Ok i tried cooking a 12LB turkey Alton browns way were you put the oven at 500 for 30 minutes and then back down to 350. you cover the breast with a double layer of foil and cook the turkey until the thickest part of the breast reaches 161. well this year the turkey was not done all the way after i started carving it and had to put it back in. took a total of 5 hours of cooking time before it was really done. Any ideas. It worked great last year with a 23 pound birdzilla but not the year before that. seams like every other turkey. hmmm this is strange. also my pumpkin pie was not done and i cooked it 2 days ahead. even though the knife came out clean the pie did not stay together when i cut a peice out so i had to put it back in the oven. had the same problem with the pie last year. cookies come out fine so i don't think the oven is going.

 

Well, this is just my way, but I cook it at a steady temp of 325 according to the time on the wrapping, then add a half hour to that. I tent it for the first couple of hours (maybe an hour and a half for a 12lb), then just baste often afterwards. I also find they seem to cook better in a black roaster. I've tried them in other pans including throwaways and they just don't seem to cook right.
As for the pumpkin pie, what recipe do you use? I buy the Libby's pumpkin in the can (not the mix, the 100% pumpkin) and follow that recipe and it always comes out perfect.

 

My wife always buys the turkey that has the built in thermometer and cooks the turkey in a bag. She usually sets the oven at 350 but this year she turned it down to 325 because she left it to cook while we went to church. I think it cooked for 4.5 hrs and came out great

We didn't have any pumpkin pie this year but she usually cheats and buys one already made
.... but we still had too much to eat

 

i always use the libbys easy bumpkin pie mix. just add eggs and evap milk. maybe the oven needs cleaning. cookies cook great though you can only cook one sheet at a time as the sheet on the bottom cooks faster then the top.

 

There could be a problem with your oven.
You should get a good oven thermometer and check the temperature.
First check it at a common temp like 350 deg F empty, then bake something at that temp at see if the control keeps it there.
Also, if you have an electric range the top broil element could be burnt out and you may not notice.

Another thing to watch for is that when a typical oven heats the cavity it normally does so with both the bake and broil element.
Once it comes up to temperature only the bottom bake element cooks the food.
If your trays are too large you will not get even heat distribution.
This is why convection ovens are good at baking as a fan moves the heat around the cavity to even up the browning.

 

"B]As for the pumpkin pie, what recipe do you use? I buy the Libby's pumpkin in the can (not the mix, the 100% pumpkin) and follow that recipe and it always comes out perfect. [/B]"

That's the best pumpkin pie recipe. My grandmother used it, my mother used it and my wife uses it.

The best place to measure the temp is in the thigh close to the hip joint.

 

Its a gas oven all analog controls nothing digital. It has a wire sensor on the top of the cabinet that senses the temp. i was told that if that wire got damaged it would cost more the oven to fix. its a caloric heritage series. do not remember when it was purchased maybe early 90's. last year the 23 ponder cooked no problem. maybe its the pan i used i used a deep roasting pan.

 

Oven temperature sensors are notoriously inaccurate. So is cooking by weight/time. There are too many variables involved.

The best way to ensure repeatable results is to use a probe type meat thermometer.