Can I Stop Cooking My Turkey and Start Again? A Guide to Pausing and Restarting Your Roast

Roasting a whole turkey is a process that requires careful timing and temperature control for the best results. But life happens, and you may find yourself needing to halt cooking partway through for some reason. Is it safe to stop and start roasting your turkey? Let’s explore some dos and don’ts around interrupting your bird’s time in the oven.

Reasons You Might Need to Pause Roasting

There are a few common scenarios that could lead you to pause roasting your thanksgiving turkey

• Oven malfunction – A power or equipment failure forces you to remove the half-cooked bird,

• Cooking time miscalculation – The turkey is taking much longer than expected to become done.

• Schedule changes – Dinner plans get pushed back, but the turkey is already in the oven

• Space issues – You need to use the oven for something else before the turkey finishes.

No matter the reason, you’ll need a plan to safely store and later restart cooking your turkey.

Can You Safely Stop and Resume Roasting a Turkey?

Stopping halfway through roasting and then continuing later is generally not recommended for food safety reasons. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it is risky to partially cook poultry and other foods.

Pathogens like salmonella can survive an initial cook. Then stopping the cooking allows bacteria to multiply again as the temperature drops into the danger zone between 40-140°F.

Despite the risks, there may be cases where you have no choice but to pause roasting. Let’s review some best practices to help you safely manage interruptions.

Key Considerations When Pausing Roasting

If you must stop cooking your turkey, follow these guidelines to keep it safe before restarting:

• Only pause once the turkey reaches 165°F internally. Partial cooking under this temp is very risky.

• Let turkey rest at room temperature no more than 2 hours once removed from oven.

• Separate meat from the carcass and refrigerate in shallow containers immediately if pausing more than 2 hours.

• When refrigerating, use ice baths and cooling fans to quickly chill meat below 40°F.

• Cook reloaded meat to 165°F again as quickly as possible, within 1-2 hours ideally. Reheating slowly promotes bacteria growth.

• Check internal temp in multiple spots – meat near bones warms slower.

• Do not attempt to reheat a fully cooked, refrigerated turkey. Only partially cooked turkey should be resumed.

• Discard any turkey left above 40°F for over 2 hours. Do not take risks with poultry!

Proper control of time and temperature at every step is crucial when pausing and restarting. Follow guidelines strictly to avoid foodborne illness.

Step-By-Step Process for Stopping and Restarting Roasting

If you need to pause roasting, follow these steps:

1. Cook turkey until internal temperature reaches at least 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and thigh.

2. Remove turkey from oven and let rest on counter for up to 2 hours maximum. Cover loosely with foil.

3. For longer pauses, carve turkey off the bones into smaller pieces. Put pieces in shallow containers.

4. Chill rapidly in fridge using ice baths until meat is below 40°F throughout.

5. When ready to resume cooking, position oven racks to accommodate pans. Preheat oven to 350°F.

6. Distribute chilled turkey pieces into roasting pans. Cook uncovered until 165°F again, about 1-2 hours.

7. Check internal temperature in multiple spots to ensure doneness. Meat near bones may lag.

8. Let turkey rest at least 15 minutes before serving. Reheated meat needs to relax and redistribute juices.

With proper handling, it is possible to safely stop and restart roasting. But avoid it when you can, and never take risks with partially cooked poultry.

Best Ways to Avoid Needing to Pause Roasting

Ideally you should plan your Thanksgiving cooking so that the turkey roasts straight through with no interruptions. Here are some tips:

• Allow plenty of time for your turkey size to finish roasting. Build in a buffer.

• Use a probe thermometer with kitchen timer to track doneness and prevent overcooking.

• Start early and time other dishes around turkey completion, not vice versa.

• Have a backup roasting pan ready in case the original is needed for other dishes.

• Cook stuffing outside the bird in a casserole to free up oven space.

• Arrange oven racks so you can access other dishes without moving the turkey.

• Budget for a spare oven thermometer to confirm temperature is accurate if turkey seems to be cooking unusually slow or fast.

With good organization and allowing a cushion, you can usually avoid any need to stop roasting before the turkey reaches the minimum safe final temperature.

The Takeaway

Need to stop roasting your turkey before it’s fully cooked? Proceed very carefully. Follow proper guidelines for rapidly chilling and promptly restarting cooking to prevent bacterial growth. Avoid interrupting cooking when at all possible for food safety. With some planning, you can typically roast your holiday bird straight through with no unwanted pauses.