Oven is slow when cooking a turkey

Newer ovens are made with tighter "deadbands" than older ones were.

Temp your turkey for at least an hour before roasting to allow it to come somewhere near room temperature.  You can use an instant read thermometer to see how well it's temped.

Preheat the oven extremely well -- at least twenty minutes.  Use an oven thermometer, the oven thermometer will likely be more accurate than the thermostat if they're in disagreement. 

When you've got the right temp on the oven thermometer, put the turkey in the oven.  Keep an eye on the oven to make sure the temp holds and that no one's leaving the door partly open.

A bit of red by the bone doesn't necessarily mean the turkey's underdone.  Check temps at the breast and thigh with an instant read thermometer to make sure the turkey's cooked.  Allow the turkey to rest at least twenty minutes before carving. 

BDL

BDL what is a "death band"???

I find every year that at christmas my oven is extremely slow.  It takes much longer to cook anything than normally.  My explanation is that everyone is cooking on christmas morning and the amount of gas is less.  I live in an apartment building, on the 6th floor and there are 25 apartments, but maybe it's the city gas and not something of the apartment itself.  If you moved recently, maybe there is a similar problem.

Of course, in your case, it probably would have been like that in previous years too.  Unless you moved? 

Could be if the pressure is rreduced by so many people using same in main line. Try turning up the thermostat about 10 f t o compansate. Cook till internal at thigh joint is 165.

-Make sure bird comes to room temperature before you put it in the oven.

- don't put the stuffing in the bird, stuffing affects the cooking time. 

- do you cover the turkey while roasting?  By doing so you can raise the temperature of the oven more without fear that the bird will dry out.  Remove the foil for the last part of cooking to get a golden brown color.

- I found that using the convection setting when cooking a whole chicken makes a better roast.  It doesn't dry it because it cooks so fast there's no time to dry out.  The skin gets very crispy too.

Deadband, not "death band." 

Very few ovens don't keep a constant temperature.  Rather, a  thermostat turns the gas (or electricity) off and on and off and on.  The range between on (lower than the nominal temperature setting) and off (higher than the nominal temperature setting) is called the "deadband."

Modern ovens tend to have higher deadbands than older ovens; and, that aside, it's not unusual to find two ovens which keep different temperatures at the same setting.  Long preheats, and an inexpensive oven thermometer (under $10 USD) to check on actual temperatures, is minimum effective defensive against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. 

I don't know whether you lose gas pressure over the holidays.  But, since your oven's gas burn times are regulated by the thermostat which is not pressure dependent, I don't think the hypothesis stands up  More likely, you have more in your oven and are not temping it as well.  A 22# (10kg) turkey which goes into the oven at a temp of 43F internal, will take longer to cook than one going in at 62F internal.  An oven thermometer sees all, knows all, and is not swayed by politics.

BDL

Quote:

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze 

Deadband, not "death band." 

 

oops!

 

Very few ovens don't keep a constant temperature.  Rather, a  thermostat turns the gas (or electricity) off and on and off and on.  The range between on (lower than the nominal temperature setting) and off (higher than the nominal temperature setting) is called the "deadband."

 

Modern ovens tend to have higher deadbands than older ovens; and, that aside, it's not unusual to find two ovens which keep different temperatures at the same setting.  Long preheats, and an inexpensive oven thermometer (under $10 USD) to check on actual temperatures, is minimum effective defensive against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. 

 

I don't know whether you lose gas pressure over the holidays.  But, since your oven's gas burn times are regulated by the thermostat which is not pressure dependent, I don't think the hypothesis stands up  More likely, you have more in your oven and are not temping it as well.  A 22# (10kg) turkey which goes into the oven at a temp of 43F internal, will take longer to cook than one going in at 62F internal.  An oven thermometer sees all, knows all, and is not swayed by politics.

 

BDL

I don't cook a turkey at christmas, but I do it for my christmas party, a few days before.  So when i do (not xmas day)  I overload the oven with a lot of stuff, and it still does fine.  But on xmas morning, close to lunch time, my roast beef, or whatever i'm doing (savory pumpkin turnover or string bean pudding) cooks much more slowly, and it even takes twice as long to boil the water for the ravioli.  I often overload my oven, actually (that's why i got a gigantic one).  I think when the whole city is cooking with gas it comes in more slowly and so it never reaches the temperature it should normally reach in the time i usually use to preheat.   We have methane gas, i don;t know if that makes a difference.  Maybe the Italian system is different.  But it's something I notice every year.  I admit i don;t check with an oven thermometer, but i can tell the temperature is very low. 

In Barbara's case, the problem began when she got a new oven (which i thought might be related to moving to a new house which may have a different gas supply). So the not stuffing of the turkey or covering it, etc, may be useful but doesn't explain why her turkey suddenly stopped cooking in the usual way. 

The trick is knowing what your oven is up to when things get problematic, and that's easily, quickly, and inexpensively learned with an oven thermometer.  You don't have to keep yours in the oven 24/7/365, but it's worth sticking it in there and checking now and then.  For Barbara, that includes any given turkey day -- at least during the preheat; while for Siduri, goddess of entertainment, provider of wisdom, and all around enchantress when there's vino to be had, that's Christmas Day.

A long preheat helps. 

BDL

I still saypressure would have some sought of effect. In places I worked in particular natural gasWhen all gas equip was on  onthe line the burners were a lower flame even when set on high. If grill was off and char broil was off, flames got hire. You should still use a thermometer to get actual temps. A lot of commercial ovens are off and have to be re calibrated at least once a year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze 

The trick is knowing what your oven is up to when things get problematic, and that's easily, quickly, and inexpensively learned with an oven thermometer.  You don't have to keep yours in the oven 24/7/365, but it's worth sticking it in there and checking now and then.  For Barbara, that includes any given turkey day -- at least during the preheat; while for Siduri, goddess of entertainment, provider of wisdom, and all around enchantress when there's vino to be had, that's Christmas Day.

 

A long preheat helps. 

 

BDL

Thanks for the compliments, BDL, though Siduri's drink was probably beer. 

Siduri, do you notice a general difference between summer and winter cooking times? Methane is a different gas then is used in the U.S., and is ambient temperature sensitive. That might be contributing to the problem???

Ed, while it's true that multiple-appliences running in a commercial kitchen can effect gas delivery to each, that's hardly a problem in a home environment, where there's usually only one.

Natural gas (LNG) is a low-pressure system, and the pressure in the mains is higher than that needed by the the appliance. The venturi valves actually lower the pressure even more in a home oven. So, any  pressure delivery problems come not from the mains, but from the service line to your establishment not being able to keep up with demand. It wouldn't surprise me to find that the first appliance on the line has ample pressure, and that it drops progressively from there.

Propane (LPG), on the other hand, works on a high-pressure system. But being as the appliances are being run off a proprietary tank, other users have no effect on the delivered pressure. And, again, the venturii control the actual pressure at the burner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

Siduri, do you notice a general difference between summer and winter cooking times? Methane is a different gas then is used in the U.S., and is ambient temperature sensitive. That might be contributing to the problem???

 

Ed, while it's true that multiple-appliences running in a commercial kitchen can effect gas delivery to each, that's hardly a problem in a home environment, where there's usually only one.

 

Natural gas (LNG) is a low-pressure system, and the pressure in the mains is higher than that needed by the the appliance. The venturi valves actually lower the pressure even more in a home oven. So, any  pressure delivery problems come not from the mains, but from the service line to your establishment not being able to keep up with demand. It wouldn't surprise me to find that the first appliance on the line has ample pressure, and that it drops progressively from there.

 

Propane (LPG), on the other hand, works on a high-pressure system. But being as the appliances are being run off a proprietary tank, other users have no effect on the delivered pressure. And, again, the venturii control the actual pressure at the burner.

 

 

 

 

No, Ky, I never noticed a difference between summer and winter, though it may be a gradual difference.  But the Christmas problem is very specific - christmas day there is less gas coming out, and the flame is actually lower on the burners even at maximum.  I do much more cooking about a week to 3 days before xmas, often with every burner on and the oven full of stuff (I can fit four cookie sheets in it, so it can be very full, turkey, plus a couple of other pans) and it works fine, as long as it's been preheated, etc etc.   

Maybe the gas is brought into our building in some specific way (service lines? whatever those are, that you mention in anestablishment, because i'm on the top floor) and the people in the building are all using the gas at the same time. 
 

I don't know how they do things in Italy, Siduri. But it sounds like the same problem Ed has.

Imagine the gas delivery system as a tree To oversimplify: The main line is the trunk---that's the one that actually carries the gas from the producer. From it come branches (service lines), which go to users (most often a single building). From them comes smaller branches, which connect to individual appliences.

In apartment buildings there is an additional step. The service line connects to the building, which contains its own service line that may or may not be the same size. From it a smaller line goes to each apartment. With everyone cooking at the same time it's quite possible that the system can't keep up.

That's essentially the same problem Ed has. In your case there are multiple users putting a strain on the lines. In his case, multiple high-use appliences act the same way.

I acknowledge that my idea here may be on the fringe of likelihood.

Maybe it's just shoddy construction or installation. The extra weight of the turkey  flexes the walls of the oven increasing the leaks.

A cold Turkey with cold stuffing would take about that long. I would cook the stuffing out of the turkey, take out the Turkey an hr before putting in the oven. In most cases the Turkey should take about 15 minutes per lb.................Take care and Happy Thanksgiving......................P.S. I don't know about a Deadband, or a Death Band, I do know a Dead Turkey cooks faster................ChefBillyB

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

I don't know how they do things in Italy, Siduri. But it sounds like the same problem Ed has.

 

Imagine the gas delivery system as a tree To oversimplify: The main line is the trunk---that's the one that actually carries the gas from the producer. From it come branches (service lines), which go to users (most often a single building). From them comes smaller branches, which connect to individual appliences.

 

In apartment buildings there is an additional step. The service line connects to the building, which contains its own service line that may or may not be the same size. From it a smaller line goes to each apartment. With everyone cooking at the same time it's quite possible that the system can't keep up.

 

That's essentially the same problem Ed has. In your case there are multiple users putting a strain on the lines. In his case, multiple high-use appliences act the same way.

that's what i figured, more or less.  It's too clear a difference between every day and the high-intensity cooking of xmas day. 

No matter how bad ,it is still better then electric which really can't br controled on burner end., It's either Hi -Med_or Low.