It’s never too early to have a game plan for your perfect Thanksgiving turkey meal preparation!
One of the most common methods of preparing a turkey is putting it in a hot oven temperature of 325 degrees. This method is very acceptable but a little basic. You can get very creative with your Thanksgiving turkeys. So pass over that turkey leg, white meat, and turkey gravy.
If it’s your year to prep the perfect turkey, there are so many turkey recipes and ways you can cook it, and we’re highlighting ten of the best ways to cook your perfect turkey this holiday season with step-by-step instructions. If your using a convection oven, cooking time can be reduced by 2 hours, possibly 3 hours, depending on the size of your Thanksgiving Turkey
1. Classic Oven Roasted Turkey
This is the go-to way to cook roast turkey. Adjust the roasting rack and preheat your oven, season the bird, add liquid to your roasting pan, and prepare to cook that Thanksgiving turkey. If you have a frozen turkey, prep time will be longer. Have plenty of paper towels and aluminum foil before and after cooking the turkey. Although it’s generally recommended to cook the best turkey at a rate of 13 minutes per pound at 325, various factors can contribute to cooking turkey time on the roasting rack. Some of these include an empty cavity and leaving the legs un-trussed. To determine how fast the bird is cooking with delicious breast meat, check its internal temperature around halfway through the cooking time. Remember to baste turkey skin with melted butter and turkey drippings and check the temperature regularly as it cooks. Let the roast turkey rest before carving, possibly 15 minutes to 30 minutes, then enjoy!
2. Deep-Fried Thanksgiving Turkey
Southerners and people worldwide love a deep-fried turkey recipe, considered the most unhealthy and delicious way to prepare a Thanksgiving bird. Aside from being incredibly quick, this dish also has a lot of flavors. It’s easiest (and safest) to use an outdoor cooker. A common mistake is putting a frozen turkey directly in hot oil. This can cause a flash fire and dozens of homes, and people get burned each year so please be careful and get step-by-step instructions. Try brining it with kosher salt and brown sugar the night before! Locate the paper towels and aluminum foil before and after. Let the Deep Fried roast turkey rest from 15 minutes to 30 minutes before carving it into that turkey breast.
3. Turducken (Turkey, Duck, and Chicken Trio)
Turducken is truly the top of the line for a Thanksgiving dinner. What on earth is a “turducken” is a combination of the words turkey, duck, and chicken this Thanksgiving ultimate feast consists of a chicken stuffed inside a duck that’s then stuffed inside a turkey cavity. This ultimate best turkey has portions of all three birds with stuffing between the layers. To make the stuffing and slicing easy, a turducken uses deboned poultry, which a local butcher can prepare for you.
Turducken combines the flavors of moist roast poultry and savory stuffing with turkey drippings into one glorious thanksgiving turkey. The process of putting it together is simple, however, it is a bit time-consuming, so plan accordingly.
4. Beer-Can Turkey Recipe
A beer-can turkey is a variation of the beer-can chicken traditionally propped up over an open can of beer, which is used to season the turkey cavity of the bird. For this turkey recipe dish, you’ll need two 24-ounce cans of beer personal favorite is Bush Light, one for the interior and one for the exterior. The bird can be cooked on the grill or in an oven, and you might want to purchase a special oven rack to keep it upright while roasting.
5. Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey
Using a smoker, you can be creative with preparation and don’t even need to season the bird. To make the perfect turkey recipe, some cooks brine the turkey with unusual ingredients, such as apple cider, wine, or bourbon. Different types of wood can also add unique flavors to the turkey. Basting turkey skin is a must-do with melted butter and turkey drippings, and checks the temperature regularly as it cooks.
6. Low and Slow Overnight Turkey
Cooking your thanksgiving best turkey overnight in an oven temperature of around 170° F is easy to get the job done. be sure to use a meat thermometer to get that perfect turkey Plus, you can sleep during its cooking time.
7. Grill-Roasted Turkey
A grill-roasted bird is a great way to save space in the oven rack. It’s also a great way to enjoy the flavor of turkey-roasting pan vegetables, which adds a lot of flavor to a turkey gravy.
8. Spatchcocked Turkey
A spatchcocked best turkey can be cooked half the time it takes to prepare a whole roast bird by removing the bones but keeping the skin. The bird is coated in fresh herbs, olive oil, and spices and then roasted on a bed of vegetables. This combination of flavor and herbs results in this fully cooked and flavorful butterflied white meat for Thanksgiving dinner.
9. Instant Pot Turkey
If you have the 8qt model of the Instant Pot, you can handle an 8-9lb turkey. Put carrots, onion, bay leaf, salt or kosher salt, olive oil, and celery stalks in the bottom of the pot. Then, add 1/2 cup of water and set it on the trivet. You can use the chicken method for 6 minutes per pound with a 10-minute NPR. The turkey breast will come out moist with turkey drippings and easy to prepare for a serving tray – easy to prep and quick to make!
10. Slow Cooker Turkey
You can use the slow cooker if you only need to feed a few people! Since the slow cooker is smaller than a regular oven, you will want to use a small turkey roast or a turkey breast. Here is a simple turkey recipe, to make the best turkey, spray the pot with a non-stick spray, place the turkey or turkey breast inside the slow cooker and add some liquid and seasonings. Cook the turkey on low for about 8-9 hours. After that, please remove it from the heat and insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast meat to ensure that the internal temperature is cooked to 165° F. Throw in some veggies, fresh herbs, or stuffing inside the turkey cavity to get a side dish at the same time!
How do you cook your turkeys for thanksgiving dinner? Do you have any tried and true methods that your family loves or a secret turkey gravy?