Turkeys cook at different rates due to their size. When roasting a turkey in the oven, the bird should be completely defrosted and in a large pan for roasting. Set the oven to 325 degrees and cook until the internal temperature of the bird is 165 degrees.

As a rough guide, baking at 325 degrees, a 12 pound turkey will need to roast for 3 hours, a 16 pound turkey will roast for 4 hours and a 24 pound turkey will roast for 5 hours. If you use a convection oven, you can shorten the cooking time of your turkey by up to an hour or more. A turkey with stuffing will take longer to cook, and you should adjust the cooking time by half an hour.