You spend the entire day preparing and cooking the turkey. You may end up ready to serve hours before feast time and guests arrive. So, you’re left wondering how to keep a turkey warm.
Thanksgiving dinner is a staple in almost every household. Usually, the star of that dinner is a warm, juicy turkey that we are all craving. You’ve spent all month planning your menu, determining how big of a turkey to cook, how long it will take to cook the bird and making sure your guests will be entertained and your table set beautifully.
There are many ways to maintain the temperature of a turkey for a while. Let’s take a look at how to keep your turkey toasty and the factors that affect the process.
Cooking a turkey for a big holiday meal can be stressful. You want the turkey to be piping hot and juicy when you serve it but timing it perfectly is tricky. Often the turkey ends up sitting for a while between coming out of the oven and hitting the table. Luckily there are several great methods for keeping your turkey warm for up to 4 hours after cooking.
Why Keeping Your Turkey Warm Matters
You may be wondering if it really makes a difference whether your turkey stays warm or not. Here are some key reasons you’ll want to focus on keeping your bird hot:
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Hot turkey tastes best. Serving warm, juicy turkey will lead to rave reviews from your guests.
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Cold turkey dries out. As the turkey cools, moisture evaporates and the meat dries out. This leads to a less enjoyable eating experience.
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Food safety. Keeping foods in the “danger zone” between 40-140°F for too long fosters bacteria growth. You don’t want to risk foodborne illness.
Follow proper food safety guidelines and keep your turkey out of the danger zone by keeping it warm after cooking.
Proper Cook Times
To keep your turkey warm you first need to cook it fully. A good rule of thumb is to roast an unstuffed turkey for 15 minutes per pound at 325°F. Use a meat thermometer to confirm the turkey reaches 165°F at the thickest part of the thigh.
For a spatchcocked turkey, cook at 450°F for about 9-10 minutes per pound until 165°F.
How Long Can You Keep a Cooked Turkey Warm?
According to the USDA, perishable foods like turkey should not sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if above 90°F).
However, you can keep your properly cooked turkey warm for up to 4 hours using the following methods.
Best Ways to Keep Your Turkey Warm for 4 Hours
1. Hold the Turkey in the Oven
One of the best ways to keep your turkey piping hot is to hold it in the oven after cooking.
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After cooking, let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before transferring it back to the oven.
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Keep the oven temp between 200-225°F. Place a pan of warm water under the turkey to prevent drying out.
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Cover the turkey tightly with foil before putting it back in the oven.
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The turkey can be held for up to 4 hours safely using this method.
2. Use an Insulated Cooler
Another option is to place the cooked turkey in an insulated cooler, wrapped in towels.
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Let the turkey rest 20 minutes after cooking. Cover tightly with foil.
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Wrap turkey in towels and place in a large insulated cooler.
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Turkey can stay hot for up to 4 hours this way.
3. Slice and Hold in Broth
For longer holding times, carve the turkey and hold it in warm broth or gravy.
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After cooking and resting, carve turkey into slices.
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Lay slices in a pan with turkey broth, just covering the bottom.
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Cover pan with foil and keep warm in the oven at 200-225°F.
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The broth helps keep the sliced meat moist.
4. Use a Chafing Dish
Chafing dishes with burners are great for keeping foods warm for buffet serving.
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Carve turkey and load into chafing pans with broth.
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Keep burner on low, with lid on to retain moisture and heat.
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Refill water pan as needed to keep moist.
Safety Tips
When keeping your turkey warm after cooking, follow these safety guidelines:
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Cook to proper internal temperature (165°F).
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Don’t let turkey sit out more than 2 hours room temperature.
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Use thermometers and check temps regularly.
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Keep turkey covered to retain moisture and heat.
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Discard any turkey left out too long. Don’t risk getting sick!
Make Sure Your Turkey Stays Hot and Delicious
Keeping your turkey hot and moist for up to 4 hours after cooking is easy with these proven methods. Now you can relax knowing your holiday bird will be just as delicious at serving time as when it first came out of the oven. Focus on creating those perfect side dishes, and let your turkey keep itself warm until mealtime!
Placing in an Oven
Leaving your turkey in the oven can help keep it warm. This method can be a double-edged sword, but it works well.
To use the oven to keep your turkey warm, follow these steps:
- After the cooking process is over, take the turkey out of the oven.
- Turn off the oven and let it cool.
- Let your bird rest for about 15-30 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 200°F.
- Place it back in the oven.
- Baste your turkey periodically.
If you’re going to use this method, don’t skip steps 1-3. This is because, during this time, you’re stopping the cooking process.
You’re bringing the bird’s temperature down rapidly so it won’t overcook. Then you put the turkey back in the oven at a low temperature just to keep it warm.
Basting is when you pour fat, or gravy, on protein while it cooks. Doing so helps keep the turkey moist.
This step is optional but can help prevent your bird from drying out. That can be incredibly handy if you have to keep the turkey warm for a long time.
Note: Some ovens come with a separate warming tray. If you have that, use it! It works fantastic.
If you don’t have extra oven space, you can try pouring gravy over your turkey. This method can help keep the bird warm for a while.
To use this method, you can follow these steps:
- Warm up your gravy on the stove.
- Take your turkey out of the oven and immediately cover it in gravy.
- Add a new scoop of warm gravy over the turkey every 10 minutes.
Pro: All the added gravy can keep the bird incredibly moist. Moreover, it can also add an extra layer of flavor and texture.
Con: This method sounds simple, but it’s the most labor intensive. You have to stay next to your turkey for as long as you want to keep it warm. Additionally, not all of your guests want gravy. This is really the option of last resort.
Con: Unfortunately, it’s also almost impossible to maintain crispy skin with this method.
This method may not add heat to the turkey, but it helps maintain the temperature longer.
Carving a turkey increases its surface area and it will start to cook must faster. Hold off on carving until right before serving the meal and you’ll be able to serve nice, warm slices of a perfectly cooked holiday meal!
Methods to Keep a Turkey Warm
Keeping a turkey warm can a tricky ordeal, but we’ll help you out. You want to keep adding heat without drying out the meat.
Here’s our favorite ways to maintain your turkey’s temperature.
The most common method of keeping a turkey warm is wrapping it up with foil. Not only is this process fairly simple, but it’s also quite effective.
You can follow these steps to use this method:
- Take your turkey out of the oven.
- Let it rest for about 15-30 minutes.
- Drain any excess juices from the pan.
- Cover the whole turkey in aluminum foil.
- Place a warm kitchen towel over the foil.
- Set the turkey down in a warm area.
Pro: This method can help keep your bird warm for an extra couple of hours. It uses the residual heat and steam trapped in the bird to keep it toasty.
Con: This isn’t the ideal method for you if you like crispy skin. Because you trap steam in with the turkey, the skin starts to soften.
Removing excess juices helps reduce this issue, but it will cause the skin to lose its crispiness.
How do you keep a turkey warm for 4 hours?
FAQ
How to keep a turkey warm without drying out?
What temperature should you keep a turkey warm?
Can you rest a turkey for 4 hours?
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