How long to cook a turkey and why ours cook quicker
There are so many recipes and guides. Before I met my now husband, I’d never cooked a turkey, so I learnt the hard way with trial and error. Here are a few tips to fast track you to cooking your turkey.
4hrs v 2hrs for a 5.5Kg
To guide me initially, my go to which was Delia Smith. She advises 1st - cooking for 40 minutes on lower shelf + a further 3 hours for a 12 lb bird (around 5.5 kg), or 3½ hours for a 14 lb bird (around 6.3 kg) on a lower heat & then a final 30 minutes on a higher heat. Bringing the total cooking time for a 5.5kg turkey to 4hrs and 10 mins.
2hrs to cook a 5.5kg higher welfare bird
Having cooked many of our turkeys we discovered that ours cook much quicker than the recipe books. If you see our how to cook guidelines, you’ll see that a 5kg turkey will cook in only 2hrs and even a 9kg bird in only 3 hrs.
Why do our turkeys cook so quickly?
Many supermarket birds are reared in only 12 weeks, where ours are reared in nearly 6 months, meaning that our turkeys have had time to build up intra-muscular fat not present in most other birds.
How long should I cook my turkey for then?
If it’s not a Bramble Farm Turkey, and you still need help on how long to cook it for, here are some tips
The British Turkey website has a turkey cooking times calculator. This will give you a rough guide, however whatever the guide time, we always recommend you use a thermometer when it’s done.
4kg - 2hrs 50, 5 kg - 3hrs 10, 6 kg - 3hrs 30, 7 kg - 3 hrs 50
Ours cook in roughly the following times:
4 kg: 1 ½ -1 ¾ hrs, 5 kg: 2 hrs, 6 kg: 2 ¼ hrs, 7 kg: 2 ¾ hrs, 9 kg: 3 hrs.
As you see our turkeys cook much quicker, so wherever you buy your turkey, don’t rely on a recipe timing guide alone. We recommend you use a thermometer. We can’t cook a turkey without one.
How to use a thermometer to cook your turkey
From half way, we regularly check the temperature in the thickest parts with a meat thermometer. As soon as the thickest part gets to 65 °C we take it out. Then we leave the turkey uncovered at room temperature for 30 mins before carving. It will continue to cook. (Hard to believe, so leave the thermometer in and watch it rise!). See our how to cook video and cooking instructions for more details.
The temperature will vary depending where it is placed, look for the coldest part.
How to cook a turkey with an inbuilt oven thermometer
Many ovens these days have an inbuilt oven thermometer. These can be a great guide, but please beware of a few things. The oven thermometer will only tell you the temperature of the immediate area it’s in. When we test our turkey temperature, we test 4-5 places until we find the “coldest” part of the turkey (see the picture above)
Not ordered your turkey yet?
If you haven’t ordered your turkey already, why not order one of our free range award winning bronze turkeys. You can collect it directly from the farm in Surrey or get it delivered to your door in time for Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter.
Further reading
Not had a bramble Farm Turkey before? Find out more about how the 3 generations of the Joy family have been rearing award winning turkeys for 90 years.
See our prices and serving guide for weight options
See what our customers say about Bramble Farm Turkeys
Order your turkey now
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