There are a number of excellent ways to cook your turkey (or any poultry, really)—classic trussed and roasted, spatchcocked, or even smoked. There are numerous ways to ensure the bird is flavorful throughout, like brining or stuffing the cavity with herbs and other aromatics. But there is one strangely pervasive practice that ruins crispy turkey skin: tenting the turkey with foil after cooking.
Every Thanksgiving, I’d witness my mom stuff, roast, and carve a turkey. The bird would exit the oven, bronzed and shiny with visibly crisp skin. She’d caution me to be careful, the turkey was hot, and then she’d build an entire foil shell around it to keep it warm. Well, it was hot alright—hot and steaming. And so, it was a good long while before I ever knew the magic of crisp turkey skin. Please don’t think I’m needlessly roasting my mom on the internet—this is a cautionary tale.
Cooking the perfect turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner takes time and effort. After hours of preparing seasoning stuffing and roasting your beautiful bird, the last thing you want is for it to end up cold and dried out before hitting the table. Luckily, there are several simple and effective methods to keep your turkey piping hot and irresistibly moist for hours after it comes out of the oven.
Why You Need to Hold a Cooked Turkey
Ideally, you would take the turkey out of the oven and serve it immediately But for most home cooks, this is not realistic Here are some common scenarios that require holding a cooked turkey before carving and serving
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You need to free up oven space to cook side dishes and other parts of the meal.
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Your dinner guests are not arriving for several hours after the turkey is done.
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You are cooking the turkey a day or two in advance to reduce stress on the big day.
Holding the turkey properly ensures it stays safe to eat in addition to keeping it tender and juicy.
Food Safety Tips
When holding cooked turkey for any length of time, proper food safety is crucial. Here are some key tips:
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Cook raw turkey to an internal temperature of 165°F as measured by a food thermometer. This kills any potential bacteria.
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Do not leave turkey between 40-140°F for more than 2 hours. This is the “danger zone” for bacterial growth.
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Use a food thermometer to monitor the temperature when holding turkey. It must stay at 140°F or above.
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Carve turkey into smaller pieces to allow it to cool quicker before refrigerating.
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Discard any turkey left out for more than 2 hours. When in doubt, throw it out!
How Long Can a Turkey Be Held After Cooking?
According to the USDA, cooked turkey should not sit at room temperature for longer than 2 hours before being refrigerated. If the room temperature is above 90°F, this safe time is reduced to just 1 hour.
A whole cooked turkey can be held safely in an oven at 200-225°F for up to 4 hours after cooking. Cut or sliced turkey can be kept for 3-4 hours maximum when kept in aluminum foil or in simmering broth.
For food safety, it is not recommended to hold previously cooked turkey for longer than 4 hours before serving.
Tips for Keeping a Cooked Turkey Warm
Here are simple, reliable methods for keeping your holiday bird piping hot after it comes out of the oven:
Rest and Cover the Turkey
After cooking, let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before tightly covering it in a double layer of heavy-duty foil. The rest allows juices to redistribute while the foil traps in heat. This keeps the turkey hot for about 2 hours.
Hold the Turkey in a Low Oven
Place the foil-wrapped turkey in a 200°F oven on low heat. Add a pan of water for moisture. This gently maintains temperature for 3-4 hours.
Use the Roasting Pan
Putting the turkey back in its original roasting pan with 1-2 cups broth keeps it moist. Cover tightly and place in a 200-225°F oven for up to 4 hours.
Use a Crockpot
A slow cooker on low heat also does the trick for keeping turkey warm and delicious for up to 4 hours.
Submerge in Hot Gravy
Cut turkey into pieces and submerge in piping hot gravy or broth before serving to quickly reheat it.
Cook Spatchcocked Turkey
Butterflying the turkey speeds up roasting. You can cook a spatchcocked 10-12 lb. turkey in just 1 1⁄2 hours, letting you time it closer to dinner.
Avoid Drying Out the Turkey While Holding
The keys to preventing your held turkey from drying out are maintaining temperature and moisture. Here are some tips:
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Double wrap the turkey in heavy-duty foil to seal in moisture and heat.
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Hold the turkey in a warm oven with a pan of water to create steam.
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Place the turkey back in its roasting pan and add 1-2 cups broth or stock before covering.
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Baste the turkey pieces with broth, gravy or pan drippings before reheating.
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Monitor the temperature to ensure the turkey does not drop below 140°F when held.
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Slice the turkey breast across the grain to shorten muscle fibers and prevent toughening.
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Do not hold turkey longer than 4 hours, as it will start to lose moisture over time.
Make Sure to Enjoy Your Feast!
With some simple tricks using foil, gentle oven heat and broth, you can relax knowing your beautiful bird will be mouthwateringly tender and juicy when served. Focus on spending time with loved ones rather than worrying about the turkey temperature. Here’s to a perfectly cooked holiday centerpiece!
Why shouldn’t you tent your turkey?
If you or your parents have been tenting turkeys in an effort to keep them warm, I’m begging you to stop. Sure, foil can trap a bit of heat, but it’s way more effective at capturing steam and creating a surface for condensation to build up and drip off of. Drip where? You guess it, back on ol’ Birdy. More specifically, all that humidity and liquid is trapped right up against the turkey’s skin, quickly transforming it from crackling, crisp joy to floppy, rather unappetizing sog.
As it turns out, only Reynolds Wrap wants you to tent your turkey after cooking it (cant imagine why, or who spread this advice in the first place). Your turkey actually doesn’t need any covering at all to keep it warm. Large cuts of meat, not to mention entire Thanksgiving birds, hold onto heat very well unassisted. So well, it’s actually recommended to have large birds to sit for at least 30 to 45 minutes before carving. This gives the juices ample time to redistribute into the muscle tissue so you don’t lose it to the cutting board, and allows the turkey to actually cool down so you can carve it without hurting yourself. I’ve let my turkey rest for 45 minutes before carving and still had to stop and shake out my fingertips from the residual heat.
How to Rest Your Turkey Before Carving
FAQ
How do you keep a turkey warm after cooking?
Keeping the turkey at a nice temp without drying should be easy. Wrap it in a few layers of aluminium foil right after cooking then wrap in a couple layers of blanket or leave in a sealed cooler. That should keep it nice and warm for 3-5 hours.
How do you keep a turkey from drying out if it is done early?
At first I had difficulty believing that this process would actually work. How could a turkey cooked the prior day still be moist and tender? The key to keeping the turkey moist and tender was to pour enough chicken broth to cover the bottom Â1⁄4 inch of the pan and then tightly seal the entire pan with aluminum foil.
How do you transport a turkey after cooking?
Use insulated containers or wrap in foil and cover with heavy towels to help maintain hot food temperature. Place cold foods in a cooler with ice or freezer packs. Remember, all perishable foods should not remain at room temperature longer than two hours.