'I cooked a turkey in the air fryer - the skin was crispy but I made one error'

24 November 2023 , 13:05

1035     0

The turkey crown before being cooked in the air fryer (Image: Lucy Marshall)

I have never used an air fryer before, but given how stressful cooking a Christmas dinner can be - and how expensive energy bills are right now - I knew it was time to follow the hype.

On November 23 my America-obsessed boyfriend reports on the Thanksgiving American football games and wants to eat Thanksgiving dinner (well, our manipulated version). Yes, we are both British and I'm more into scones and cup of teas than yams, but It's another excuse for a Christmas dinner and to feel merry before December officially begins. So, I happily go along with it.

Of course, like Christmas Day, you have to plan out how you are going to fit everything in the oven to cook, and get all the timings right. I love cooking and often will do a whole chicken every Sunday, but this was the first time I had cooked a turkey myself - thankfully I don't have to be the cook on Christmas Day.

But, my time had come to step up. After speaking about my plans, a friend had suggested using an air fryer to help with the cooking process. So, I cooked the turkey in an air fryer.

For our feast I prepared cooking roasted ham, stuffing, peas, green beans, potatoes, parsnips, and pigs in blankets. As a Yorkshire lass I put my foot down on making sure we had some Yorkshire puddings included and of course heaps of gravy. I needed to get everything in the oven and of course the turkey takes up the most room.

Zoo boss kills four goats before serving them up to eat at Christmas party

Instead of wheeling my bird into the oven, I used my shiny new Tower air fryer, and it was really simple to work out. I plumped for a generously-sized 4.3l appliance, as I needed a lot of room for my Christmas bird. But it was a total bargain in Amazon's Black Friday sale, costing me just £36.99 down from £69.99. This is the first time I had actually used an air fryer - totally late to the party, but I was ready.

Lucy Marshall, 26, cooked a turkey in an air fryer for the first time on Thanksgiving (Lucy Marshall)

Not only did using the gadget provide more room in the oven, but using an air fryer is more cost effective for cooking for long periods of time. After that Ofgem bills rising announcement I am doing all I can to avoid those bills getting higher and higher.

The turkey crown I used was purchased from Asda in Leeds and the portion could serve up to six people. I thawed it out for 48 hours before cooking. The turkey was already seasoned but I wanted a little more so added salt, pepper, and rosemary. I then -pre-heated the air fryer for 10 minutes at 180 degrees delicious before putting in the turkey.

I removed it from the silver tray it came it and placed it upside down first. To be honest it only just fit inside the air fryer and need be squashed in at the sides, but a turkey crown did fit. This was cooked for 25 minutes. It was cooking absolutely perfectly. Understandably I did keep checking on it - having never air fried anything before.

The turkey was crispy after being cooked in the air fryer (Lucy Marshall)

My shiny Tower air fryer did the job (Lucy Marshall)

I turned the turkey crown over and cooked for a further 30 minutes. After 15 minutes I checked and the skin looked and smelled amazing. The turkey was looking so crispy on the top. However, I was concerned that the top looked almost done but the sides were very pale in comparison. While waiting I got on with cooking all the other elements of the Thanksgiving dinner.

When time was up and everything was ready to go, I took the turkey out and it looked beautiful. I was really impressed - I don't think an oven compares to the crisp perfection the air fryer had provided. The only problem was when I cut into the turkey initially, the middle looked like it was only just done but could use a little longer.

I remember when I was a child that my mum would be up late on Christmas Eve to set off our turkey in the oven as part of a near 12-hour festive prep process. So I think I've always had this "it must not be raw" idea drilled into my head.

The turkey was ready to go (Lucy Marshall)

Lucy served up her turkey with roasted ham, stuffing, parsnips, potatoes, pigs in blankets, peas, green beans, Yorkshire puddings, and gravy (Lucy Marshall)

I decided, while my oven was still hot from the other food items, I would place the turkey in the oven for a further five minutes. This worked like a charm. The turkey - which had stuffing inside - tasted absolutely beautiful.

Lucy Marshall