Any Info on Microwave Turkey ?

[over40pirate]

10 or 15 years ago, while waiting to hop over to the Bahamas, we were in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL with other boaters, on Thanksgiving.
We decided to have a party and cook a turkey.
No one really wanted to heat their boat up for 4 or more hours to cook it. We took the bird to the local town marina, where they had a big microwave oven. We nuked the bird for quite a while in the microwave, then brought it back to one of the boats, with a preheated oven, and finished it with about 45 minutes in the oven.
It was one of the best tasting birds we had ever had.
The question: Has anyone ever done this, and can you remember the time in the microwave?
I can't believe it didn't taste like rubber, but it didn't.
Happy Thanksgiving, a few days late.

[Badsanta]

The best way to microwave a turkey is to put pop-corn in the stuffing. When the (backside) blows out it's done!!

[David M]

You ARE a bad Santa! That comment was pretty borderline but I will let it go this time. I did have to edit one word.

[Badsanta]

Sorry, it is an eastcoster joke.

[imagine2frolic]

MICROWAVE?

I was gone for Thanksgiving, so today is TURKEY DAY for the marina. I just put a 22lber on the BBQ. Stuffed to the max, and basting every 15 minutes. Grilled bird is my favorite. Hard to stick a 22lber on a magnum though......LOLOLOLOLOL

[scallywag]

over40pirate,
According to, the Sharp Carousel Microwave Cookbook, copyright 1983, the turkey is cooked 9 to 12 minutes a pound. It recommends a 12 pound bird. The time is halved. Place in a casserole dish up side down. For the first 10 minutes it is microwaved at 100% power. Then microwave at 70% power. After cooking half the total time, flip the turkey over, breast up, and cook the remaing time. If you want the skin crisp, then you need to take the turkey out of the microwave earlier and finish cooking in a convection oven. The internal temperature should be 170 degrees.

John

[GordMay]

Microwave ovens have tendency to cook oddly shaped food, like turkeys, unevenly. Because turkeys aren't the ideal round shape for microwaving, I’d rotate the bird several times, to further promote more even cooking, and or cook in an oven bag.

To be safely cooked, all parts of the turkey must reach 160 degrees, to destroy any bacteria that can be present on perishable food. However, for doneness or tenderness, turkey breasts should reach 170 degrees internal temperature; a whole turkey, 180 degrees, measured in the thigh.

The USDA recommends not stuffing turkeys to be microwaved. Whole turkeys cook faster and more evenly without stuffing inside. And because the center of food is the last place to become hot, there's concern that all parts of the stuffing may not have reached a temperature sufficient to destroy bacteria at the time the meat is done.

I don't recommend it, but if your really must nuke a turkey:
Allow 3 inches oven clearance on top and 2 to 3 inches of space around bird.
Microwave on medium-high (50 - 75 %) for a whole turkey, 9 to 10 minutes per pound.
Rotate the bird during cooking to ensure even cooking.
Let turkey stand 20 minutes before carving.

[Vasco]

Hey you can't beat a good deep fried turkey. Actually I'm kidding. We had one down in Florida a few years ago. Had to try it once. Set the grass on fire. But you really can't beat the traditional, stuffed oven roasted job.

[scallywag]

Gord May,
Thanks for adding the additional information. We found that the baking instructions on most turkeys are incorrect. It is very unnerving when you follow instructions and the bird is not cooked completely.

John

[imagine2frolic]

I grill until the wings are falling off. By then you can pull the legs off by hand. Hardly ever is the breast pink, but if it is I turn the inside of the breast facing the heat of the coals. I do all the carving of the carcass on the grill.....no muss no fuss

[Hal]

Ah, glow-in-the-dark turkey. Turkey grease running out of the door. Wings falling off and breast still raw. I cooked a stuffed pork chop in a microwave once and it turned out pretty good. I would say big microwave and small turkey, maybe two cornish game hens or four to six dove or a small sea gull.

It doesn't take long for those little microwave molecules to get inside a small turkey, but it sure takes a long time for them to slow down. That is why you have to cool them down for 15 minutes before eating. At least that is what the guy at Sears told me when I asked how a microwave oven worked. I bought one at another store.

If you don't over cook, anything can be done in a microwave, except hard boiled eggs. They explode!!!