If you want to speed up the cooking time for your Thanksgiving turkey, wrap the turkey in aluminum foil and roast it at 450 degrees F. Using this method, a turkey can be ready for carving in just over three hours.
For foil wrapped roasted turkey, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove neck and giblets from turkey; rinse turkey and pat dry. If desired, loosely stuff turkey. Brush with vegetable oil.Tear off a sheet of 18-inch wide heavy-duty aluminum foil that is 2 1/2 times longer than the turkey. Place turkey, breast side up, lengthwise in center of foil sheet. Close foil loosely by overlapping the ends. Turn up short sides of foil to hold in juices. Place foil-wrapped turkey in roasting pan at least 2 inches deep. Insert meat thermometer through foil into thickest part of thigh, not touching bone. Roast turkey until meat thermometer reads 180 degrees F to 185 degrees F. For stuffed turkey, add 30 minutes to roasting time.
To brown turkey, open and turn back foil 30 minutes before roasting is finished.
Approximate roasting times:
1 1/2 hours to 2 1/4 hours for 8- to 12-pound turkey, 2 1/4 hours to 23/4 hours for 12- to 16-pound turkey, 2 3/4 hours to 3 1/4 hours for 16- to 20-pound turkey, 3 1/4 hours to 3 3/4 hours for 20- to 24-pound turkey.