For most of my adult life, my eating habits have been simple: real food, unadorned, and prepared well. This gets me into a lot of trouble when eating out or at someone’s home. Usually, I use my fork to chase food around the plate, without really eating much.
Case in point is Thanksgiving. I am happy with a few slices of turkey, steamed green beans, and a baked sweet potato. No gravy, no marshmallows. and definitely no green bean and mushroom soup goop. So yeah, this puts me in an awkward situation but I deal because eating this way causes me no bloat, no indigestion, and no lethargy from carb overload.
That brings me to the topic of this article, namely how to cook a perfectly moist, delicious, and unadorned turkey or turkey breast in 2 hours or less.
The Amazing 2-Hour Turkey
The recipe is so amazingly easy that I am surprised more people do not know about it. (Do a Google search and you will see it has been around for years.)
It begins with some prep work with number one being a clean oven. As you will see, your turkey will be cooked at a very high temperature and a clean oven will mitigate smoke generated from the dried splatters on your oven wall.
Ready to get started?
Ingredients:
Turkey or Turkey Breast; 10 to 24 pounds
Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Coarse Kosher Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
Water or Broth
Tools needed:
Roasting Pan
V-shaped or other roasting rack (I use this one.)
Meat thermometer
Directions:
Start preheating your oven to 450 degrees. It is important to preheat a full 30 minutes since over thermometers are woefully inaccurate.
Remove and discard truss, pull, trim, and discard excess lumps of fat. Remove giblets and neck.
Rinse turkey inside and out with warm water. Pat dry with paper towel.
Make a paste of olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Coconut oil can be substituted for olive oil. Generously rub over the top and bottom of your turkey or turkey breast/.
Place a roasting rack in a large baking pan. A 13 x 16 x 2 inch pan is optimal but even a regular baking sheet will work. Place the turkey, breast up, on the rack. If cooking a whole turkey, fold wing tips under. Not to worry, the roasting rack does not have to be huge. If the turkey needs more support, use scrunched up balls of aluminum foil at either end to keep in balanced.
Using aluminum foil, form caps over the tips of the end of each drumstick. Do not tie the legs together, add stuffing, or close the body cavity.
Pour about 1 inch of water or broth into the bottom of the pad. If your pan is deep enough, pour up to 2 inches.
Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer near center of the breast through the thickest part of the breast to the bone. (I use this one.)
Set pan on the lowest rack of a 450-degree oven. Cook according to the time chart below, checking as directed during cooking, until thermometer reaches 160 degrees.
Remove pan from oven and set in a warm spot. Let turkey rest 30 to 45 minutes. Not to worry, the turkey meat will still be hot.
Drain juices from the body cavity into roasting pan. If making gravy, spoon off and discard fat from drippings in pan. If drippings are dry, skim any fat from pan, then add 1 cup chicken broth; scrape drippings free.
Cut off turkey legs at thigh joint. If joint is red or pink, return legs to oven for 3 to 5 minutes (at 300 or 475 degrees) or heat in a microwave oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
Carve the rest of the turkey. Carving juices may be clear to rosy; both are fine. Save juices to pour into gravy for a richer flavor, if desired.
Cooking Times:
10-13 pound. 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours.
13-16 pound. 1 1/4 hours to 1 hour 50 min.
16-19 pound. 1 1/4 hours to 2 hours.
20-22 pound. 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
22-24 pound. 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours
Notes:
Do NOT use a convection oven
The original recipe specified cooking at 475 degrees. I cook my turkey or turkey breast at 450 with better results. The time to cook is not affected but use your thermometer be sure. I use a probe thermometer so I do not have to open the oven door during cooking.
Be sure to preheat for the full 30 minutes since most oven thermostats are woefully inaccurate.
Allow at least 1 pound of turkey per person, more if you want leftovers.
Source: Adapted from a recipe I picked up at a Safeway store years ago.
This is the probe thermometer and roasting rack that I use
Credit Where Credit is Due
I can not take credit for the original recipe although, over the years, I have made a number of modifications.
The source of the “2 Hour Turkey” was a flyer I picked up at a Safeway Supermarket at least ten years ago. After the first time making turkey in this manner, I never looked back and made turkey this way going forward. The most significant changes that I made were lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and adding some water or broth to the bottom of the pan.
Need to Print the Recipe?
Cook a super easy and super fast turkey or turkey breast in just 2 hours. This turkey will be very moist and delicious. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!
- Turkey or Turkey Breast; 10 to 24 pounds
- Coarse Ground Black Pepper
- Coarse Kosher Salt
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
- Water or Broth
- Roasting Pan
- V-shaped or other roasting racks
- Meat thermometer
-
Start preheating your oven to 450 degrees. It is important to preheat a full 30 minutes since over thermometers are woefully inaccurate.
-
Remove and discard truss, pull, trim, and discard excess lumps of fat. Remove giblets and neck.
-
Rinse turkey inside and out with warm water. Pat dry with paper towel.
-
Make a paste of olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Coconut oil can be substituted for olive oil. Generously rub over the top and bottom of your turkey or turkey breast/.
-
Place a roasting rack in a large baking pan. A 13 x 16 x 2 inch pan is optimal but even a regular baking sheet will work. Place the turkey, breast up, on the rack. If cooking a whole turkey, fold wing tips under.
-
Using aluminum foil, form caps over the tips of the end of each drumstick. Do not tie the legs together, add stuffing, or close the body cavity.
-
Pour about 1 inch of water or broth into the bottom of the pad. If your pan is deep enough, pour up to 2 inches.
-
Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer near center of the breast through the thickest part of the breast to the bone.
-
Set pan on the lowest rack of a 450-degree oven. Cook according to the time chart below, checking as directed during cooking, until thermometer reaches 160 degrees.
-
Remove pan from oven and set in a warm spot. Let turkey rest 30 to 45 minutes. Not to worry, the turkey meat will still be hot.
-
Drain juices from the body cavity into roasting pan. If making gravy, spoon off and discard fat from drippings in pan. If drippings are dry, skim any fat from pan, then add 1 cup chicken broth; scrape drippings free.
-
Cut off turkey legs at thigh joint. If joint is red or pink, return legs to oven for 3 to 5 minutes (at 300 or 475 degrees) or heat in a microwave oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
-
Carve the rest of the turkey. Carving juices may be clear to rosy; both are fine. Save juices to pour into gravy for a richer flavor, if desired.
-
10-13 pound. 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours.
-
13-16 pound. 1 1/4 hours to 1 hour 50 min.
-
16-19 pound. 1 1/4 hours to 2 hours.
-
20-22 pound. 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
-
22-24 pound. 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours
Notes:
Do NOT use a convection oven
The original recipe specified cooking at 475 degrees. I cook my turkey or turkey breast at 450 with better results. The time to cook is not affected but use your thermometer be sure. I use a probe thermometer so I do not have to open the oven door during cooking.
Be sure to preheat for the full 30 minutes since most oven thermostats are woefully inaccurate.
Allow at least 1 pound of turkey per person, more if you want leftovers.
Summing It All Up
Here in my home, there are two of us, so we favor a smaller turkey breast over a whole bird, Regardless, however, of the size, this recipe just works. I have never had a fail.
I don’t know anyone that does not enjoy turkey. For that reason, why not pick up some extras to stash in the freezer when they are on sale and cook them all year round, knowing that cooking will take at most, a trouble-free two hours plus another thirty minutes resting time?
Yours for a Joyful Life,
Gaye
Strategic Haul
There are just a couple of things that I recommend to ensure the success of this turkey. One is a decent probe thermometer and the other is a sturdy roasting rack.
Thermopro Probe Thermometer: Over the years, I have had many of these probe style thermometers. This brand is the only one that stands up to the high heat generated from a super hot oven or BBQ. The probe and wire can withstand up to 716°F which is amazing.
One feature that I really like is that you can select the item you are cooking from the set of icons in the lower part of the display as well as whether (for meats) you prefer rare, medium, or well. The corresponding temperature is then displayed in the upper part of the display. Of course, you can change the temperature manually but this saves having to look it up.
Silicone Roasting Rack: I use this silicone roasting rack for more than roasting a turkey. I use it as a trivet and as a cooling rack for my custom crafted essential oil salves. Sometimes I even stuff it into my Instant Pot and use it as a rack there. As a bonus, it can be washed in the dishwasher and pretty much indestructible.
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I am definitely giving this a try this year!
Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for making this years holiday dinner a little easier for this hostess!