The modern, American pilgrim likes the juiciness of an oven-roasted turkey, but the convenience of its fricasseed alter ego. Just one week before Thanksgiving, Lowe's commissioned Ipsos-Reid to survey 500 Americans about their turkey cooking preferences and learned holiday cooking traditions are changing.
In fact, nearly 28 percent of Americans say deep-frying a turkey is the quickest and most efficient way to cook this Thanksgiving.
"The majority (63 percent) still believes baking a turkey in the oven yields the best tasting bird," said Bruce Ballard, Lowe's merchandising vice president of appliances. "But our research shows younger Americans are open to alternative turkey preparation methods, including fryers, smokers and grills."
According to the National Turkey Federation, a strong 94 percent of Americans prepared oven-baked turkeys last year, but were open to other cooking methods. This willingness to try new things extends beyond flavor. It takes an average of 45 minutes or less to cook a 12-pound bird in a fryer, whereas those in the kitchen can expect to loiter anywhere from three to four hours for the perfect oven-baked turkey.
A bird's eye view of the season's most popular turkey prep preferences include:
- A whopping 72 percent of women think an oven-baked turkey tastes best compared to 54 percent of men.
- An oven-baked turkey is the true culinary winner in the North (80 percent), West (68 percent) and Midwest (66 percent).
- Southerners have the most experimental palette with 23 percent voicing their preference for deep-frying and 20 percent for grilling a turkey.
- Eleven percent of Americans say a smoked turkey produces the tastiest results.
- Another five percent favor the grill for the juiciest, most tender bird.
This year, the National Turkey Federation said grilling is the next big turkey-cooking trend.
"New two-in-one smoker and grill pit combos offer roomy capacity and dual cooking abilities for those who want to keep their options open," said Ballard. "The side benefit of turkey fryers is they can be used year-round for fish fries, crab and shrimp boils, gumbo or chili cook-offs and more -- just be sure to follow the manufacturer's safety precautions."
Lowes offers numerous holiday entertaining tips, gift ideas, and projects.