by 
There is nothing worse than waking up on Thanksgiving morning to discover that you forgot to defrost your turkey. You panic!! There is no safe way to thaw a turkey in time to eat it and you can’t figure out what to do. Well, I am here to help rescue you. We are going to cook a frozen turkey! Believe me, my wife and I were skeptical about how this would turn out. However, it was the moistest turkey that we have ever served and it was very easy to pull off. In fact, this is how we cook our turkeys every year now. Unfortunately, it was so easy, the only photo I took was of the frozen turkey. Whoops!
How to Cook a Frozen TurkeyÂ
Just follow these easy steps.
Preheat the oven to 325°F and cook for the specified time based on the weight of your bird. As you can see from the chart below, the turkey takes a little longer to cook from frozen, but it works, trust me!
| Weight in Pounds | 8 lbs | 12 lbs | 14 lbs | 18 lbs | 20 lbs | 24 lbs |
| Time in hours for a Thawed Turkey | 2h 45m | 3h | 3h 45m | 4h 15m | 4h 30m | 5h |
| Time in hours for a Frozen Turkey | 4h 10m | 4h 15m | 5h | 6h | 6h 45m | 7h 30m |
Below are the instructions for a 12-14 lb bird. Â If you have a larger bird, please see the above chart.
Line a rimmed cookie sheet or short walled pan with foil and place a cooling rack on it. Remove the plastic covering from the turkey and place it on the rack breast side down. Do not worry about the giblets.  Since the turkey is frozen, you won’t be able to remove them.  Further, turkey companies know that thousands of people forget the giblets and therefore they are designed to be cooked inside of the turkey. We will remove them later, once the turkey has sufficiently thawed.
Cook the turkey for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the giblets from the turkey and flip the turkey breast side up.
By the 3 1/2 hour mark, the turkey should be well on its way to being cooked. Â If you wish to stuff the turkey, do so at this point. Â Using a large wooden spoon, add the stuffing to the cavity.
At about 4 hours, start checking the temperatures on the thighs and breasts. Keep checking the temperature of the turkey every 20-30 minutes.
Your most critical question will be: How will I know when my turkey is done? The safe temperature for consumption is 165 degrees in the breast.  However, the table below shows when to pull the bird when cooking it from frozen.  Based on this cooking strategy, the thighs cooked faster, but this may not always be the case.  Make sure that you pull the turkey when the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh are at least 165 degrees.
| Thighs | Breast |
| 175-180 degrees | 165 degrees |
You cannot cook a turkey from frozen without a good thermometer. I can’t function without a probe thermometer.  A probe thermometer is a leave-in thermometer that allows you to monitor the turkey without having to open the oven.  The Chef Alarm is simple to use and has a large display.
Along with the probe thermometer, I also highly recommend an instant read thermometer. The Super-fast Thermapen is a professional instrument that can read temperatures accurately in 1-2 seconds. While this costs a bit, the $96 is totally worth it and I use it in my every day cooking.
If you don’t want to spend much, but still want a reliable instant read thermometer, I recommend the ThermoPop. This is the newest thermometer from Thermoworks that is just as awesome as the Thermapen, but with a bit of a slower response at 5-6 seconds.  This is way faster than the grocery store thermometers, however, and are way more accurate. They are only $29.  A steal if you ask me.
My 14lb turkey was done after 4 1/2  hours. The thighs were 178°F, the breast was at 165°F and the skin was golden brown.
Once your turkey is at temperature, remove the bird from the oven and cover it with foil. Â Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Â I like mine to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- 1 14-16 lb turkey
- 1 cookie sheet
- 1 cooling rack
- 1 instant read or probe thermometer
-
Just follow these easy steps.
-
Preheat the oven to 325°F and cook for the specified time based on the weight of your bird.
-
Below are the instructions for a 12-14 lb bird. If you have a larger bird, please see the chart on the website.
-
Line a rimmed cookie sheet or short walled pan with foil and place a cooling rack on it. Remove the plastic covering from the turkey and place it on the rack breast side down. Do not worry about the giblets. Since the turkey is frozen, you won't be able to remove them. Further, turkey companies know that thousands of people forget the giblets and therefore they are designed to be cooked inside of the turkey. We will remove them later, once the turkey has sufficiently thawed.
-
Cook the turkey for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the giblets from the turkey and flip the turkey breast side up.
-
By the 3 1/2 hour mark, the turkey should be well on its way to being cooked. If you wish to stuff the turkey, do so at this point. Using a large wooden spoon, add the stuffing to the cavity.
-
At about 4 hours, start checking the temperatures on the thighs and breasts. Keep checking the temperature of the turkey every 20-30 minutes.
-
Your most critical question will be: How will I know when my turkey is done? The safe temperature for consumption is 165 degrees in the breast. Based on this cooking strategy, the thighs cooked faster, but this may not always be the case. Make sure that you pull the turkey when the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh are at least 165 degrees.
-
You cannot cook a turkey from frozen without a good thermometer.
-
My 14lb turkey was done after 4 1/2 hours. The thighs were 178°F, the breast was at 165°F and the skin was golden brown.
-
Once your turkey is at temperature, remove the bird from the oven and cover it with foil. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. I like mine to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Crazy, I've never even thought you could do that. I've been tempted with a frozen pork butt before:)
I didn't either Chris. Dana and I were really skeptical but it was awesome! Juicy, tender and delicious! Plus, it really took no effort at all. Easiest meal ever!
I’ve longing’ so long to find a recipe on how to cook a turkey and I’m glad I find here. Thank you for explaining it so well that made me easy to understand. Thank you so much! I owe it to you !
Defrosting a turkey could really take a while, I noted the steps you had mentioned and will try them for this year’s thanksgiving.
Did you cover any parts of the turkey or use a cooking bag? Did any part get overcooked?
Tersa,
I did not use a cooking bag and no parts got overcooked. It actually was one of the most juicy birds that I have ever eaten. The key is to use a thermometer to monitor the temperature.
Rex
wouldnt the juices overflow a rimmed cookies sheet? and what about the plastic they use to hold legs together, wouldnt that melt and add a terrible flavor to the turkey?its hard enough to get out when the turkey is thatwed but waht about all that melted plastic?
Carole,
I have cooked 10 turkeys this way and none have ever had enough juices to come close to overflowing the cookie sheet. The plastic that holds the legs together is oven safe. It is meant to be cooked with the turkey even when thawed. Therefore, there is no need to worry about melted plastic. Best of luck with your turkey.
Regards,
Rex
Can it be done without the rack. I also have bags to use if needed. It has been in the refrigerator for 4 days. Still frozen with a tiny bit of give in one small spot. Ideas??
Shirley,
You want the turkey off the bottom of the pan to allow for airflow. So if you do not have a rack, place a few whole carrots and/or stalks of celery below the turkey to raise it up.
As for the partially frozen turkey. Can you remove the giblets? If so, remove them and cook the turkey breast side up at 325 for roughly 4-5 hours. Using a meat thermometer, check the temperature in the breast and when it hits 165 you are ready to eat. If the giblets are still frozen inside the turkey, follow the directions above.
Rex
I always use a roasting pan in the oven. Can I still use that and, should I leave the lid off the pan?
Lorraine,
You can use a roasting pan, I would recommend leaving the lid off though. Make sure to use the rack for the turkey. You want to have it sitting as high up in the pan as you can.
Rex
Really like all the comments. I wanted to try a new recipe where you lift the skin off the turkey to insert a seasoned butter . Obviously cannot do this if turkey is frozen. And I bought a frozen to over turkey, do you think I could do this at half point?
You can do so at the 2-1/2 hour mark when you are removing the giblets