Ultimate Turkey Cook Off

Leeeeeeets Get ready to rumble!! I'm throwing it down today folks!! I had the genius idea to cook not one, not two, but three mother-fing turkeys in one day so I could compare and contrast all things turkey. We are talking cook time, flavor, moistness, and ease of cooking. I'm going to break it all down and help you pick the right cooking method for you. I used 3 different methods: traditional oven, Traeger grill and a propane air fryer. My 3 turkeys came in at about 12lb each. The department of agriculture recommend you a lot 1Lb of turkey per person. I would recommend 1 1/2 if you want leftovers. Given this unique year with fewer people around the Thanksgiving table, 12 Lb seemed like the perfect size.

I want to go over really fast how I prepped each turkey before cooking them. The day before, I make sure the turkey is fully thawed. Soak the turkey in a brine overnight in these big industrial buckets (I will add the recipe at the end). Add garlic and herb butter under the skin of the turkey. I will use 1 1/2 cup butter, 2 cloves crushed garlic and some fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme and sage) finely chopped. I will then use my hand to rub the ingredients under the skin of the turkey and rub butter outside of the turkey, finishing with a good coat of salt and pepper. Take 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 a onion cut in 1/2, 2 carrots cut in 1/2, 2 stalks celery cut in 1/2, 2 cloves garlic smashed and then a few stems of the same herbs I used before. I stuff all of that into the cavity of the turkey. I think it helps to keep it moist and adds flavor.

So let's break it down. The biggest pro to 2 of the 3 methods is the turkeys are not being cooked in the oven, leaving my single oven free to cook and hold other side dishes. When hosting a lot of people this is huge!!

The first turkey was cooked in an air fryer. The air fryer gets set up outside. It's really easy to use and has the "set it and forget it" vibe going for it. Once the turkey is buttered and prepped, drop it in the frying basket and leave it, no basting required. Cook time for the air fryer came in at about an hour and a half. So it's very fast. It has a pan at the bottom of the fryer to collect the dripping. Air fryer's are not terribly expensive but do require a propane tank.

The air fryer produced, hands down, the best flavor. My official taste tester single handily preferred this turkey over the others (very scientific!). It is so moist, the flavor is awesome, it takes the least amount of work and cook time. Last year for thanksgiving, we used the air fryer for the first time. It was a bold move to use a new cooking method when hosting 20 people, but we like to live on the edge!! Everyone raved about the turkey and could not believe how well it turned out. When cooking a bigger turkey in the air fryer you may need to empty your grease trap a couple times. Make sure to save all the dripping to use later. Overall Im very impressed with the air-fried turkey and would give it a 10 out of 10 would recommend!!!

The second Turkey was also cooked outside on our smoker. We have had a Traeger grill for about 6 years now. We have been very impressed with the flavor it gives our food and the magical power it has to keep my husband from burning our food (sorry honey). We spent half an hour smoking the turkey on the Traeger before we started to cook it. This is what is going to really make the flavor of this method stand out. After the smoking, it took about 2 hours and 45 minutes to cook the turkey on the grill at 330 degrees. To allow basting of the turkey and to save the drippings while cooking, I cooked it in a disposable aluminum roasting pan*. After the first hour of cooking, I basted it for the first time and went back about every half hour after that. Please note that the Traeger's drippings will have a smokey flavor and will change the taste of your gravy. This turkey also got good ratings from my taste testers. Although Im not crazy about the smokey gravy. If I were to use this method, I would make gravy from store-bought stock. Though the turkey had great flavor, it was not as moist as the air-fried turkey. The cook time was very similar to a traditional cooking method. I would rate this 8 out of 10.

The third turkey was cooked in a traditional oven. I feel like most of us spend so much time every year trying to figure out how to keep it from drying out. It is hard to do, especially if you are cooking a large turkey. It will take so long to get it to cook through that some parts will dry out. Butter on the outside and using veggies inside does help with dryness, but overall using an oven will be dryer than the others. I cooked the turkey at 325 degrees for about 3 hours. I basted the turkey after the first hour and every half hour after that. You also can’t beat the amazing smell that warms your home as it roasts in the oven. The traditional oven took the longest and was overall not our favorite. I give it a 7 out of 10. You can’t go wrong with this classic, but I think some new heavy hitters do a better job.

*So note to self one year we cooked our thanksgiving turkey this way and put the bird right on the grill. The dripping were too much and eventually started a grease fire. Yes we caught our turkey on fire with many guests awaiting food. I believe it was this point I stared to drink my dinner.

Turkey Brine:

5 Lt Water

3 cups Apple Juice

3 Tbs Peppercorn

1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cup kosher Salt

2 Tbs Mrs.Dash

5 Bay Leaves

2 Tbs Old Bay Sason

1 cloves Garlic smashed

2 sprigs Rosemary

1 Onions sliced

Traditional Turkey cook time

Turkey Weight Cook Time

8-12lb 2:30 to 3:00hr

12-14lb 3:00 to 3:45hr

14-18lb 3:45 to 4:00hr

18-20lb 4:00 to 4:30hr

20-24lb 4:30 to 5:00hr

In a traditional oven I cook a turkey at 325 Degrees. The internal temperature need to be cooked to 170 Degrees.

Cheers Babes

XOXO