It’s that time of year again for “Cooking with Judy” Here’s my yearly Thanksgiving post — cuz it’s tooooo good not to be shared!
I have a reputation, among those who know me, to have an “interesting” sense of humor. Even though How to Cook A Turkey with 500 degree heat sounds like a joke IT IS NO JOKE.
The turkey comes out brown, beautiful and MOIST.
I’ve done this every year for over three decades and it’s never failed. (One time I did a 20-plus pounder and parts were not completely cooked so I zapped the parts in the microwave)
I’ve shared this with many others and it has failed only once — the woman bought a ButterBall Turkey . . . and has never eaten turkey since. To see why, keep reading.
Ingredients:
10 – 18 pound turkey* and a sense of adventure
Directions:
- Pre Heat oven 500 degrees (this is not a typo)
- Clean the bird
- Throw it into a covered container – put on lid or aluminum foil
- Do not add ANYTHING to the pot and/or the bird.
- Do NOT baste or look at until time is up (you will hear burbling, don’t worry, by the time you hear burbling the turkey is dead)
- Bake (and I do mean BAKE), 7 minutes per pound, unstuffed at 500 degrees FARENHEIT
- 7 1/2 minutes per pound, stuffed
*WARNING: Do NOT buy any *turkey that has ANYTHING injected under the skin (especially butter!) or the fire department will join you for dinner after you scrub the black soot from your ceiling.
Q & A (I won’t bother you with the Q-part)
- Yes, it comes out brown and beautiful.
- No, it is moist and delicious
- I always put the stuffing in a casserole rather than the turkey – others have stuffed the bird and said it was great.
- Yes, it will smell like Thanksgiving not like a house-on-fire.
- No, PETA would not endorse this because it is more humane . . . for the cook
- Yes! 500 degrees. It is not a typo
- Yes, 7 minutes a pound
P.S. A typical turkey will take a little over 1 hour to bake. The first year I made the turkey this way I had the critter sitting out raw and naked as a J-bird when the guests arrived.
When they found out nothing was in the oven everyone nervously inquired what time we were going to eat.
Made me smile.
“Food for thought. “
CURIOUS to the MAX 
Not sure I want my oven up to 500 degrees – more than the turkey might combust!
I also do the stuffing outta the bird, but loosely put celery, onion, carrot, fresh herbs inside (parsley, thyme, rosemary.)
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Shari,
It won’t combust – just cook moist and deeeeeeeelicious.
I do all the stuffing in a casserole too because I think that stuffing the inside of a turkey is just adding insult to injury!
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This year — since I have enough heads up (thanks for the reminder), and I know it is NOT a joke …. I am going to do this recipe!! Will report back! LOL
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JJ, can you season as usual? And, can this method be used with Turkey Breast and/or other birds?
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Becca, I’ve never seasoned so I don’t know if spices on the skin surface will scorch. I have put an onion inside the cavity, which didn’t seem to make a difference.
Yes, the method can be used with roasts and other “birds” but I don’t know if the 7 minutes a pound is accurate for anything smaller than 10 pounds.
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I’m going to live dangerously, and add some … going to use a turkey breast, unless I can find a small turkey! Not many mouths to feed this year! I’ll keep you posted!
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Becca,
Get a BIG breast!
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Becca,
PLEASE report back so people know I’m not joking!
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We’re bbqing ours on the Big Green Egg this year. It’s a first!
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Jacqui,
It’s a first for you and a last for the turkey!
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