How To Cook a Frozen Turkey

So, your turkey is still frozen. You have no time left to thaw it, and it’s Thanksgiving morning. Is all lost? No! You can easily and safely cook a completely frozen turkey — and it will taste pretty good! If you find yourself staring down a turkey that’s still frozen solid on Thanksgiving morning, we have the easy and safe method to cook it into a golden, delicious Thanksgiving showstopper.

Yes, cooking a turkey from frozen or partially frozen is totally food-safe. It is even USDA-approved.

Why is it safe? Whenever we’re thawing and cooking turkeys, our goal is to move the bird through the temperature danger zone of 40°F to 140°F as quickly as possible. This is because, within this range, harmful bacteria and toxins can accumulate to harmful levels if the food is left for too long (longer than two hours).

When cooking a frozen turkey, no part of the turkey is within the temperature danger zone for longer than is safe, even though the total cooking time is longer. The meat cooks through as it thaws and reaches that safe temperature within those two hours.

Your frozen turkey will take about 50 percent longer to cook than if it was thawed. For instance, a 14-pound frozen turkey will take about 5 3/4 hours to cook — refer to the chart below for more estimated cooking times.

You can also cook a partially thawed turkey; the estimated cooking times will be slightly less than for a frozen turkey.

The turkey cooks as it thaws. The wings and drumsticks will cook the fastest since they’re relatively small and are on the outside of the turkey, while the big, thick muscle on the breast will take the longest. It also cooks from the outside in, so when you check the temperature during cooking, the meat close to the surface might be done cooking, while the meat closer to the bone will still be cool. Be sure to check the turkey’s temperature at multiple places and at multiple depths; when everything is above 165°F, you’re ready to eat.

Our full instructions below also clarify when to season the turkey.

• 8- to 12-pound turkey: 4 to 4 1/2 hours
• 12- to 14-pound turkey: 4 1/2 to 5 3/4 hours
• 14- to 18-pound turkey: 5 3/4 to 6 1/4 hours
• 18- to 20-pound turkey: 6 1/4 to 6 3/4 hours
• 20- to 24-pound turkey: 6 3/4 to 7 1/2 hours

Partially thawed turkeys will have shorter cooking times. Start taking the turkey’s temperature at the lower end of the time range above.

When all parts of the turkey register 165°F, the turkey is ready. Be sure to check the turkey temperature at multiple body parts (center of breast, the upper thigh) within the meat since the interior will be the last to thaw and cook through.

You absolutely need to use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the turkey when using this method. Do not wing it! (Yes, that was a poultry joke, sorry.) The outside may seem done and the juices might even run clear, but the inner areas might still be frozen or under-temperature. Make sure you have a thermometer on hand, or send someone out to the store to get one.

The oven-roasting method is the only truly safe way to cook a frozen turkey. Avoid these four critical mistakes:

1. DO NOT attempt to deep-fry or grill a frozen turkey. Deep-frying a partially- or fully-frozen turkey is very dangerous and can lead to oil explosions.
2. DO NOT try to stuff the turkey. It will be too frozen to stuff at the beginning. It’s best to cook the stuffing separately. A stuffed turkey slows down the cooking process even further, and since the stuffing has to cook to 165°F as well as the meat, the turkey meat will overcook and become dry before the stuffing is ready.
3. DO NOT forget to remove the giblets halfway through cooking. If your turkey has giblets or the neck inside the body cavity, you will not be able to remove them before cooking; the turkey will be just too solidly frozen. Partway through cooking, the turkey should have thawed enough that you’ll be able to remove the giblets. Use long tongs to carefully extract them from the body cavity. If your giblets are wrapped in plastic, be very careful that the plastic doesn’t get so hot that it starts to melt.
4. DO NOT attempt cooking a frozen turkey without a thermometer. Yes, I know we mentioned this above, but let’s say it one more time. You absolutely must take the turkey’s temperature to verify it is completely cooked and safe to eat.

Here’s the million-dollar question: Sure, you can cook a frozen turkey, but is it anything you want to eat? Does a turkey cooked from frozen taste good? Yes! It does!

After cooking a few frozen turkeys, I can verify that frozen turkey is really quite good. It cooks more slowly at a lower temperature, so I’ve found that the breast often turns out juicier than than a fully-thawed turkey.

With a regular, thawed turkey, the breast meat tends to cook the most quickly, and often becomes overcooked and dry while you wait for the thighs and drumsticks to catch up. This is reversed with a frozen turkey — the big, dense breast meat takes much longer to thaw and cook than the smaller thighs and drumsticks. Since the breast meat is the last to finish cooking, it actually stays quite moist. Even though the legs and thighs cook faster, the dark meat can handle a little extra cooking.

Don’t be alarmed if the top inch or so of the breast meat hits 165°F and quickly shoots upward, even while the meat below it is still stubbornly below temperature. I found that the meat as a whole stayed surprisingly moist, even when technically overcooked. My suspicion is that the evaporating liquids from deep within the meat help keep the upper layers from drying out.

In terms of seasoning, you won’t be able to do any fancy rubs, brines, or other days-in-advance prep to your turkey — you have to keep things pretty basic with a frozen turkey. Once the outside of the turkey is thawed, partway through cooking, you can brush it with butter (or another sauce!) and rub it with salt, pepper, and any other spices you like.

And if you find that your turkey does wind up a touch on the dry side, that’s where gravy picks up the slack.

On the other hand, one downside to this method is that it ties up your oven for several hours right when you probably need it the most. We have some help for that — take a look at our round-up of stovetop Thanksgiving side dishes for ways to cook your favorite sides while the oven is occupied.