Cooking Tips: Cook Your Turkey in a Tabletop Electric Roaster

If you've got a big crowd coming for Thanksgiving, you may be cooking an extra bird, but you aren't going to rush out and buy another oven. Or maybe you're jonesing for turkey in August and can't stand the thought of turning on the oven. Never fear: The tabletop electric roaster is here!

An electric roaster oven serves as an extra oven for cooking a turkey or large roast. Generally, the cooking time and oven temperature setting are the same as for conventional cooking. Always check the roaster oven's use and care manual for the manufacturer's recommended temperature setting and time, and check out these cooking tips for turning out a beautiful bird on your table top!

• Preheat the oven to at least 325 degrees F.
  
• Place the turkey on the roaster oven rack or other meat rack so the turkey is raised out of the juices that collect in the bottom of the oven liner.
  
• Leave the lid on throughout cooking, removing it as little as possible to avoid slowing the cooking process. (Bonus! Your turkey will self-baste in this moist environment, one less thing for you to worry about.)
  
• Here's a time-saving tip: Cooking bags can be used in the roaster oven! ... as long as the bag does not touch the sides, bottom or lid. Just follow the directions given by the cooking bag manufacturer.
  
• Use a food thermometer to be sure the temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast reaches the safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

For additional information on cooking turkey, read Turkey: Alternative Routes to the Table on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's site.