Turkey Cooking Times
If you’re in charge of the Christmas dinner this year and you’re cooking turkey, here are those all-important turkey cooking times you’ll need.
Cooking at 180c / 350f
| Turkey size (kg) | Turkey size (lbs) | Mins per kg | Mins per lbs |
| Under 4.5kg | Under 10lbs | 45 (+20) | 20 (+20) |
| 4.5kg - 6.5kg | 10lbs - 14lbs | 40 | 18 |
| Above 6.5kg | Above 14lbs | 35 | 16 |
Example cooking times
| Category | Weight (kg) | Weight (lbs) | Cooking time | Total time | |
|
Under 4.5kg / 10lbs |
4 | 9 | 4kg x 45 mins (+20 mins) | 9lbs x 20 mins (+20 mins) | 3h 20m |
| 4.5kg - 6.5kg | 6 | 13 | 6kg x 40 mins | 13lbs x 18 mins | 4 hours |
| Above 6.5kg | 10 | 22 | 10kg x 35 mins | 22kg x 16 mins | 5h 50m |
Other tips to consider
- Keep your turkey in the fridge until it's ready to use.
- Keep raw turkey at the bottom of the fridge, away from other ready-to-eat foods (to avoid cross contamination).
- Make sure the turkey is full defrosted - this can take a couple of days in the fridge for a 10kg turkey.
- Don’t wash turkey under the tap. This is to avoid raw turkey juices splashing everywhere.
- Always check your turkey is cooked. Ensuring there's no pink in the middle and the juices run clear.
- Leave your turkey to rest in foil when removing from the oven.
Cooking times adapted from the Food Standards Agency and NHS Choices.
This guide was written by Warren Nash on 16/12/2016
