Simple Roasted Turkey and Potatoes - Kosher Everyday (2024)

FAQs

Can potatoes be cooked with turkey? ›

After 1 ½ hours cooking, mix potatoes with oil and seasoning and place on a baking tray or around the turkey to cook, turning potatoes occasionally until tender, golden and crisp. To serve; place turkey on to a large serving platter with potatoes and accompanied with McCormick gravy and cooked beans.

We recommend roasting turkey at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 13 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey. We've done the math for you — check out the chart below to determine both turkey cook times and estimated servings (with leftovers!).

What Temperature to Cook the Turkey? Cook your turkey at 325 degrees F for most of the cook time; in the final 45 minutes, remove the cover or foil tent from the turkey, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and baste the bird with butter. The initial lower oven temperature cooks the turkey through evenly.

According to the experts at America's Test Kitchen, you should use 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of turkey (and ¾ teaspoon per pound if you're cooking just the breast). So if you're cooking a 12-pound turkey, that's about ¼ cup of salt for the whole bird.

Do I have to boil potatoes before roasting? Not necessary but this can help get the perfect consistency and crispiness. Make sure you boil them but leave them a bit al dente and they will crisp up perfectly in the oven.

The two can be readily combined, either in a combined dish – or separately as you describe. Typically, a 400°F oven will bake a potato in about an hour. As for combining in a 325°F oven, the potatoes will still bake up fine – just allow more time for the potatoes to cook.

To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.

These times are based on a room temperature turkey at 325 degrees F the entire time; plan on about 15 to 17 minutes per pound (the times below are based on 15 minutes per pound).

Calculate turkey cooking time and temperature. The simplest way to figure out turkey roasting times is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey (that's about 3 hours for a 12- to 14-lb. turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey.

"Often, consumers will inquire about adding water to the bottom of their roasting pans. We do not recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan. Cooking a turkey with steam is a moist heat-cook method and is acceptable, sure, but is not the preferred method for cooking your turkey."

How long should you let a turkey sit out before cooking? ›

Your turkey will cook more evenly and faster if you start it out at room temperature so remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. If you plan to stuff your turkey, wait until you're ready to put it in the oven before putting the stuffing in the turkey.

According to a study by the food safety experts at the USDA, washing or rinsing raw turkey can put you at risk of foodborne illness. There's only one time you should wash a raw turkey, and that is after brining. Otherwise, do not wash a turkey before cooking.

Kosher birds do not need to be seasoned with salt or brined before roasting.

One key reason is the taste—whether you wet-brine or dry-brine, using all! that! salt! infuses the bird with flavor, giving it an extra boost before you add any spices or aromatics. It also helps the meat retain its moisture and can help you avoid over-cooking, our associate food editor Kelsey Youngman explains.

This is not your usual turkey recipe. Instead of worrying about a dry turkey and lumpy gravy, you get an extremely moist bird cooked on a bed of vegetables that yields not only the best tasting clear gravy, but a vegetable side for your meal as well.

Now give boiled potatoes as a part of the food, and a small portion of some small grain may be added, in fact making the food very much like that of other poultry. If fed in this way and kept dry, they will come along all right.”

Starchy potatoes crisp up nicely on the outside, but can lose their shape when roasted, creating a fluffed up center rather than a creamy, flavorful one. Waxy potatoes on the other hand, hold their shape well when roasted, but they don't crisp up as easily and their firm flesh takes longer to cook.