What size turkey will fit in my oven?

I am having 8 people over for Christmas and have never cooked a turkey as in the States we always went to my parents'!  I have a Whirlpool oven, but am not sure what size turkey will fit in it - not to mention my freezer!  Also, I am not sure where to get one (supermarket vs. local farm) and how far in advance they need to be ordered.

Thanks for all of your help!  I may be messaging again with more requests for food advice as the time draws nearer!!

I saw that Neff (an oven company) home economists cooked a 32lb turkey in a 58-litre Neff single oven with room to spare. Do you know your oven capacity in litres or its model number? A single oven is going to be around 50 to 60 litres.

As an example this Whirlpool single oven (model AKP 205 IX) has a usable volume of 53 litres

Considering that my mom just did a 22lb turkey for about 20 people, I would think that a 12-15lb turkey would work for you. Plus, I've never seen really large turkeys in the UK unless you order them from a butchers. Even then, you're talking quite a bit of money.

Supermarket vs. farm shop will depend on your budget. If you want a farm shop bird, they're probably taking orders now. Ours have been for the past several weeks. If you want a supermarket turkey, why don't you measure the inside of your oven and take your tape measure with you when you go shopping?

I just did Thanksgiving for 8 people and my turkey of 6.2kg (13.6lb) was plenty. We even had a good amount of leftovers. I got it frozen from Tesco for £20 half-price because I couldn't afford a lovely one from the poulterer, but it turned out to be delicious anyway. Morrison's had frozen free range ones (that they were out of when I went  ) for about £15-£20 as a half-price offer, but that was about 2-3 weeks ago.

My oven is one of those that is raised up and fits into the wall (we have a separate gas hob with drawers underneath rather than than oven) and it's not particularly large but I do think it is fairly standard. There is a separate grill/mini oven above it so the larger one may actually be smaller than your standard oven since it does not accommodate the grill. It just fit the turkey in, although I did have a big foil "tent" over it a la Delia Smith, so that was partly why it took up the whole dang thing. Once the foil was off, there was a bit more space, but not really enough to cook anything else in there.

tl;dr shoot for 6kg and you should be fine on all fronts. 

Thanks, everyone.  A friend told me she had a problem fitting turkey and potatoes, etc in her oven, so I got nervous!

Has anyone tried making the turkey the night before and then reheating on Christmas Day?  I was thinking that might help with oven space.

Also, what is everyone making?

Mr Bean had this same problem:

Mr Bean and the Christmas Turkey

Thanks, everyone.  A friend told me she had a problem fitting turkey and potatoes, etc in her oven, so I got nervous!

Has anyone tried making the turkey the night before and then reheating on Christmas Day?  I was thinking that might help with oven space.

Also, what is everyone making?

You can let the turkey rest for up to an hour after it's finished, so I cooked/part-cooked/prepped a lot of the sides before hand and then cooked/reheated them in the oven during that time after I took the turkey out. I'm no expert by any means, since I've only ever cooked one turkey  (2 weeks ago), but I would be worried that the turkey might dry out if you cooked it and then reheated it.

I agree. I wouldn't pre-cook either. But the turkey resting time is key! The bird needs it and, for me, as soon as the turkey comes out of the oven is when all the action starts! It's the busiest hour of the day!

Why not try a turkey crown or two? I cooked two crowns for our Thanksgiving "party" (fed about 18 people) They cook much faster than a whole turkey and include (imo) the best parts of the turkey---unless you absolutely feel like you need the leg and wings.

I had really good luck using one of those oven bags for my Thanksgiving turkey.  Just keep in mind that it'll reduce the cooking time a bit, so you'll want to check it early.

I did a 7 kg bird for 3 hrs 45 minutes, which was a bit too long, really.  But it was still good. And had no problem fitting it in our tiny oven.

I saw that Neff (an oven company) home economists cooked a 32lb turkey in a 58-litre Neff single oven with room to spare. Do you know your oven capacity in litres or its model number? A single oven is going to be around 50 to 60 litres.

As an example this Whirlpool single oven (model AKP 205 IX) has a usable volume of 53 litres

Dang, that was a tame answer from you after your meat comments in the Hot Butcher thread. You let me down mate! (:

Mr Bean had this same problem:

Mr Bean and the Christmas Turkey

STOP IT! 

Blah, this is a good example of the difference in male and female humour. See, I think a guy with a turkey stuck on his head is inherently funny. Like the Three Stooges....one guy clamping another guy's head in a vice while simultaneously gouging another guy's eyes is plain funny.

Blah, this is a good example of the difference in male and female humour. See, I think a guy with a turkey stuck on his head is inherently funny. Like the Three Stooges....one guy clamping another guy's head in a vice while simultaneously gouging another guy's eyes is plain funny.

You are just completely hilarious. Maybe it isn't a good thing but I totally get what you mean! I hate the Stooges but I love that guys like them! And if someone can't laugh at Mr. Bean...! It is just a blessing he is single...

Not everything about men is stupid, selfish, gross, dumb, boring, violent and disgusting...