Ever since getting the AGA, one of the major things people have been curious about is if I’d be able to cook a turkey in the AGA.
Which is funny, because as soon as I told The Duck Lady that I was saving up to buy one, she was like… Just so you know, you won’t be able to cook a turkey in it.
And I was like, what are you talking about!? Haven’t you seen the AGA videos? Of course you can cook a turkey in an AGA. In fact the peeps at AGA say you can roast a 25 pound turkey in it.
So naturally one of the first things I wanted to do when I got my AGA, was to cook a turkey in it.
And so I did just that. Because that’s what friends are for. To show you the light. 🙂
Directions on How To Cook A Turkey
Step 1: Turn on the roasting oven. {In an AGA eR7 this would be R8}.
Unwrap your turkey, give it a good rinse and take out the extra bits {luckily mine were all in a bag so I didn’t have to touch them}.
Place your bird in a roasting pan breast side up. Rub a little olive oil over the top of your bird and sprinkle with a few of your favorite spices. I have a special “turkey rub” blend that I like to use. You can find it HERE.
Place the roasting pan on the floor of the roasting oven and carefully push your pan in.
My turkey was only 18.8 pounds. But as you can see, there is still plenty of room for a 25 pound bird in there.
Roast for 45 minutes.
This is what our turkey looked like after 45 minutes in the roasting oven {at R8}. At that point, we set the roasting pan on the counter and brushed the bird with the fat drippings from the bottom of the pan.
Then I turned the {roasting} oven down to B4.
If you don’t have the AGA eR7 model, you would simply move the turkey to the preheated baking oven in the next step}.
Pop the turkey back in the oven for 1 hour.
This is what the bird looked like at the 1 hour 45 minute {total cooking time} mark.
Remove the roasting tin from the oven and baste the turkey with juices from the bottom of the pan.
Pop it back in the oven for another hour.
Repeat this step {checking and basting the turkey} until your turkey is cooked through and has reached an internal temperature of 165F.
Total Cooking Time
Our 18.8 pound turkey had a total cooking time of 3 hours 45 minutes.
- 45 minutes at R8 {roasting oven}
- 3 hours at B4 {baking oven}
It was the most beautifully browned turkey I had ever cooked.
And thanks to the surround cast iron oven of the AGA, the bird was crazy moist too.
So to answer the question of can you cook a turkey in an AGA… Yes. Yes you can. The key is to place your roasting pan on the bottom shelf of the oven, and not the runners as doing this will give you plenty of height to fit your bird in the oven.
A full sized turkey roasted in an AGA oven. It’s a beautiful thing.
I LOVE MY AGA!
~Mavis
Christie says
Thank you for sharing! I was wondering how you would do that.
Julie says
Gorgeous oven and Gorgeous bird.
Bonnie Schmidt says
Tell more! What are the other doors for? Is it true the the oven is basically “on” all of the time and keeps the room warm? I live in Florida, so this is a question I have slways wondered about.
The Duck Lady says
It’s only on all the time if you have one that is fueled by coal or wood. The majority of AGA’s in the US are either all electric like Mavis’s or duel fuel electric/propane like mine.
Pat says
In all the years I’ve been cooking and baking turkeys, I never thought about leaving the plastic tie holding the legs together. I’ve always removed it, assuming it would melt, smoke up the oven and make the turkey taste like burned plastic. Am I the only person who thought that?
Indio says
I always take it off too and use twine to tie the legs. My reasoning is that plastic always has petrochemicals in it and I think twine is food safe option.
cp says
I was wondering the same!
Mavis Butterfield says
It says right on the packaging that you can leave it on and that it withstands heat of 450 F {or maybe it was 500?} I typically leave mine on.
Nancy says
So interesting! I’m not much a of cook, but I love the the look of the AGA and learning about it! Your kitchen looks beautiful! Turkey looks delicious! What is cooking on the stovetop like?
Mavis Butterfield says
Easy! I’ll do a post about it soon.
Patti says
Thanks for showing us! Beautiful turkey! I am enjoying learning about your AGA. Has anyone ever had one and had a problem with repairs? Just wondering if that would be an issue in the US.
Heidi N. says
Your turkey looks delicious (made me hungry just seeing it!). Loving learning how your new stove works!
Mavis Butterfield says
Me too! 🙂
Dianne says
Wow – Appetizing Turkey there! It looks so good! I would love to see the cooktop in operation or is that like any other electric cooktop? I would like to see what the other are used for. So exciting to see you cook on your AGA. Do you miss the other 2 burners? And Lucy! So curiously peeking in that oven – hoping she gets some of that beautiful bird!
I’m glad you are enjoying your stove!
KCB says
Somebody give that pup a bite of turkey!
Rebecca says
Now that is one beee-you-ti-ful bird! Is it wrong that I’m most jealous of the leftovers, not the original turkey dinner? Also, I always keep the plastic drumstick holders on as well.
Rhonda R Relyea says
I love your beautiful new stove and so happy you finally got it. That turkey looks so good and never would have turned out so well without Lucy’s supervision! I sure love Lucy!