Why did the turkey explode in the oven?

Answer 1

I cooked a turkey that was only partially thawed. It was frozen solid in the middle and maybe thawed about 1-2 inches deep from the outside. What happened was the thawed skin cooked and held in the juices.

When the center thawed and started cooking, the juices couldn't come out and were trapped in under the skin. Once it got hot enough the juices boiled and had nowhere to go, so it exploded. The whole turkey didn't explode, just a small hole in the skin so the juices could escape. If you look, you can see where it exploded, the juices will continue to slowly run out in a little stream.

I think I heard it do this like 4 or 5 times. You can hear when it happens and smell it because the juices spray into the oven and catch on fire. It only did this after I took the foil cover off. The oven actually caught on fire for a few seconds and was smoking, good thing I live in an apartment and it's not my oven.

It did make a mess of the oven, but I must say it was the best, most moist turkey I ever ate because it cooked with all the juices trapped in it. Some people actually recommend cooking the turkey frozen, look it up. It took a little over 8 hours to cook though. Thats a long time considering it was only 18 pounds.