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Cooking Turkey Cuts

Cooking times may vary depending on: the temperature of the meat going into the oven, the accuracy of the oven’s thermostat, how many times the oven door is opened during cooking.

Cooking Bone-In Turkey Cuts

Cook bone-in breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings until a digital meat thermometer inserted into the meat, away from the bone, registers 165°F (74°C).

Cooking Boneless Turkey Cuts, Ground Turkey, Turkey Sausage and Turkey Hot Dogs

Cook boneless cuts to an end-point internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), using a digital meat thermometer inserted deep into the meat.

Calculate portions as follows:

Boneless turkey breast: ¼ lb (125 g) per person/serving

Turkey thighs, drumsticks & wings: ½ lb (250 g) per person/serving

Ground turkey: ¼ lb (125 g) per person/serving 

Barbequing Turkey Cuts

Use this handy chart to determine whether to use indirect, direct or rotisserie heat for various turkey cuts. The right hand column provides approximate cooking times, but this is only a guideline as all barbeques cook at different rates and each has hot and cold spots. It’s best to check for doneness by inserting a digital thermometer and cook until the temperature registers 165°F (74°C) for Turkey Cuts, Ground Turkey, Sausages and Hot Dogs:

DIRECT HEAT REGULAR DIRECT HEAT FOIL WRAP INDIRECT HEAT ROTISSERIE *APPROXIMATE COOKING TIMES
BONELESS RAW TURKEY
Breast Cutlets, Steaks, Slices, Tenderloins, Fillets
2-9 oz (55g – 255 g) ea.
2 – 10 min. /side
Ground Turkey Burgers
3 ½ oz (100 g) patties
4 – 6 min. /side
Boneless Turkey Roast, Netted
2½ – 6 lbs (1 – 2 ½ kg)
1¾ – 2½ hrs.
BONE-IN RAW TURKEY (with skin)
Drumsticks
¾ – 1½ lbs (340 – 680 g) ea.
1½ – 1¾ hrs.
Wings
¾ – 1¼ lbs (340 – 565 g) ea.
1¼ – 1½ hrs.
Thighs
½ – 1½ lbs (225 – 680 g) ea.
(sm.) (lg.) (lg.) 1½ – 1¾ hrs.
Whole Breast
4 – 7 lbs (1.75 – 3 kg)
1½ – 2½ hrs.
Half Breast
2 – 5 lbs (900 g – 2.25 kg)
1¾ – 2 hrs.
TURKEY DELI PRODUCTS
Hot Dogs
1.6 – 2.6 oz (45 – 75 g) ea.
4 – 6 min.
Sausages
Sizes vary – cook to 165°F (74°C) end-point temperature.
Follow package directions.
  • Recommended BBQ method
  • May be grilled with indirect heat method when prepared by marinating overnight
  • Bone, roll and tie breast for rotisserie grilling
  • Boneless cuts will take longer
* Time will vary greatly depending on method used, thickness of meat, temperature of barbeque, and weather conditions. Whenever possible, rely on a digital meat thermometer to determine doneness. For whole bird, the thermometer placed in thickest part of the breast must register 170°F (77°C) in the breast, or 180°F (82°C) in inner thigh, and should not touch bone. For turkey cuts, ground turkey, sausages and hot dogs, the thermometer must register 165°F (74°C).

Barbeques should be kept closed as much as possible while cooking turkey cuts. Never re-use tools, plates or platters that touched raw turkey. Use the temperatures noted above to determine when turkey cuts are cooked safely on the barbeque.

Check out our Get Grilling section for delicious recipes ideas.