How To Cook A Christmas Turkey: 5 Easy Recipes And Cooking Times Guide

Just like Thanksgiving, turkey is also a lot of families' meat of choice for Christmas. Turkey became the staple meal for holidays when people realized that “they were fresh, affordable and big enough to feed a crowd,” Slate reports. Farmers also noticed that cows were needed for their milk meaning they needed to be left alive and chickens were needed for their eggs.

Learning new ways to cook a Christmas turkey can be fun so here is a list of five different ways to cook one for the 2019 holidays that your family will love.

Ranch-Seasoned Roast Turkey

Ranch is the easiest way to add some flavor to your Christmas Turkey. All you have to do is mix the butter and ranch seasoning mix until it creates a paste and then just spread it all over your turkey. A tip for this recipe is to use a turkey bag so the turkey stays moist. Delish provides a recipe for the perfect ranch-seasoned roast turkey.

Cook Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes

Air Fryer Turkey

Air fryers have become a new and easy way to cook just about anything. Cooking your turkey in one will ease the stress of cooking and save room in your oven to cook other family favorites. Thanks to All Recipes, anyone looking to cook their turkey this way now has an easy recipe to learn from.

Cook Time: 1 hour

Pickle-Brined Turkey

There is a lot of pickle-lovers out there and now there's a way you can add the flavor to your Christmas turkey. The most important ingredient you’ll need for this recipe is three cups of pickle juice. The juice will also make sure your turkey stays juicy. Today offers a good recipe to anyone willing to try a pickle-brined turkey.

Cook Time: 4 hours or more (depending on the size of the turkey)

Spinach And Ricotta-Stuffed Turkey Breast

If you’re having only a few guests over for dinner you might want to consider cooking spinach and ricotta-stuffed turkey breast. This recipe provided by From a Chef’s Kitchen will show your guests that you can get a little fancy without them ever knowing how easy it actually is.

Cook Time: Timing varies based on the CDC's guidelines.

Applewood-Smoked Turkey

No one can resist a smokey taste to their meat and pairing it with apple cider is the perfect combination. In this recipe from Spruce Eats, the maple syrup and apple cider create a sweet taste and cooking it on the grill will help you get the wonderful smokey taste.

Cook Time: 3 hours