Thanksgiving turkey can be brined, smoked, roasted, deep-fried or grilled. What’s the healthiest way to cook it?

Edwina Clark
Updated ·5-min read
Roasting is the most common way to cook a turkey, although deep-frying and smoking have also become popular in recent years.
Roasting is the most common way to cook a turkey, although deep-frying and smoking have also become popular in recent years. (Getty Images)

With Thanksgiving here, there’s no better time to talk turkey. From roasting to deep-frying, every family has their own way of preparing the annual Thanksgiving bird. Not surprisingly, some methods are healthier than others.

Roasting is the most common way to cook a turkey, although deep-frying and smoking have also become popular in recent years. Oven real estate is precious on Thanksgiving Day and an advantage of deep-frying and smoking turkey is that it gives you more room in the oven for ever-important side dishes. Although less common, spatchcocking (removing the turkey’s backbone) and grilling turkey are also options, especially if you’re working with a smaller bird.

While it’s no secret that slathering your turkey in butter and brown sugar isn’t the healthiest option, there are a few easy things you can do to make your bird less decadent without compromising on flavor. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of turkey cooking methods, plus tips on how to make the main dish a bit healthier.

Pros: Roasting, which requires little additional fat, can be one of the leaner ways to prepare a holiday bird. Low temperature roasting can also help reduce the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) during cooking, some of which are carcinogenic.

Cons: Roasting is a dry heat method and can lead to a drier turkey if you’re not careful. This is why some people swear by brining their turkey — soaking it in a saltwater solution and refrigerating it for about 24 hours or more before roasting it — for a juicier and more flavorful bird. Roasting also takes up a lot of space in the oven, takes a long time and requires frequent basting (unless you brine it). If you baste with butter, that can significantly increase the saturated fat content of your turkey. Excess saturated fat consumption has been linked with higher LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart disease.

Pros: Smoking produces a flavorful, moist turkey, although the smokey flavors may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Like roasting, smoking is a dry heat method that requires little additional fat. The cooking temperature is generally lower than other methods, such as deep-frying and even roasting, which helps reduce the buildup of carcinogenic PAHs and HCAs; however, this depends on the smoking method. Smoking your turkey in a smoker can also free up space in the oven.

Cons: Smoking a turkey usually takes longer than roasting or deep frying. It often requires smoking chips to give turkey that characteristic smoky flavor — another thing to add to your never-ending holiday grocery list. Smoking can also produce burnt ends, which contain an abundance of PAHs and HCAs.

Pros: Deep-frying turkey is much faster than other methods, and results in a moist bird with crispy skin. It saves space in the oven, although it has its downsides.

Cons: Not surprisingly, deep-frying increases the fat and calorie content of your turkey. It’s also one of the worst cooking methods for PAH and HCA formation because of the high temperatures achieved during the frying process. Fire departments advise against deep-frying your turkey because of the risk of fires and burns that come with this method.

Pros: Grilling saves space in the oven and can be quicker than roasting and smoking a turkey if you spatchcock your bird.

Cons: Like deep-frying, grilling is a high-heat method for cooking turkey, resulting in greater accumulation of HCAs and PAHs than other methods. Because it’s both a dry and high-heat method, you’re more likely to get a drier end product and careful monitoring as well as frequent basting is required to avoid chewy, tough turkey meat.

A few tweaks can go a long way to making your turkey healthier — and more delicious:

  • Marinate/dry brine your turkey in herbs and spices: Herbs and spices such as rosemary, garlic and black pepper have been shown to inhibit the formation of PAHs and HCAs in meat.

  • Cook low and slow: Cooking your bird at a lower temperature helps minimize the accumulation of PAHs and HCAs. Roasting and smoking tend to be healthier cooking methods than deep-frying and grilling.

  • Skip the skin: The skin tends to be the most concentrated source of PAHs and HCAs.

  • Go easy on the gravy: Gravy made from turkey drippings is rich in saturated fat and a concentrated source of PAHs and HCAs.

  • Baste with broth or extra virgin olive oil rather than butter: Butter is rich in saturated fat, which can increase LDL cholesterol. On the flip side, extra virgin olive oil is packed with poly- and mono-unsaturated fat, which have a more desirable effect on blood lipids.

Whichever cooking method you choose, remember that Thanksgiving is just one meal on one day of the year — and for most people, a little indulgence is unlikely to harm your health. Prioritize your health where you can and enjoy the feast with family and friends.

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  • Cuts, burns, stress, oh my. Here's why some people end up in the ER on Thanksgiving. [Yahoo Life]

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