The standard math says 13 to 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed bird. Do that multiplication: 299 to 345 minutes. That’s 4.8 to 5.75 hours at a classic 325°F oven. But do not trust the math. Math is a liar invented by algebra teachers who never had to roast a stuffed dinosaur.
Your oven lies. Your thermometer is the only truth. You need a probe thermometer with a wire that lets you close the oven door. Trust me, you don’t want to be the person opening the oven every 20 minutes to poke a floppy bird with a skewer. That’s how turkeys get dry, walls get splattered, and families get hangry.
The Target Temperatures (Don't Screw This Up)
You’re shooting for 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and the center of the stuffing. The stuffing is the villain here. It’s cold, dense, and pathogen-friendly. If the stuffing isn’t 165°F, you’re basically serving a salmonella parfait. The dark meat (thigh) is happier at 175-180°F, so don’t pull the bird just because the breast is done.
A shocking fact: you can actually cook stuffing outside the bird to save time and sanity. But you chose the volcano mount, so let’s commit. Plan for the stuffing to take 30 to 45 minutes longer to hit temp than the breast meat. This is why many birds “rest” for a frantic hour under foil while you choke on gravy fumes.
