Turkey & Roast Resting Timer
Rest timer for turkeys and roasts that scales with weight, showing your pull temperature plus the estimated carryover-heat rise and final temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, with a foil-tent reminder.
Built by the AbraCalc team
How to play
- Drag the weight slider to match your turkey or roast — larger weights extend the rest time and the estimated carryover rise.
- Set your pull temperature (the internal temp when you took it off the heat) and toggle °F/°C to match your thermometer.
- Check the carryover readout: it shows how many degrees the roast is expected to keep climbing and the estimated final temperature.
- Tap Start Resting for a fullscreen countdown — tent the roast loosely with foil, and wait for the single carve-now chime before slicing.
Pulling a turkey or roast off the heat is not the end of cooking — the interior keeps climbing for a while as heat equalizes outward from the hot exterior toward the cooler center, a process called carryover cooking. This timer scales the rest period to your roast's weight, since a bigger bird holds more retained heat and needs a longer rest, and shows an estimated carryover rise added to your pull temperature so you know roughly where the final internal temperature will land. Set your weight and pull temp, toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius, and get a fullscreen countdown ending in a single carve-now chime, with a reminder to tent loosely with foil rather than wrap it tight.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does a bigger turkey need a longer rest than a small roast?
- A larger roast holds a much bigger mass of retained heat in its interior after cooking, and that heat takes longer to equalize outward and then settle. A small chicken breast carries over only a couple of degrees over a few minutes, while a whole turkey can keep rising for closer to half an hour, so the rest timer scales with weight to match.
- Why tent loosely with foil instead of wrapping it tightly?
- A loose tent traps some heat to help the carryover rise along and keeps the surface from cooling too fast, while still letting steam escape. Wrapping tightly traps steam against the skin, which softens a crisp turkey skin or a roast's crust — exactly what you spent the whole cook trying to achieve.
- Is the estimated final temperature exact?
- No — it is a reasonable estimate based on typical carryover behavior for the weight you entered, but actual carryover rise depends on oven temperature, roast shape, and how it's tented. Use an instant-read thermometer near the end of the rest to confirm the actual final temperature rather than relying on the estimate alone, especially for poultry where food safety matters.