At 325°F an unstuffed turkey takes about 13 minutes per pound, and then it has to rest for 45 minutes before carving. Both numbers go into the calculation, which is why birds so often come out late.
Working backward from a 4:00pm dinner:
| Bird | In the oven | Oven + rest | Goes in by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 lb | 1h 44m | 2h 29m | 1:31pm |
| 10 lb | 2h 10m | 2h 55m | 1:05pm |
| 12 lb | 2h 36m | 3h 21m | 12:39pm |
| 14 lb | 3h 02m | 3h 47m | 12:13pm |
| 16 lb | 3h 28m | 4h 13m | 11:47am |
| 18 lb | 3h 54m | 4h 39m | 11:21am |
| 20 lb | 4h 20m | 5h 05m | 10:55am |
| 22 lb | 4h 46m | 5h 31m | 10:29am |
Eating at a different time? Shift every figure in the last column by the same amount — an hour later for 5pm, an hour earlier for 3pm. Use a thermometer rather than the clock: pull the bird at 161°F in the thickest part of the thigh and it will coast to about 170°F while it rests.
A turkey is four hours of doing almost nothing. What goes wrong on Thanksgiving is everything else: one oven that can only be one temperature, four burners, two hands, and nine dishes that all have to be hot at the same minute.
The bird comes out at 325°F. The stuffing wants 375°F, the rolls want 400°F, and the oven needs real minutes to get between them. Meanwhile the potatoes have to be mashed, the gravy made from the drippings, and the beans finished — and every one of those needs the same pair of hands.
That is the problem this tool solves. Tell it the bird and the sides and when you want to sit down, and it works out the order, including when to change the oven temperature and which jobs fit inside the turkey's rest.
Starting the sides too early. Mashed potatoes hold for about 35 minutes, roast potatoes 15, green beans 10, rolls 12. Start them all at once and three of them are cold by the time you sit down.
Forgetting the oven has to change temperature. Going from 325°F to 400°F takes real minutes, and an oven that says it is ready usually is not.
Not counting your own hands. Most people plan as though they can mash potatoes, make gravy and carve at the same moment. The last twenty minutes are where Thanksgiving dinners are lost.
Work backward, not forward. Take the time you want to eat, subtract 45 minutes for resting, then subtract about 13 minutes per pound. A 14 lb bird eaten at 4pm goes in at about 12:15pm.
Yes, and it is the most useful 45 minutes of the day. The juices settle so they stay in the meat instead of running onto the board, and the oven is then free for everything that needs it. Carving early is the commonest way to end up with dry turkey.
You cook most of them in the resting window. The bird comes out, the oven goes up to 375-400°F, and the stuffing, casseroles and rolls go in while the turkey rests under foil. The hard part is the order, which is what this tool works out.
Because dishes are usually started in the order they are remembered rather than the order they finish. Mashed potatoes hold for about 35 minutes; green beans hold for about 10; rolls for about 12. Starting them together guarantees something waits.
Cooking stuffing inside the bird adds roughly 30-45 minutes and means the stuffing has to reach 165°F, by which point the breast is usually overdone. Baking it separately is faster, safer and better.