How To Roast A Turkey For Thanksgiving: 5 Recipes For Roasting, Smoking, Grilling, Braising and Frying America’s Favorite Holiday Bird

For thousands of people across the United States, Thanksgiving serves as the perfect opportunity to relax with family and friends and feast on tender turkey. But for the cook in charge of preparing the highly anticipated meal, the pressure to deliver a perfectly cooked Thanksgiving bird can be overwhelming. To help the family members who are burdened with the task of preparing the meal, below are recipes for the perfect roasted, smoked, grilled, braised or fried Thanksgiving turkey.

Roasted Turkey: This roasted turkey recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond on “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” takes five hours to cook and yields 18 servings. The recipe requires ingredients including bay leaves, black peppercorn, dried rosemary and chopped orange zest, resulting in a flavorful and moist turkey. Check out the recipe here.

Smoked Turkey: Fire up the grill to achieve this perfect smoked turkey, courtesy of the Domestic Man. The recipe advises to smoke the turkey directly on the grill grates, with a roasting pan filled with 1 inch water underneath the grates, about 3-4 inches from the meat. Check out the recipe here.

Grilled Turkey: This grilled Thanksgiving turkey recipe, courtesy of Bon Appetit, recommends grilling the turkey on a charcoal grill. By placing apple, orange and onion in the cavity of the bird and grilling to perfection, this turkey is sure to have Thanksgiving dinner guests swooning. Check out the recipe here.

Braised Turkey: This recipe for a herb roasted and braised turkey, courtesy of Bobby Flay on foodnetwork.com, is flavorful and features an array of ingredients including fresh rosemary, sage, thyme leaves, carrots, celery, onions and homemade chicken stock. Directions are also included on how to whip up the perfect, herb-infused gravy to complement the turkey. Check out the recipe here.

Fried Turkey: For people who prefer their bird fried, Alton Brown’s recipe for deep-fried turkey on “Good Eats” will likely hit the spot. The recipe notes that in order to determine the correct amount of oil for frying, place the turkey in the pot that will be used when frying it, add water until it barely covers the top of the turkey and is at least 4 to 5 inches below the top of the pot. Check out the recipe here.