According to food and nutrition experts, cooking a turkey is not as daunting a task as it may seem. The important consideration is to make sure the bird is done, and has cooked at a temperature high enough to kill any lingering bacteria, generally agreed to be 165 degrees internally.

Make sure your bird is completely thawed before cooking. Thawing should be done while refrigerated, never on the counter top. Cook your turkey at a temperature of 325 degrees- anything less will not kill the bacteria. It is not necessary to preheat the oven. Use a wire rack and roasting pan, placing the turkey breast side up, and tucking in the wing tips. Pour approximately a half cup of water into the roasting pan. This helps keep the bottom of the turkey moist.

Cover the turkey will a loose tent of aluminum foil for the first hour and a half of cooking time, and then remove. This will ensure that your bird does not brown on the outside before it’s done on the inside. For a very moist and delicious turkey, baste with melted butter every half hour. In a 325 degree oven, cooking time should be 1 hour for every 2 pounds of weight.

The most important factor is the internal temperature. Insert a food thermostat all the way into the thigh, and look for a reading of 165 degrees. The turkey is done and ready to eat when it has reached that magic number. Enjoy!

Still need to pick up the turkey?

Butterball has a Printable 2009 Coupon.

The coupon reads: “Save $2.00 on one (1) Butterball® Whole Turkey (Fresh or Frozen). Save on Butterball® Turkey, and connect with other Thanksgiving cooks on the Butterball® Facebook Page. Offer good 11/13/09 through 12/31/2009″

The coupon can be found by visiting the offical Butterball website.

http://www.butterball.com/promotion/butterball-200-coupon-09

If you have any questions about your butterball turkey, you can always call the helpline.

According to reports, on Thanksgiving Day alone, the Helpline (aka the Turkey Talk Line) reported gets 10,000 calls fielded by 55 experts.

The Phone Number for both Americans and Canadians is: 1-800-BUTTERBALL. They also have a live chat on the website.

How To Cook A Turkey, Butterball helpline Info