There always seems to be a debate about which meat belongs on the table come holiday season: turkey or ham? Well, we want to let all you ham lovers out there know that we still care about you, but today we’re focusing on a different debate, should you bake, roast, or fry your turkey? If you’re looking for a clear-cut answer, we don’t have that for you, but we’ll break down the pros and cons of each method and let you decide which cooking method works best for you and your loved ones this season.
If you want to keep it simple this holiday season, look no further than the tried and true method of baking your turkey in the oven! This method is relatively simple and gives you a lot of flexibility in making the bird unique in various ways, such as using different seasons, making gravy from the pan drippings, or stuffing your bird with delicious stuffing. This is the most popular method for a reason, but with all the benefits come some downfalls. Some of those cons include a longer cook time and the accompanying risk of overcooking or undercooking your bird since it will have to be in the oven for quite some time.
Pros: You’ll get moist and juicy meat. It’s the most iconic smell of Thanksgiving!
Cons: Uses up your oven space.
Another trending method of cooking a turkey is in a roaster oven. Increasing in popularity for its convenience and ability to produce a bird with deliciously moist and tender meat, the roaster oven will free up your conventional oven to create other dishes to share. Cooking your turkey in a roaster oven doesn’t require you to baste beforehand, as the bird will self-baste through the cooking process. Roasting your turkey will give you moist meat, but the skin may not get as crispy as other cooking methods. Check out this step by step instructional blog post to learn how to roast a turkey this holiday season!
Pros: Self-basting and free up your oven space for other dishes!
Cons: The skin may not get very crispy, and it takes more time – about 4 1/2 hours to cook a 20-lb. bird.
While it may not be the most popular way to cook a turkey during the holiday season, fried turkey is incredible! Not only will you free up your oven and kitchen to prep other dishes for your guests, but you will also save a considerable amount of time since this method usually only takes an hour to cook your entire bird! While deep frying your turkey will seal in some delicious flavors that may get lost in other cooking methods, there is the obvious drawback of dealing with dangerous hot oil. Learn how to deep fry a turkey >>
Pros: Low maintenance and speedy cooking time – about one hour for a 16-lb. bird.
Cons: You can’t stuff your bird, and the hot oil can burn your bird and be dangerous if not handled properly.
