Turkey Cooking Tips

Foil Tent:

Roasting turkey with a Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil tent is an easy way get a delicious golden brown color for your turkey without losing any of the juicy taste.

To start, turn your roasting dish upside down and tear off a sheet of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil for the size of your pan. Mold the foil to the bottom of the pan. Flip pan right side up and place foil liner inside, crimping edges around the edges.

Place your turkey in the pan and cover with foil tent.

To create a foil tent, tear off a sheet of foil long enough to cover your turkey and crease, leaving 1 inch between the foil and turkey. Cook in a 450 degree F oven. Turn back the foil during the last 30 minutes to brown.

Foil Wrap:

Use a single piece of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil to have less mess.

To wrap your turkey, tear off a sheet of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil that is 2 times longer than your pan (or 2 1/2 times longer than your turkey. Place foil sheet in the center of a roasting pan at least 2 inches deep. Allow equal lengths of foil to hang over each end of the pan. If your turkey is over 16 pounds, use a 3- to 4-inch deep roasting pan.

Place turkey lengthwise in the center of the foil sheet. Close foil loosely by overlapping the ends. Do not seal airtight. Turn up short sides of foil to hold in juices.

Place turkey in the oven and cook until meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees F. To take temperature, insert a meat thermometer into thickest part of inner thigh, not touching bone. If stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should be 165 degrees F. To brown turkey, carefully open and turn back foil 30 minutes before roasting is finished.

Tip: Not sure how long to cook your bird? Check out our cooking times chart to find out how long you'll need to cook your turkey by weight.

Note: A large amount of juices will collect in the roasting pan. To safely remove pan, ladle some juices into a bowl or large measuring cup before removing turkey from oven.

After removing turkey from oven, re-cover with foil and let stand 15 minutes to let juices settle for easy slicing.

Oven Bags:

Reynolds Kitchens® Oven Bags are an easy way to minimize cleanup and lock in flavor for a juicy turkey your whole family will love.

To use, simply season your turkey and add 1 Tablespoon of flour to a Reynolds Kitchens® Oven Bag. Give the bag a shake to coat the insides. Place turkey in the oven bag and roast in the oven at 350 degrees F. When you’re done, just toss the oven bag and enjoy your delicious meal!

Tip: Save the juices that gather inside your oven bag to make flavorful gravy.

Note: Cooking with an oven bag may shave off up to an hour of your total turkey cook time!

Watch our handy how-to video below and check out our recipe for Oven Bag Citrus Herb Roasted Turkey.