Mom did, while I was growing up - I wish she had suggested the same to me.

I had wondered about roasting the day before, so thanks for addressing that too. And I didn't even think about the crockpot.

I will be giving this a lot more thought over the next day or two, before deciding one big bird, or two smaller -- or a medium bird and a breast (done a day ahead maybe)....

And THANK YOU to all who replied -- I am more of a lurker than a contributor, but I've learned so much at the KT!

Maura,
Now that you know how friendly and helpful we all are, come out of lurkdom!!! We'd love to have you as a regular. ;-)

Alton Brown has had a show on brining for a long time and he explains it well. A pail is fine if you have a walk in cooler like the 4time felon, but for normal people, a cooler is a better option. You still need to keep the bird cold.

Be warned: do NOT brine an "enhanced" bird, like a "Butterball" or the like! They're already injected with a lot of extra salt, extra fat and other fluids and if you add more, ugh. (shudder)

Also, many have opted for the pre-salting method rather than brining. (Same caution applies.) You can also dry rub the turkey for a different taste. Frankly, AFAIC, basic is often better with turkey. If it's a decent bird and cooked properly (and of course assuming you like poultry) it's virtually always good. Sometimes you can mess up a good thing by trying to do too much with it.

Seriously give some thought to an electric roaster as a second oven. That's what it is. They're fabulous for the holidays and can be used year round for a variety of things. Social gatherings, picnics, BBQs, graduations, block parties, baking, warming, making chili for a crowd, there's a bunch of uses and they're inexpensive. They cost less than a crockpot and a far more useful!

My tip is to put some flour (I use Wondra) in a bowl and put it in the oven when cooking pies or something besides the turkey.
When is gets a nice tan/light brown color, remove the bowl from the oven and after the flour cools, store it in a covered container. I use the browned flour to add flavor to the gravy.
I also cook wings and necks with celery, onions and carrots and herbs before the big day so insure I have enough tasty liquid for gravy.

Did Rachel cook those 2 turkeys together at the same time? My mother in law did that one year, the outcome was not good. They were not cooked all the way through. Seems to me cooking them together could be an issue. I am doing 2 myself, we're frying one and roasting or grilling the other. That will depend on the weather.

Yes - it is my impression that Rachel cooks both together. That is what got me wondering in the first place, as I've always cooked very large turkeys.

I am STILL undecided about my turkey(s) & methods.... as we will either be 14 or 19 people. (The only think I know for sure is that it will not be a "fresh" bird. Maybe some day!)

I am still lacking a head-count for Thanksgiving Day -- waiting on 5 more people, which could amount to a heavier turkey (which I have to buy today!) My brother said he would let me know this evening -- and we are up against "defrosting time" for the turkey. I don't want a 23-pound turkey if I only need an 18-pounder.

My current thinking is that I will buy an 18-pounder, and then maybe do a turkey breast-only, in a crock pot, to have additional white meat on hand. My crock-pot experience is very limited though. Thanksgiving might not be the ideal time to learn how to cook a turkey breast in a slow-cooker!

Thanks again KTers!

Having 'massed cooked' for Turkey Day..think about doing this:
DO get 2 smaller turkeys..a 12lb'er will be done in 2.5 to 3 hrs. Roast it around 7am..remove & put the second bird in. Then..you can take all of the meat off the first bird, place on a cookie sheet or in a crock pot on low, to keep warm.. using the pan juices..add more stock (from cooking the neck, etc) & broth to the drippings. Add about 1 cup of the broth around the turkey (just to keep it from drying out) & cover w/foil. Then when the 2nd turkey is done-just add those drippings to your gravy stock you have already to make gravy! 2nd turkey will be done by 1pm- Bake a big pan of dressing for an hour, while carving the 2nd bird, finishing the rest of the meal and dinner is on the table by 2-2:30pm!