As Thanksgiving hosts around the country plan out their holiday meals, many are wondering just how to cook their turkey.
Here are some classic methods that you can use to cook your Thanksgiving bird.
Oven roasted fresh or frozen whole turkey:
According to Butterball, this is a great method for first-time cooks and experienced chefs.
Use this turkey cooking calculator to determine the cook time of your turkey based on weight.
- Preheat oven to 325°
- Pat the turkey dry
- Put turkey breast-side up on a flat rack in a shallow roasting pan, turning the wings back to hold the neck skin in place.
- Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh without touching the bone.
- Put turkey in the oven to cook, tenting the turkey with foil when it is 2/3 done
- Your turkey will be done when the thigh, breast, or stuffing reaches 170°.
- Let stand for 15 minutes before carving
TIP: Brine the turkey before cooking. This is a great way to ensure the turkey is moist and flavorful.
Deep fried turkey
Alton Brown’s deep fried turkey recipe calls for 6 quarts of hot water, 1 pound kosher salt, 1 pound of dark brown sugar, 5 pounds of ice, a 13-14 lb. turkey with giblets removed, and 4-4.5 gallons of peanut oil.
According to Brown, place the turkey into the pot that you are using to fry the bird, and add water until it barely covers the top of the turkey. Make sure the water is also at least 4-5 inches below the top of the pot. This is the amount of oil to use.
Smoked Turkey
Malcom Reed with HowToBBQRight suggests spatchcocking (or removing the backbone) for larger smoked turkeys. It will allow the turkey to lay flat while cooking, which helps it to cook evenly. Spatchcocking is also a method that is great if you are short on time and/or space in your smoker.
Grilled Turkey
Shady Brook Farms recommends thawing a frozen turkey before grilling. They also suggest spatchcocking the turkey to speed up the grilling process.
It will take approximately 2-3 hours to grill a 10-18 pound turkey.
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