Five Ways to Cook Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Roasting a turkey in the oven is the classic way to prepare the bird. It presents a nice visual both in and out of the oven and is most often portrayed in films and cartoons. However, if not done correctly, you can easily end up with dry and flavorless meat when it comes time to eat. Be sure to look up how long you should roast your turkey for based on its weight to help avoid this happening. Whether or not the bird will be stuffed also factors into the roasting time.

It seems fitting that perhaps the most popular method of cooking a turkey--behind roasting it--is deep frying it since Americans love to deep fry everything. But, in our defense, deep fried turkey tastes great. It also takes minimal cooking time when compared to roasting. Depending on the size of the turkey, some can be deep fried in just over an hour. However, turkey fryers are known to catch fire fairly easily which is why you should set up your fryer away from buildings and cars and never leave it unattended while it is on or while the turkey is cooking.

Brining turkey is a process that requires advance planning as the turkey must be kept cold while it is being brined. The actual brining is a process that forces liquid and seasonings into the meat, infusing it with flavor and moisture so that it doesn't dry out when cooking. The refrigerator is ideal for the brining process; however, if you don't have enough room, a cooler and ice will work just as well.

Smoking a turkey can infuse unique flavors thanks to the wood chips used while also keeping the meat moist and smooth during cooking. This method takes longer than roasting but the flavor makes it worth the wait. Because it is a longer, more precise method, don't attempt this for the first time on Thanksgiving Day when family and friends are gathered and waiting to eat as it can take some trial and error to master.

Want to make it a beer-can turkey? Set the turkey upright and insert a beer can into the turkey's cavity before placing it on the grill. The beer and seasonings will add flavor and moisture to the meat.

As with some of the other methods, grilling a turkey has the added benefit of freeing up space in the kitchen since you can grill in almost any weather. Grilling also gives the meat good flavor. This method does require regular supervision while cooking as the grill needs to be kept at a consistent temperature throughout the cooking process. Be sure to use a grill or meat thermometer and add coals as needed if using charcoal.