How to Cook, Store and Reheat a Fully Cooked Whole Turkey

If you're looking to save time and effort, an already cooked turkey simplifies one of the major projects involved in preparing Thanksgiving dinner. But pre-cooked doesn't mean you're off the hook entirely when it comes to preparation and food safety.

Here's what you need to know to ensure that you safely heat up your ready-to-serve turkey, avoiding the spread of foodborne illness.

In many cases, an already cooked turkey arrives at your home frozen — so you won't be able to immediately carve and serve it up.

Instead, your first step will be to defrost the bird in the refrigerator. This takes time, so plan ahead: For every 5 pounds, it will take about 24 hours to thaw, according to the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. So, a 15-pound turkey will take 3 full days to thaw out.

To thaw, keep the bird in its plastic packaging. Rest it on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator. Considering a thawed turkey can't sit in your fridge endlessly, time the process for your planned meal: Eat it within 3 to 5 days, per the University of Tennessee.

Because the turkey is already cooked, once it's fully thawed, you're free to serve it as-is.

​Step 1:​ Thaw the turkey, following the instructions from above.

​Step 2:​ Remove the bird from its wrapper.

​Step 3:​ Carve and cut up turkey. You can eat fully pre-cooked turkey in meals like sandwiches and salads.

How long you cook a whole bird depends on its weight — a bigger turkey will require more time in the oven. To heat it up, follow these steps:

​Step 1:​ Thaw the turkey, following the instructions above.

​Step 2:​ Remove the wrapper and place the thawed, already cooked whole turkey in a roasting pan with the breast side up.

​Step 3:​ Brush the turkey skin lightly with olive oil and place it in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. (Note: Make sure not to reheat in an oven that's cooler than 325 degrees Fahrenheit, per the South Dakota State University Extension.)

​Step 4:​ Add water to the bottom of the roasting pan to prevent the bird from drying out, per a recommendation from the New Jersey-based Hincks Turkey Farm.

​Step 5:​ Reheat the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, according to the USDA. This time will vary, depending on your oven and the size of the bird, but you'll want to cook the turkey for about 10 minutes per pound, according to Honey-B Ham, which sells smoked and fried turkeys.

Use this chart to estimate the cooking time on your already cooked bird:

*1.25 pounds of turkey per person is a good guideline for hungry guests, per the National Turkey Foundation (NTF).

​Step 6:​ Peek in the oven after about an hour. If the turkey's skin is over-browning, cover the entire bird with foil.

​Step 7:​ Check the turkey with a meat thermometer starting about 30 minutes before the recommended cooking time. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and thigh to check for doneness. Don't let the thermometer tip touch the bone, because it may be hotter than the meat.

The USDA recommends cooking and reheating all poultry, including pre-cooked turkey, to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

​Step 8:​ Once the bird is fully reheated, at 165 degrees, remove it from the oven.

​Step 9:​ Let it rest for about 15 minutes. Then, carve and serve it.

When it comes to stuffing and pre-cooked birds, the situation is complicated. A pre-cooked whole, stuffed turkey that has the USDA or a state mark of inspection is safe to eat, per the USDA.

But you'll want to avoid buying a pre-cooked, stuffed turkey from a local restaurant or caterer. That's because stuffing should ​not​ be prepared ahead.

Instead, you can prep the dry and wet stuffing ingredients separately and keep them in the fridge. Do not mix wet and dry ingredients until just before spooning the stuffing into the turkey cavity, per the USDA.

Spoon the stuffing in loosely — think: 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound of meat. The stuffing should be moist, because heat destroys bacteria better in a moist environment.

If you've had a long and leisurely meal, you may have fewer options for saving than you think: Any turkey, stuffing or gravy that's been at room temperature longer than 2 hours should be discarded, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

How you store leftovers matters too when it comes to avoiding foodborne illness.

1. Remove the meat from the bone and slice up the breast meat, per the University of Tennessee Extension. Legs and wings are OK to refrigerate as-is.
2. Place leftovers in small and shallow containers, per the USDA — doing so helps them hit cooler temperatures in the fridge faster.
3. Cover the top with plastic wrap or choose a container with a lid.

Before serving, leftovers should be reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

If you want to be able to enjoy leftovers for longer, freeze them.

If you're storing in the freezer, follow the same steps as the fridge method above.

As with the refrigerator, small and shallow containers are best for housing your leftovers, per the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Leftover turkey can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months, according to the USDA.

The rule with reheating turkey — or any Thanksgiving leftovers — is simple: Heat up food until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the USDA. Use a food thermometer to check the temperature.

Frozen leftovers can be reheated without thawing them first, per the USDA. It'll just take longer than reheating thawed out foods.

Follow these steps from the USDA to reheat your turkey leftovers in the oven:

​Step 1:​ Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

​Step 2:​ Place the food in an oven-safe dish. You can add broth or water to the bottom of the dish to keep it moist. Covering the dish with aluminum foil or the dish's lid will also help with the turkey's moistness.

​Step 3:​ Put the dish with turkey in the oven.

​Step 4:​ Check the temperature using a food thermometer. The turkey is safely reheated and OK to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Follow these steps, per the USDA:

​Step 1:​ Place the turkey in a microwave-safe dish.

​Step 2:​ Cover the food, but vent the lid so steam can escape. You can add some water or stock at the bottom of the dish to help with moistness.

​Step 3:​ Microwave the turkey. Be sure to rotate it to allow for more even heating. The time will vary depending on your microwave (and how much turkey you're reheating). Check the microwave manual for recommendations about cook time and power level.