What's The Best Way To Cook A Thanksgiving Turkey? - Exclusive Survey

Get out your oven mitts, thermometers, and carving knife because it's turkey time! There is no standard for cooking turkeys. Roasting, smoking, spatchcocking, and frying have become extremely popular around the country over the decades. In 1996 Martha Stewart featured a fried turkey in her Living magazine, according to Eat This while brining a turkey was brought into holiday law by Cooks Illustrated in 1997. Spatchcocking (when you remove the backbone and flatten the bird) hit big-time trends in 2012, writes The Atlantic. And in case you are unsure how to execute any of those traditions or trends, Butterball even has a turkey hotline. Every November and December, almost 4 million people are assisted with turkey troubles across their hotline and social media outlets, according to a press release.

With all of these possibilities, is there really a best way to cook a Thanksgiving turkey? Tasting Table surveyed 601 readers to find out how they cook their birds and which they declare is the absolute best.

For those who really love that smokey char, grilling a turkey was the preferred method, with 4.6% or 28 votes. Thirty-two voters, or 5.32%, said they brined their bird, while 99 voters said a smoked turkey was their favorite (16.47%). Smoked turkey became very popular in the early 1900s as a kosher barbecue option, writes Cooks Illustrated.

Fried turkey also has a fan base among our readers, with 95 or 15.81% of the vote. It's no wonder, with crispy skin being the arguably best part of the bird.

However, one option came out as the clear winner — and it may not come as a surprise. Make sure you have a good roasting pan and clear out some room in the oven because turkey prepared the good ol' fashioned way still reigns supreme, as 347 of our readers (57.74%) voted for roasting as the best way to cook a Thanksgiving turkey.