How to Cook a Juicy, Flavorful Turkey Without an Oven

Cooking a whole turkey is often the centerpiece of celebratory meals like Thanksgiving Christmas, or Easter dinner. While the traditional method is roasting in the oven sometimes your oven breaks down at the worst time or you need extra oven space for side dishes. Luckily, there are plenty of excellent alternate cooking methods that result in a moist, delicious turkey with crispy skin without ever turning on your oven.

Overview of Oven-Free Cooking Methods

Here are some popular oven-free cooking techniques, along with their pros and cons:

• Grilling: Imparts a lovely smoky flavor from cooking over an open flame. Requires frequent monitoring and rotating. Skin may not get as crispy.

• Smoking: Infuses the turkey with a delightful wood-smoke taste. Requires special equipment and several hours of unattended cooking. Skin is not crispy.

• Deep frying Quick cooking time yields extremely moist meat and crispy skin Requires a large amount of oil and special equipment. Can be dangerous.

• Air frying: Produces a small turkey with crispy skin due to hot circulating air. Size limitations on most air fryer models.

• Electric roaster oven Mimics oven results in a countertop appliance, Must buy specialized equipment

• Slow cooker: Turkey cooks low and slow in moist heat for fall-off-the-bone meat. Skin is not crispy. Very long cook times.

• Stovetop poaching: Keeps meat very moist. Skin becomes soggy and flavor is more delicate.

Step-by-Step Instructions by Cooking Method

Here are more detailed instructions for each oven-free cooking method:

Grilling a Turkey

Grilling imparts a lovely smoky flavor from cooking over an open flame. It requires frequent monitoring and rotating to prevent burning as the turkey cooks relatively quickly over high heat. The skin may not get as crispy as oven roasting.

• Spatchcock the turkey for quicker, more even cooking. Remove the backbone with kitchen shears and flatten the breastbone.

• Brine the turkey in a saltwater solution for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator. This keeps the meat moist and well-seasoned.

• Pat the turkey dry. Coat it with olive oil or butter and rub in your favorite herbs and spices.

• Sear the turkey over direct high heat for 2-3 minutes per side to start. Move it to indirect heat, close the grill lid, and finish cooking, monitoring the thickest part of the breast for doneness.

• Rotate the turkey and mop the skin with broth or sauce periodically for extra moisture and flavor.

• Rest 15 minutes before carving.

Smoking a Turkey

Smoking infuses the turkey with a delightful wood-smoke taste. It requires special equipment like a smoker or wood chips for a standard grill. Figure on about 5-6 hours for a 10-12 lb turkey. The skin will not get crispy.

• Brine the turkey to keep the meat juicy after the long, slow smoking time.

• Rub the turkey with spices, brown sugar, and black pepper.

• Set up a smoker or grill for indirect heat around 225-250°F, adding soaked wood chips.

• Smoke the turkey until the breast meat registers 165°F, replenishing the wood chips periodically.

• Rest at least 30 minutes before carving for juicy meat.

Deep Frying a Turkey

Deep frying cooks the turkey quickly for extremely moist meat and crispy skin. It requires a large amount of oil (about 5 qts for a 12 lb bird) and special equipment like a propane turkey fryer or electric roaster with fryer basket. The hot oil can easily cause burns or fires.

• Thoroughly thaw the turkey before frying. Water splatter into hot oil is dangerous.

• Inject the turkey with a marinade using a syringe for extra juicy meat.

• Pat the turkey dry. Lower it slowly into the 350°F oil using rigging ropes and hooks.

• Fry for 3-4 minutes per pound. Lift out the turkey and let rest 20 minutes before slicing.

Air Frying a Turkey

Air frying uses hot, rapidly circulating air to crisp up the turkey skin. Size limitations on most air fryers restrict full turkey cooking to small birds under 8 pounds.

• Cut the turkey into parts to fit in the air fryer basket. Breast pieces, drumsticks, and thighs work well.

• Brush pieces with oil and season as desired. Air fry at 400°F for 15-25 minutes until crispy and cooked through.

• For a whole small turkey under 8 lbs, spatchcock to flatten. Brush with oil, season, and air fry at 350° for roughly 10 minutes per pound.

Electric Roaster Oven

An electric roaster oven provides oven-like results in a countertop appliance. Models are available that can accommodate up to 26 lb turkeys.

• Prepare, season, and truss the turkey as you normally would for oven roasting.

• Place turkey on the roaster’s rack. Insert probe thermometer into thickest part of breast if available.

• Roast at 325°F until the breast meat registers 165°F and the thigh 175°F. About 15-18 minutes per pound.

• Rest at least 30 minutes before slicing for easy carving and juicy meat.

Slow Cooker Turkey

The slow cooker cooks the turkey in moist heat for fall-off-the-bone meat texture. The skin does not get crispy. Very long cook times are required, as well as a large 6+ quart slow cooker for whole birds.

• Brine the turkey for added moisture. Pat dry.

• Truss the turkey and rub the skin with oil and seasonings. Place on a trivet or veggies in the slow cooker.

• Cook on LOW for about 1 hour per pound, around 10-12 hours for a 10 lb turkey.

• Use the broth for gravy. Sear the skin in a skillet to crisp it up before slicing the turkey.

Stovetop Poached Turkey

Poaching on the stovetop keeps the turkey meat very moist with a delicate flavor. The skin becomes soggy.

• Place turkey in a large stockpot and add water/broth to cover. Add aromatics like onion, celery, black peppercorns.

• Simmer gently for 2-3 hours until no longer pink at the bone. Do not let the water boil.

• Remove the turkey and reduce the liquid for flavorful poaching broth.

• Crisp up the skin under the broiler before serving, if desired.

As you can see, there are many great options for cooking up a delicious turkey without ever turning on the oven. While oven roasting may be the easiest and most familiar, alternatives like grilling, air frying, or electric roasting can give you juicy meat, crisp skin, and fun new flavors. With proper preparation and care, you can serve up a perfect holiday centerpiece using these oven-free turkey cooking methods. Give one a try next time your oven is occupied or out of commission!