Plan your turkey (free)
Start thawing
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Turkey in the oven (325 °F)
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Turkey out and resting
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Where the numbers come from
All from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, read on Nov 14, 2026:
- Turkey Basics: Safe Thawing: in the fridge, "allow approximately 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds in a refrigerator set at 40 °F or below"; in cold water, "allow about 30 minutes per pound" and "change the water every 30 minutes"; "a thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days before cooking."
- Let's Talk Turkey: A Consumer Guide to Safely Roasting a Turkey: the 325 °F roasting timetables, "allow 1 pound of turkey per person," cooking from frozen "will take at least 50 percent longer," and "let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving."
- Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart: all poultry, including stuffing, 165 °F.
How I use them: I plan fridge thawing at the slower end (4 pounds per day) and suggest starting about a day early, at 9 AM, since USDA says a thawed turkey can wait 1 to 2 days in the fridge. I plan oven time at the longest end of USDA's range and tell you when the shortest end arrives, so you can start checking the temperature. The table's times are approximate. The thermometer decides when it's done.
This is a planning aid built on USDA's published guidance, not a substitute for it. Always confirm 165 °F with a food thermometer. Questions on food safety: the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854).
The full day plan: $5, one time
One oven, a turkey that hogs it for 4 hours, and five sides that all want to go in at 3 PM. The paid page sorts that out:
- Every dish on one clock. Add your sides with oven temperature and cook time. It schedules backwards from dinner, spots oven and burner clashes, and tells you which dish to move earlier.
- Calendar file with every step (thaw, oven in, temperature checks) so your phone reminds you.
- A printable timeline, shopping list and potluck sign-up sheet.
After you pay, you'll land on your planner page. Bookmark it.
Why I made this
I'm Iggy, a software builder. Holiday cooking is a scheduling problem with one shared resource, the oven, and that's the kind of thing I like solving with a small tool instead of a sticky note.