Introduction

A 16 lb turkey is a lot of food! If you want it to be juicy and delicious, though, cooking it is an art. It’s not like cooking a small turkey: You need to plan ahead and cook it low and slow so that it comes out juicy as can be—and here’s how you do just that.

16 lb turkey

If you’re cooking a 16 lb turkey, it’s important to remember that this is a large bird and will take about four hours to cook. To begin, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, remove the giblets from inside of your turkey (you can do this by cutting through the skin between two ribs). Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides before placing in a roasting pan or other baking dish so that there is at least 1 inch of space between it and any other objects in your oven.

Now comes the fun part: stuffing! If you choose not to stuff your bird–and we recommend not stuffing it if possible–then just place potatoes or sweet potatoes around its bottom cavity instead; these will roast alongside everything else while still providing some extra flavor at mealtime!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Before you begin, make sure that your oven is preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. If it’s not, set it to that temperature now and let it preheat for 30 minutes.

Clean out the inside of your oven with a sponge or cloth dampened in warm water. Remove any debris from previous cooking sessions and wipe down all surfaces thoroughly.

Place two racks in the lower third of your oven–one on each side–and place another rack in the upper third if necessary (usually only if you have a very large turkey). Place a roasting pan large enough to hold both halves of the turkey breast-side down on one rack; this will catch drippings as they render during roasting time so they don’t spill onto other foods being cooked at lower temperatures nearby.*

Do not stuff the turkey.

Stuffing is one of those things that people love to do, but it can actually cause some problems. First of all, stuffing takes longer to cook than the turkey itself, so if you stuff your turkey with a bread-based stuffing (which most people do) then it’s probably going to take at least an hour longer than normal for your bird to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73 degrees Celsius). That means that if you’re planning on having dinner at 6pm, your guests might not be able to eat until 7pm–and that’s probably too late for many people!

Second of all: stuffing makes turkeys dry out faster than un-stuffed ones do because there are more holes in which moisture can escape from inside the bird as well as outside onto pans or plates below where they sit while being roasted; this means less moisture remains inside when cooking finishes up so there may be less flavor too! Thirdly… wait no fourthly… ah forget it just don’t stuff your turkey!

Season the inside of the bird liberally with salt and pepper.

• Season the inside of the bird liberally with salt and pepper. This will help season the meat, but also prepare it for cooking in an oven.
• Don’t stuff your turkey! Stuffing can take up to two hours to cook, which means that you’ll have a dry bird if you stuff it too early. It’s better to bake your stuffing separately and serve it alongside your turkey after it’s done cooking.* Don’t overseason! If you’re not sure how much seasoning is enough for a large amount of food like 16 lb turkey–you should probably err on the side of under-seasoning rather than over-seasoning.* Don’t under-season! Most people tend to go overboard when adding spices because they don’t want their food tasting bland or boring; however this can lead them into trouble if those spices aren’t cooked properly before serving time arrives

Place the turkey in an open roasting pan that has been lined with tinfoil.

Use a roasting pan that is large enough to hold the turkey. Line the bottom of the pan with tinfoil and place a rack on top of it, so air can circulate around the turkey while it cooks.

Place your turkey into an open roasting pan that has been lined with tinfoil and put in oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 165 F (test by inserting thermometer into thickest part).

Make sure there is a rack underneath so that air can circulate around the turkey.

Make sure there is a rack underneath so that air can circulate around the turkey. This will help to keep it from stewing in its own juices, which will make for a more evenly cooked meat and better browning of the skin.

Tuck the wings under so they don’t burn.

If you don’t tuck the wings under, they will burn. Tucking the wings under makes it easier to baste the turkey, which helps keep it moist and prevents dryness (and therefore overcooking). The turkey will cook more evenly if you tuck the wings under.

Brush melted butter over the skin of the turkey and drizzle with some olive oil, if desired, for extra flavor and moisture during cooking. Cook for about 2 hours (depending on size), basting every 20 minutes or so with juices from pan during cooking process.

For a more tender and moist turkey, brush melted butter over the skin of the turkey and drizzle with some olive oil, if desired, for extra flavor and moisture during cooking. Cook for about 2 hours (depending on size), basting every 20 minutes or so with juices from pan during cooking process.

Cooking a 16 lb turkey takes about 4 hours

The first thing to consider is the size of your turkey. A 16-pound turkey will take about 4 hours to cook, but this can vary depending on factors like oven temperature and how often you baste it during cooking.

To check if your turkey is done, use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) or breast–the temperature should be 165 degrees F for both areas. If you’re not using a meat thermometer, poke a knife into one of those spots; when juice runs clear from the hole without any pink color left behind, it’s done!

Once your turkey has reached its ideal temperature (whether through cooking time or poking), remove it from heat immediately and let rest for 15 minutes before carving–this allows all those delicious juices inside to redistribute throughout each piece evenly so that none gets lost in cutting up pieces too soon after removing them from heat.*

Conclusion

That’s it! You now know how long it takes to cook a 16 lb turkey in the oven. The best part is that your turkey will come out juicy and delicious, with crispy skin and succulent meat. If you have any questions about cooking this large bird, feel free to leave them in the comments below so we can help answer them out.