The Best Turkey in a Convection Oven
Learn how to make turkey in a convection oven with our easy recipe. Roasting a turkey in a convection oven creates an evenly cooked centerpiece for your holiday meal with cripsier skin and juicier meat in less time than using a traditional oven.
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It’s no secret, turkey is the star of the Thanksgiving table – even if its not your favorite part about the meal, hello mashed potatoes and stuffing!
After all, in the words of Nat King Cole, “Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe helps to make the season bright…”
Sure, he’s singing about Christmas, but in this house the Christmas season starts as soon as the clock strikes 12am November 1.
And Thanksgiving is part of the gloriousness of it and this turkey in a convection oven definitely helps to make the season bright.
In about 25% less time than it takes to make a turkey in a regular oven.
Which means, you can get your pumpkin pies in your oven and thus in your belly that much faster!
Sounds like some serious holiday magic to me!
Whether this is your first time cooking a turkey dinner or the first time using your early Black Friday convection oven purchase, this recipe will teach you every thing you need to know about how to cook a turkey in a convection oven.
Why Make Turkey in a Convection Oven
Convection ovens are ovens that use interior fans to circulate the hot air around the food.
This eliminates the hot spots you get in a traditional oven.
Eliminating the hot spots means evenly cooked food, no spots that get too done.
Because the hot air is moving directly around the food, it also cooks the food faster and in the case of turkey and things like roast chicken creates a nice crispy skin.
That crisp skin locks in all the moisture and keeps the bird nice and juicy so there will be no disgruntled elf showing up asking if you people have ever heard of basting a turkey. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about go watch the original The Santa Clause with Tim Allen).
Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies
Here’s what you can use to make turkey in a convection oven:
- Seasonings – Sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and marjoram along with salt and pepper to create a rub. There is a lot of room for variation in what you use to season your turkey. Or you could shortcut it and use a healthy amount of poultry blend.
- Roasting Blend – This may have a different name depending on where you shop like poultry blend, etc., but it is a collection of fresh herbs that typically includes rosemary, sage, parsley, and thyme. This may vary some.
- Garlic Cloves – Garlic cloves give the turkey some extra flavor and aroma when roasting. It’s absolutely non negotiable for us, but if you aren’t into it, you can omit it.
- Butter – We use this as part of a seasoning rub. You could also use olive oil or another cooking oil though it won’t give you quite the same rich flavor as butter.
- Turkey – We use a whole turkey and remove the gizzards. If you are like the Grinch and want to eat the gizzards, you can certainly keep them in or do what you want to do with them.
You really do not need any special equipment when making a turkey in a convection oven, but we highly recommend using the following:
- Roasting pan with a rack – The rack keeps the turkey off the bottom of the pan, which allows the circulating hot air to get under the turkey as well.
- Thermometer – Though you can use any meat thermometer to check that the turkey reaches 165 degrees F, we recommend an oven safe one that allow you to insert the reader into the turkey and display the read out on a small screen outside of the oven. This really takes the guess work out of getting the right internal temperature.
- Measuring Cups – Measuring cups and spoons are helpful when measuring out the seasoning for turkey before placing it in the convection oven.
How to Make Turkey in a Convection Oven
1. Prep the turkey
Before you do anything, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
As the oven heats, take out the gizzards and neck from the cavity and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
If you don’t have a rack, you can use a metal cookie cooling rack if it fits your pan.
Otherwise, just place the turkey in a large roasting pan with the breast facing up.
2. Prepare the rub
Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.
Once the butter is melted, mix in the dry seasonings and freshly crushed garlic.
Using a brush or your hands, spread the rub all over the breast, thighs, and wings until evenly coated.
3. Roast the turkey in a convection oven
Place the roasting pan in the preheated convection oven.
Roast for about 2.5 hours or for about 10 to 15 minutes per pound.
To be sure, use a thermometer to check if the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F before removing from the oven.
If stuffing the turkey, make sure to check the temperature of the stuffing, too. It should also reach 165 degrees F.
When done roasting, serve with your favorite sides and enjoy!
Storing and Reheating Roasted Turkey
A turkey dinner will almost always have leftovers.
Separate the turkey from the other fixings and place it in an airtight container.
You should be able to safely store the turkey in the fridge for about 4 to 5 days.
To reheat, place a serving on a microwave safe dish and reheat for a minute or until warmed through.
You can also freeze the turkey if you prefer.
It should last for about 6 months in the freezer and still be fresh.
Allow frozen turkey to thaw and reheat it the same as you would non-frozen leftovers.
Turkey Roasting Times in a Convection Oven
Keep in mind, cooking times are not always 100% accurate.
Many things affect cooking times, like weight, stuffing, how cold the turkey was going into the oven, and slight variations in ovens.
The following shows approximate times based on the rough weight of the whole turkey.
It also shows how long to cook a breast, thighs and wings, or stuffed vs unstuffed turkey in a convection oven.
| Turkey Type | Weight in pounds | Cook times at 325°-350° F |
| Unstuffed (whole turkey) | 6 to 10 lbs | 1½ to 2 hours |
| Unstuffed (whole turkey) | 10 -18 lbs | 2 to 2½ hours |
| Unstuffed (whole turkey) | 18 to 22 lbs | 2½ to 3 hours |
| Unstuffed (whole turkey) | 22 to 24 lbs | 3 to 3½ hours |
| Unstuffed (whole breast) | 3 to 5.5 lbs | 1½ to 2 hours |
| Unstuffed (whole breast) | 5.5 to 9 lbs | 2 to 2½ hours |
| Stuffed (whole turkey) | 6 to 10 lbs | 1¾ to 2½ hours |
| Stuffed (whole turkey) | 10 to 18 lbs | 2½ to 3¼ hours |
| Stuffed (whole turkey) | 18 to 22 lbs | 3¼ to 3¾ hours |
| Stuffed (whole turkey) | 22 to 24 lbs | 3¾ to 4¼ hours |
| Stuffed (whole breast) | 3 to 5.5 lbs | 1¾ to 2½ hours |
| Stuffed (whole breast) | 5.5 to 9 lbs | 2½ to 3¼ hours |
| Wings, legs, or thighs | – | 1½ to 2 hours |
How Big of a Turkey Do I Need?
Calculating how big of a turkey you need is based on pounds per person.
A good rule to follow is to plan for about 1 to 1.25 pounds per person.
If you plan to have 15 people over – God bless you – you will want a turkey between 15 pounds on the small size to about 19 pounds.
While this rule is great, you may also want to consider who you are having over for dinner, their preferences, and how much you actually like them.
Most of our family, for example, prefer white meat or breast meat.
Adding more people means we will almost certainly get a turkey breast to supplement the meat.
Getting a larger turkey will increase the amount of breast meat you get, but depending on preferences, it may not be enough.
Here’s some suggestions on cooking a turkey breast that can be helpful.
How Long to Thaw a Frozen Turkey
Before making turkey in a convection oven, you will need to thaw it.
To do this safely, you should make some room in the fridge and let it thaw there.
Thaw times are based on size. Here’s a quick guide:
- 4 to 12 pounds about 1 to 3 days
- 12 to 16 pounds about 3 to 4 days
- 16 to 20 pounds about 4 to 5 days
- 20 to 24 pounds about 5 to 6 days
A great tip when thawing a turkey: Place the frozen turkey in the roasting pan you plan to use to catch any liquid that comes out as the turkey thaws. This helps prevent a big mess.
Tips and Tricks When Making Turkey in a Convection Oven
- Using a meat thermometer is a great way to check for doneness and generally more reliable than the popper thing they stick in the breast. Even better, get one with a cord so you can keep it in the entire time without having to open the oven unnecessarily.
- Stuff or don’t stuff your turkey, either will work! Two things to keep in mind: 1. The stuffing also needs to reach 165 degrees F. 2. A stuffed turkey will take longer to roast compared to an unstuffed turkey. This recipe is based on not stuffing the turkey before cooking.
- If you are watching your fat intake, you can skip the butter and just rub the seasonings over the turkey skin. Or you could skip the seasoning altogether, but what fun would that be?
- When thawing a turkey, place it in the fridge in the pan you plan to roast it in.
Other Holiday Turkey Recipes
Looking for other holiday turkey recipes? Try these:
- Garlic Butter Basted Turkey
- Best Ever Apple Cider Turkey Breast for the Holidays
- Garlic Roasted Turkey Breast
And if you want an easy after Thanksgiving day breakfast, try cooking your bacon in the convection oven using this helpful guide.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 package roasting herb blend This can vary by store but typically contains fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley.
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 15 pound turkey You can use a bigger or smaller turkey based on your needs. Figure about 1.25 pounds per person you are serving.
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove turkey from its packaging and take out the gizzards and neck from the cavity.
- Place the turkey – breast side up – on the roasting pan's rack or on the bottom of the pan if you don't have a rack. Carefully put the turkey into the preheated oven in the middle of the bottom rack.
- Roast the turkey for about 2 1/2 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Once done, remove from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before carving and serving.
