I see that often also. My Turkeys are much smaller than most. Mine is fresh kill not frozen so I hope and ask for 10lb. Usually 12lbs.

I give it the time it takes to get everyone seated and make the gravy. 1/2 hour, more likely 45 min. 1 hour max. After carving the rest goes in the kitchen to rest a bit and I give that up to two hours max. Then chill for picking, for sandwiches, morning after hash, leftovers, then the bones/carcass to make stock for soup.

A larger bird 1 hour is probably fine. As is 2, but not for me.

We cook 20-24 pound turkeys. I let them rest 30 minutes.

About 30-40 minutes, depending on how fast it cooks and how slow the cook is with the rest of the meal!

Same as you, beth: as soon as the gravy's done, it's go time!

Thanks guys. I was like, either I've been doing it wrong all my life, or these people are nuts. Two hours is just nuts. One hour is really pushing it for me.

Forget about resting. Get an instant read thermometer to check if the interior temperature has reached the food safe level.

dcarch

I plan on the turkey resting for 45 minutes in my time table. But there have been times when the bird got done well before the time planned ( little boy grand kids often mess with the dials on the oven!) and have let a1 6 pound turkey rest for nearly 2 hours....ti was still very hot... I tented it with foil and piled on lots of bath towels while we opened the rest of the Christmas gifts!
But 1 hour is good...2 hours is stretching it...unless it's a VERY large bird!

dcarch, resting isn't about the internal temp, it's about letting the juices seep back into the bird so it's not dry. :)

linda, wow. I would never have guessed it would still be hot after 2 hours! Smiling at the towels, I do that too. :)

colleen, very good! lol I was waiting for someone to crack a joke, but I thought it would be more along the lines of a lazy bird.... ;)

Thirty minutes is plenty. Forty five is fine. Linda's way of covering it to hold in the heat is a great idea. I have used this idea before to make a day or two ahead of time and it is great. I never put the whole bird on the table anymore anyway. Even if I cook Thanksgiving morning, I still slice and put on a platter.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/easy-tips-for-preparing-turkey-dinner-ahead-of-time/

I roast turkeys for Passover Seder, usually, rather than Thanksgiving. 20-22 lbs. So, as the part of the service that says "the festive meal is served" is coming up, I pull the turkey out. We start serving the soup, getting the meat out and slicing if necessary (depending on what it is), clearing the soup, serving the fish, plating the sides, clearing the fish, plating the meat, then carving the turkey.

In other words, I let it rest until I'm good and ready to bother with it. :)

Same as everyone else, 30-45 minutes. :)