Baste a roasting turkey about every 45–60 minutes, and not more often than every 30 minutes.
General guideline
For a typical oven-roasted turkey, many cooking guides suggest:
- Start basting once there are some pan juices or melted butter in the bottom of the pan (often after the first hour or two).
- Baste roughly every 45 minutes to 1 hour to balance moisture, browning, and oven heat loss.
When to baste more or less
- If you choose to baste more frequently, do not go under about every 30 minutes; opening the oven more often can cool it and lengthen cooking time.
- In the last hour, some cooks like to baste every 30 minutes to help deepen color and flavor on the skin.
Optional note
Food-testing organizations have found that basting does little for juiciness and mostly affects appearance, so if you brine, dry-brine, or butter under the skin, you can baste less or even skip it if you prefer a more hands-off approach.
