Learn how to cook the perfect turkey in the oven or on the grill with these simple techniques and expert tips. You’ll cook a delicious, moist turkey every time.
Turkey holds a unique place within our hearts and on our tables, as it’s a dish often cooked for holidays and gatherings with loved ones. This leaves many people who only serve turkey once or twice each year scouring the internet for the best tips on how to cook a turkey, which is why ATBBQ has put together this comprehensive guide to cook a delicious, moist, and flavorful turkey every time.
Over the years, we’ve cooked dozens of turkeys for our own families and learned a lot about what it takes to cook an amazing bird along the way. But three fundamental techniques stand above the rest when it comes to can’t-miss tips for cooking a perfect bird.
The first is to brine the turkey to add moisture and help break down muscle fibers. The second is to properly season the turkey with a quality seasoning rub. And when you finish the three-step process by cooking the turkey to an internal temperature of 160ºF, you’ll be way ahead of the curve with a turkey that will have everyone rushing to grab a second helping.
That being said, there are plenty of additional ways to easily raise your turkey game even more. In this ultimate guide, we’ll share our favorite techniques, tools, and recipes, as well as answer some of the most common questions people have about cooking turkey in the oven, on the grill, or in a fryer.
Key Techniques for Cooking Turkey
Are you new to cooking turkey and feeling a bit intimidated by the whole process? Check out our comprehensive guide on How to Cook a Turkey for Beginners. Here are some deeper dives on a few specific topics that provide a solid foundation for turkey mastery.
How to Pick a Turkey
Like an artist searching for the ideal canvas, selecting a quality bird will give you a leg up in preparing a great meal. Here’s what to look for on labels, how to figure out how much turkey you need, and how much time to properly thaw a frozen bird.
How to Brine a Turkey
The brining process doesn’t take much effort, but it does require planning ahead. The salt in a brine solution breaks down the cell walls in protein fibers, allowing them to take in more water and loosen up those muscle fibers in the process. The result is more tender and juicy meat that can stand on its own without needing to be doused in gravy.
How to Spatchcock a Turkey
ATBBQ highly recommends spatchcocking turkey before cooking. This involves removing the backbone so the turkey lays flat, allowing it to cook faster and more evenly. While it sounds like a gnarly surgical maneuver, spatchcocking is easy and worth the extra effort.
How to Carve a Turkey
It would be a shame to hack away at a perfectly cooked turkey indiscriminately. Carving a turkey well won’t change how it tastes, but knowing how to make clean cuts and superb slices will save a ton of time and allow you to get all of the accolades you rightly deserve from the moment people lay their eyes on the bird.
How to Smoke a Turkey
Cooking turkey on a smoker like the Yoder YS640 offers an additional depth of flavor over roasting it in the oven and also frees up much-needed oven space for holiday cooking. ATBBQ Staff Chef Tom Jackson has cooked dozens of turkeys on Yoder Smokers and has shared many of his recipes in our extensive library. The flavor profile of a smoked turkey is even more enhanced when utilizing our Classic Holiday Turkey Kit or our Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Kit, both of which include brine concentrate and Cattleman’s Grill seasoning rubs.
Essential Tools for Cooking Turkey
For a complete list and breakdown of helpful products for cooking turkey, check out the ATBBQ guide to Essential Tools for Cooking Turkey and How to Use Each One. But in the meantime, here are a handful of tools we just can’t live without in our own kitchens when preparing turkey.
Turkey Kits
Simplify brining and seasoning with an ATBBQ turkey kit. Specially curated to enhance the taste of your turkey, these kits take all of the guesswork out of building flavor. For example, the Classic Holiday Turkey Kit matches Cattleman’s Grill Trail Dust seasoning rub with Sweetwater Spice Classic Holiday Turkey Bath, which incorporates Apple, Rosemary, and Sage.
Knife and Cutting Board
Half the battle in turkey carving is making sure you have quality tools. “Really essential to the job are a nice carving set and a good cutting board,” Chef Tom says in his How To Carve A Turkey video. A long, sharp knife like the Wustoff Classic 8” Hollow Edge Carving Knife provides clean, precise cuts to easily slice through breasts and joints. And the JK Adams Turnabout Reversible Maple Carving Board features generous juice-catching grooves and a strategically placed indentation specifically designed to securely hold large cuts of meat like turkey in place to provide stability and precision.
Meat Thermometer
A quality meat thermometer is necessary to ensure the turkey gets pulled right when it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF. The All Things Barbecue Digital Thermometer is a solid option under $50. It can deliver an accurate reading in under two seconds and includes an easy-to-read rotating display, automatic backlight, ergonomic handle, and versatile magnet.
Some grills and smokers, like the Yoder YS640, include built-in technology that allows you to monitor temperature remotely. Or, a thermometer like the Fireboard Pulse Wireless Meat Thermometer provides similar functionality for ovens and grills that don’t have temperature monitoring capabilities.
Advanced Turkey Tips
How to Season a Turkey for Maximum Flavor
With all of the rubs and seasoning blends available, trying to identify the quality options can feel overwhelming. The ATBBQ guide on rub basics can help you figure out how to best use seasoning rubs. We’ve also compiled a list of the Seasonings We Reach For Again and Again, and Flavor Hacks Guide to Mixing and Matching Seasonings to Cook Bold Poultry will help you up your game from there.
How to Inject a Turkey Before Cooking
The brining process adds moisture to meat but injecting kicks it up a notch by getting moisture and flavor into the deepest parts of the muscles. The liquid spreads during the cooking process to create a delicious final product, adding pockets of flavor directly in the meat.
How to Deep Fry a Turkey Safely
The combination of crispy skin and juicy meat achieved with a deep-fried turkey is unmatched. Some folks are skeptical about going the deep-fried route after seeing fry-fail videos but outfitted with the right equipment and a few simple safety steps, it’s a method that’s certainly worth trying out.
Knife Sharpening
Quality knives are a great investment, but even the best need to be sharpened to maintain their edge. Here, Chef Tom recommends equipment and techniques to ensure your knives are ready to carve turkey with ease.
Cooking Efficiency with Mise En Place
Cut the kitchen chaos with Mise en place (pronounced "MEE-zon-plos"). A French phrase meaning "setting up," it is a process from the cooking world defined as "everything in its place." Using mise en place means preparing all the ingredients in a recipe and having your cooking utensils at your fingertips before you start cooking to increase efficiency and preserve your sanity.
Commonly Asked Turkey Questions
What is the best way to cook a turkey?
Whether to cook a turkey in an oven, a smoker, or a fryer is largely a matter of personal preference. The good news is that the prep and cooking basics are the same regardless of which method you choose, with the oven and smoker processes being nearly identical even if the end results vary.
What are the best alternatives to cooking a whole turkey?
It may not make sense to cook a whole turkey when cooking Thanksgiving for 4-6 people. Turkey breasts and whole hens are among solid alternatives that won’t leave you overwhelmed with a seemingly unending heap of leftovers.
How do I season a turkey?
In addition to adding moisture, brining is a key seasoning enhancer, especially when using a brine concentrate. Some people also inject their turkey to achieve even deeper flavor penetration. When it comes to seasoning rubs, the biggest key is to season under the skin so that the rub comes in direct contact with the meat and on top of the skin. For a more comprehensive breakdown, visit our guide on How to Season a Turkey Before Cooking for Maximum Flavor.
What is the difference between dry brining and wet brining?
With a wet brine, the turkey is submerged in the brining solution, which allows it to absorb the salt, moisture, and flavors that make up the brine. For a dry brine, the salt is applied directly to the turkey, and while it leads to crispier skin by not exposing the bird to moisture, it also doesn’t add additional moisture to the turkey. For a more detailed look at the differences, check out the Dry Brining vs Wet Brining: Pros, Cons, and Tips for Each.
How do I prevent turkey from drying out?
Prevent the all-too-common nightmare scenario of dry, chewy, and flavorless meat by following the simple ATBBQ three-step method of brining your turkey, applying a quality seasoning, and cooking to an internal temperature of 160°F.
Turkey Recipes
Classic Holiday Turkey
Simple and satisfying, this classic recipe for a brined and trussed turkey is coated with a rich, aromatic glaze and packed with bold, zesty flavors of apple, garlic, rosemary, and sage. Make this holiday one to remember!
Savory Herb Roasted Turkey
Utilizing the Sweetwater Spice Lemon Thyme Turkey Bath and Cattleman’s Grill Ranchero seasoning rub, this recipe packs bright flavors with an herbal blend that evokes holiday comfort vibes.
Texas Turkey Breasts
Straightforward and traditional Texas barbecue flavor makes this a perfect alternative for those who want to cook something other than a whole turkey.
Cajun Turkey
This dry brined, spatchcock smoked turkey packs some nice heat thanks to Cattleman’s Grill Cajun Fusion Rub, Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine, and the Cattleman’s Grill Pit Fire Hot Sauce that are included in the ATBBQ Cajun Turkey Kit.
Orange Maple Glazed Turkey
This recipe is a show-stopping centerpiece for your holiday table. It uses the Maple Orange Spatchcock Turkey Flavor Kit to combine sweet maple syrup, tangy orange, and savory herbs to create a glaze that brings out the best in the juicy, tender meat.
Holiday Side Dish Recipes
Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing
Simultaneously zesty and savory, this stuffing combines multiple holiday favorites into a side dish that should please everyone.
Crispy Skillet Potatoes
Say goodbye to soggy potato dishes, and embrace this recipe’s delicious crispy bite. With just a few ingredients that you probably have on hand, you can put together a flavor-packed side dish that also looks great on your table. But not so great that it steals the show from the turkey, obviously.
Sweet Potato Casserole
Smoky, sweet, and scrumptious, this sweet potato casserole recipe is topped with homemade marshmallow fluff. It’s practically a dessert, but since sweet potatoes are technically a vegetable, it maintains side dish status and means you can still have a helping of pie without feeling guilty.
Turkey Gravy
Sure, you don’t need gravy if you follow ATBBQ’s tips for cooking delicious, juicy turkey every time. But it’s still a traditional side that many folks enjoy, and Chef Tom’s recipe made from homemade turkey stock and turkey drippings is quite lovely.
More Turkey Tips From ATBBQ
Want our best turkey tips delivered directly to you? Be sure to subscribe to our email newsletter, where we share every new recipe video, check out some of our all-time favorite turkey recipes, and take a look at our turkey kits and accessories. You’ll find plenty of tips and tricks that we’ve learned over the years and continue to use when preparing holiday meals for our families.
