What temperature and cooking time are best for roasting a 15-pound turkey to ensure it's juicy and safe?
Executive summary
For a 15-pound unstuffed turkey most mainstream cooking guides recommend roasting at about 350°F and estimate roughly 13–14 minutes per pound (≈3¼–3½ hours) while the USDA sets safety minimums and warns ovens should be no lower than 325°F [1] [2] [3]. The most important rule across expert recipes is to use a thermometer and remove the bird when the safe internal temperatures are reached (commonly 165°F for stuffing/overall doneness; many cooks aim for 160–165°F breast and 170–175°F thigh), then let it rest so juices redistribute [4] [5] [3].
1. Oven temperature: a small window of widely used norms
Authors disagree on the single “best” oven temperature, but the cluster of reliable guides centers on 325–375°F as practical choices. The USDA explicitly advises setting the oven no lower than 325°F for safety [3]. Butterball and several longstanding recipe sources recommend 350°F as a dependable, middle-ground temperature [4] [6] [1]. Some cooks briefly sear at higher heat first (400–500°F for browning) and then lower to 350°F or 325°F for the remainder — Alton Brown’s method, for example, starts very hot, inserts a probe, then drops to 350°F and monitors to probe temperature [7].
2. Time estimates: rules of thumb, not guarantees
Timing rules vary: 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey is a common rule (≈3.25 hours for 15 lb) used by Epicurious, The Kitchn and others [8] [1]. Other recipes give 14 minutes per pound (≈3.5 hours) or suggest 10–15 minutes per pound depending on oven temp and method [2] [9]. Allrecipes and multiple recipe sites use 13–15 minutes per pound at 350°F as their guideline [6] [10]. Expert cooks emphasize that these are estimates and that internal temperature matters more than elapsed minutes [7].
3. Internal temperature: the safety baseline and practical targets
Food safety guidance and many recipes converge on using a thermometer rather than clock time. The USDA’s critical safety benchmark is that stuffing and poultry must reach 165°F — and USDA cautions that stuffing must hit 165°F to be safe [3]. Commercial guides often state finished turkey thigh temperatures around 170–175°F and breast 160–165°F as cooking/resting targets; many cooks remove the bird a few degrees shy of final target because carryover heat raises temperature during resting [5] [11] [12]. Butterball explicitly lists 170°F for both thigh and breast in its directions [4].
4. Techniques to keep the bird juicy — competing approaches
There are multiple, sometimes conflicting, strategies to retain moisture. Brining (wet or dry) is widely recommended to improve juiciness and can slightly change cooking time; RecipeTinEats, Natasha’s Kitchen and others tout brining or dry-brining for juicier meat [13] [5]. Low-and-slow methods (lower temp, longer time) are favored by some to tenderize older/heritage birds [8]. Others suggest starting hot to brown the skin then lowering heat to finish cooking [14] [7]. Some modern recipes aim for slightly lower breast pull temperature (150–155°F) with confidence in carryover cooking; however, those approaches note USDA’s 165°F baseline and rely on monitored time-at-temperature principles [12] [3].
5. Practical checklist for roasting a 15‑pound turkey
- Thaw safely: allow several days in the fridge (≈24 hours per 4–5 lb) or use cold-water submersion methods cited in recipes [14] [15].
- Preheat and choose an approach: common choices are roast at 350°F and plan 13–14 minutes/lb (≈3¼–3½ hours) or follow a high-heat-start-then-drop method [1] [7] [2].
- Probe in multiple spots (thigh and thickest part of breast), and rely on thermometer over time estimates; aim for safe internal temperatures and account for carryover [4] [3] [5].
- Rest the turkey 15–30+ minutes before carving so the juices redistribute [4] [5].
6. Where sources disagree and what that means for you
Recipes vary on oven temps (325–375°F), minute‑per‑pound rules (10–15+ minutes), and “done” internal targets for breast vs thigh; the consistent, authoritative thread is thermometer-first guidance and USDA’s safety floor of 165°F for stuffing/poultry safety [3] [1] [6]. If your priority is strict adherence to safety guidance, follow the USDA temp guidance; if you’re optimizing for juiciness, consider brining and monitoring probe temperatures with allowance for carryover as several recipe sites recommend [13] [12] [5].
Limitations: available sources do not mention a single, universal “best” temperature/time combination that guarantees juiciness for every oven and turkey — all experts point back to using a thermometer and adjusting by method [3] [7] [1].