Will this turkey plan work?

[JeanBodel]

I have never before cooked a turkey. It's a long story, but I have to cook a turkey tomorrow for my family who are coming over for lunch. I also have to be out of the house tomorrow morning.

I understand that basting is essential but as I won't be there before lunch, this is a problem. Would it work if I got up and cooked the turkey early? I would take it out of the oven say 9:45am, cover it in foil and cloths, and serve it to eat around 1:30-2pm.

Is this ridiculous? I am not sure what else I can do. We are hoping to carve it properly at the table so slicing the night before not ideal.

TIA

If you seal the moisture in you won’t need to baste. Use a turkey bag

I’d worry about food poisoning if you leave it sitting around warm for 4 hours. You may need to reduce thecooking time a bit if you use a roasting bag but it’s a safer and easier option. If you do cook it ahead, it would be better to cool it rapidly and then reheat it later (but won’t taste as nice as fresh)
hth

It will be absolutely fine to do that. I always cook mine earlier in the morning then leave it to cool as I cannot be doing with getting burnt fingers when slicing it.

Ah, a turkey bag! Is that what they're for? I saw them in the supermarket but was bemused.

Yes, I was worried we were risking food poisoning by leaving it out too long.

Thanks very much, we have a solution.