Best way to raost a turkey

Shaneard · Nov 23, 2016

This is probably the quickest, though not the cheapest.

Flash Fire jet truck thanksgiving turkey roast. - YouTube

Thomas · Nov 23, 2016

...or have someone else do it.

bigdeano · Nov 28, 2016

Yummy, a kerosene flavored turkey.

hawkeye08 · Nov 28, 2016

Brine overnight, preheat oven to 475, cook until proper temp reached (for example, about 3 hours for 16lb turkey). We bought a fresh turkey this year (as opposed to frozen in the past) and it was very moist and tender. Best turkey ever... if you get a frozen turkey, thaw it out before cooking..

Sorry this is past when you need it, but perhaps turkey for Christmas?

prichard · Nov 28, 2016

I prefer smoker.

Sawyer Rob · Nov 28, 2016

I'm sure most folks think THEIR way to cook a turkey is best, but the way "I" prefer my turkey is deep fried! It's just plain easy and even the breast meat is super moist without any of the turkey being greasy!

I finally decided to buy a Butterball brand, electric turkey fryer and give it a go, so I can deep fry my turkeys indoors, and here it is,

It uses 2-3/4 gallons of oil, and peanut oil is recommended. It will fry up to a 20 pound turkey, or several chickens ect... You can also put water in it for "boils", but I bought it primarily to fry turkeys and I bought a couple 14 pounders that were on sale to try it out.

Anyway, I filled it with the proper amount of oil and turned it on to "pre-heat". It has a dial to set the temp of the oil and 375* is the MAX and is also the recommended temp to use.

After about a 40 min. warm up (I didn't time it) a green light comes on and tells you it's up to temp, I seasoned the turkey, patted it dry and set it in the pan that comes with it, then SLOOOOWLY lowered it into the oil,

Everything went smoothly and I set the timer for 50 minutes, 3.5 to 4 mins per pound is recommended.

After the 50 mins I set it for, a beeper (could be louder) went off, it does NOT shut the cooker off or anything else, it's just a digital timer. I kept track of the time and was at the cooker when it "beeped" and I lifted the basket/turkey out of the oil with the handle they supplied,

(it was actually a bit darker than the pict. shows) After "tenting" the turkey and letting it "rest" about 20 mins, I cut into it!

I gotta tell ya, everyone absolutely LOVED the turkey! The skin was crisp, the white meat was really moist, same as the dark meat! NONE of the meat was greasy, as the high heat seals the grease out... It was a complete success and totally painless to do!

This roaster works completely as advertised, I'm glad I bought it, we will use it not only for turkeys, but I'm sure we will be using it for chickens too, as we will be able to fry them two at a time, that's about perfect for us, as we like those kind of leftovers!

Clean up is pretty easy as the steel liner comes out to wash, and draining the oil out is easy too, as you use a supplied spigot, that screws into a bottom corner of the roaster that allows you to drain the oil back into the jugs it came out of.

There you have it... The BEST way to cook a turkey for ME! lol

SR

dickfoster · Nov 29, 2016

prichard said:
I prefer smoker.
View attachment 489720

I smoked a breast this year and it took friggin forever. It was going pretty good then it seemed to stall at around 150 like when you smoke a pork butt. I couldn't figure it out as there is no collagen in a turkey breast. I finished the thing off in the oven so we could eat while it was still Thanksgiving Day and not Black Friday. Next year I'll go back to the Weber kettle and full tent method except for the last 30 min which has always been my go to, never fail technique. It's fast two. I could probably have cooked two whole turkeys in the kettle in the time I had that breast in the smoker. It did taste good though. I used apple and a little cherry wood.

roadhunter · Nov 29, 2016

I saw one the other day where a guy buys just the breast and debones them and puts them in a crock pot with a couple sticks of butter. Sounded pretty good to me.

prichard · Nov 29, 2016

Mine actually cooked too fast. I ended up dropping the temp to 150 to keep it hot but the breast did dry out a little. Those 2 birds were done in 6 hours and had expected 8 hours.

dickfoster · Nov 30, 2016

prichard said:
Mine actually cooked too fast. I ended up dropping the temp to 150 to keep it hot but the breast did dry out a little. Those 2 birds were done in 6 hours and had expected 8 hours.

Jeez what temperature do you smoke at? I smoke everything at 225F.
When I roast them in the kettle grill, the temp is much higher and covered the way I do, there is a lot of steam cooking going on which makes it faster which helps keep it moist too.

prichard · Nov 30, 2016

I was at 225

BrokeFarmerJohn · Nov 30, 2016

Last bird I cooked was the way Americas Test Kitchen did Julia Child's recipe. It took a little time but was delicious and the stuffing was off the hook awesome. There's many good ways to cook a turkey but that's my preferred way.

You basically cook the white and dark meat separate and for diff times

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/413-revisiting-julia-childs-roast-turkey

You cook the turkey over the stuffing so it's actual stuffing and not dressing. Best stuffing I have ever had. Turkey was tasty and tender, wasn't magical but I was impressed.

P.S that's real stuffing made from diced dried bread, diced vegetables and dried cranberries, fresh spices nothing from a box.

newbury · Nov 30, 2016

This year I decided to try something different, at least for me.
We've a convection oven and SWMBO bought a 20lb bird. I put it in at about 0300 on 450 and gave it about 30 minutes to crisp the skin, then dropped it down to 275 until I could "shake a leg", basting occasionally. Came out excellent, didn't finish until about 0830.

Toyboy · Dec 1, 2016

This was the 32nd year I've cooked my turkey (indirect) on the charcoal Weber kettle. It always comes out great, and there is no dry white meat that seems to befuddle a lot of people.

Buy the V rack and cook the turkey breast down. Always comes out delicious and moist.This method imparts a completely different flavor to the bird.

Only draw back to my method is every year is different, and the cooking time is never consistent or exact. The variables you have to deal with are outside temp's, size of bird, calm or windy, plus every hour, you have the lid off the cooker to add charcoal and baste and lose heat.
This year a 12# bird took a little over 3 hours.
But we take that into account and plan the rest of the meal accordingly. It also frees up the oven for other things.

Wakey · Dec 1, 2016

That is a great unit! My brother bought it as his travel fryer but unless he's frying two at once, it is now his go to fryer.

Don't throw away the carcass, simmer it in a large stock pot with celery, onions and carrots for the finest soup stock.

My neighbor has one of these, swears it is as good as a fryer. I will borrow it as a test and bump this thread with the results. Reviews say clean up is a snap.

Char-Broil Big Easy Turkey Fryer

Sawyer Rob said:
I'm sure most folks think THEIR way to cook a turkey is best, but the way "I" prefer my turkey is deep fried! It's just plain easy and even the breast meat is super moist without any of the turkey being greasy! I finally decided to buy a Butterball brand, electric turkey fryer and give it a go, so I can deep fry my turkeys indoors, and here it is, It uses 2-3/4 gallons of oil, and peanut oil is recommended. It will fry up to a 20 pound turkey, or several chickens ect... You can also put water in it for "boils", but I bought it primarily to fry turkeys and I bought a couple 14 pounders that were on sale to try it out. Anyway, I filled it with the proper amount of oil and turned it on to "pre-heat". It has a dial to set the temp of the oil and 375* is the MAX and is also the recommended temp to use. After about a 40 min. warm up (I didn't time it) a green light comes on and tells you it's up to temp, I seasoned the turkey, patted it dry and set it in the pan that comes with it, then SLOOOOWLY lowered it into the oil, Everything went smoothly and I set the timer for 50 minutes, 3.5 to 4 mins per pound is recommended. After the 50 mins I set it for, a beeper (could be louder) went off, it does NOT shut the cooker off or anything else, it's just a digital timer. I kept track of the time and was at the cooker when it "beeped" and I lifted the basket/turkey out of the oil with the handle they supplied, (it was actually a bit darker than the pict. shows) After "tenting" the turkey and letting it "rest" about 20 mins, I cut into it! I gotta tell ya, everyone absolutely LOVED the turkey! The skin was crisp, the white meat was really moist, same as the dark meat! NONE of the meat was greasy, as the high heat seals the grease out... It was a complete success and totally painless to do! This roaster works completely as advertised, I'm glad I bought it, we will use it not only for turkeys, but I'm sure we will be using it for chickens too, as we will be able to fry them two at a time, that's about perfect for us, as we like those kind of leftovers! Clean up is pretty easy as the steel liner comes out to wash, and draining the oil out is easy too, as you use a supplied spigot, that screws into a bottom corner of the roaster that allows you to drain the oil back into the jugs it came out of. There you have it... The BEST way to cook a turkey for ME! lol SR

Sawyer Rob · Dec 1, 2016

Wakey said:
Don't throw away the carcass, simmer it in a large stock pot with celery, onions and carrots for the finest soup stock.

That's exactly what we do, then freeze much of the broth in 2 cup cubes... I use them for making rice through out the year!

We LOVE that flavor in our rice!

SR

Deere Dude · Dec 1, 2016

My wife uses a Nesco roaster for 40 years and can't think of a bad bird we ever had other than a goose we captured. It cooked for hours and hours and there never was a sign of it getting done. It was one tough sucker.

A 14 # turkey cooked for 3-1/2 hours I think. I would love to try a deep fryer but she does the cooking so I stay away from it. A benefit from a roaster is that the bird can be stuffed with stuffing of some sort and I can't see how a deep fryer would work in that case.

Wakey · Dec 14, 2016

Wakey said:
My neighbor has one of these, swears it is as good as a fryer. I will borrow it as a test and bump this thread with the results. Reviews say clean up is a snap. Char-Broil Big Easy Turkey Fryer

Ok, I'm buying one of these. The turkey came out great.

I injected it with Tony Chachere's Creole Butter marinade just like when I fry them. Then I dusted the bird and the cavity with Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning.

I cooked the bird until it was 165 degrees, not sure how long but it had to be around 3 or 4 hours. Note.. 22.5 lbs was almost too big, I had to manipulate the wings to get the bird in the basket lol

Amazon has these for $79.00 and free shipping with Prime. You supply your own propane tank.

Cleanup was quicker and easier than the indoor fryer. Next time I'll spray the basket with cooking spray and see if that makes clean up even faster.

Next I'll do a couple chickens and then make my soup stock with my turkey fryer pot so all those scents stay outside.