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Air Fried Whole Turkey Recipe
Is it even possible to air fry a whole turkey that’s up to 16 pounds? The answer is absolutely yes! And the turkey cooks juicy and delicious for your next big dinner or Thanksgiving holiday dinner. We tested this method on a 14-pound turkey several times and each time came out super juicy and perfect. This large capacity air fryer plugs into an outlet and helps free up your oven during big feasts and dinners.
What is Oil Less Turkey Fryer with Halogen Infrared Convection Cooking?
There’s many types of oil less turkey fryers on the market. The air fryers for cooking this turkey is with a convection technology that uses circulating hot air from a halogen infrared light. This method is like cooking the turkey in a small convection oven. The circulating hot air cooks the turkey evenly, with very little oil, and faster for a crispy skin turkey! These plug-in appliances cooks the turkey without any oil and the results are a juicy and healthy turkey! It tastes like it was deep fried or oven roasted where the turkey is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. What an easy way to cook your Thanksgiving turkey! These oil less air fryers are great when you don’t have enough oven space for your turkey. You can cook so many different foods in these large air fryers too.
Video: Easy Air Fryer Whole Turkey with Gravy
Best Oil Less Air Fryers for Whole Turkey
Big Boss 16 qt. Halogen Air Fryer – The most popular brand for the Halogen/Infared Air Fryers. Will cook a whole turkey up to 16lbs. 
NutriChef 13 qt. Infrared Air Fryer – Even though it is listed as 3 qts. smaller than the Big Boss, they feel like they are the same size. Cooked a 14 lb. turkey beautifully.
Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-less Liquid Propane Turkey Fryer – For outside use only. This type of oil less air fryer is fueled by a propane tank. It cooks a great turkey and you can ready our write up about it here.How to Air Fry Whole Turkey with Gravy
No one had created this gravy technique yet and we’re the first to share it online! We created a way to make gravy in the same bowl, you saw it here first! Our photos help you through the process and watch the video. For full recipe details, print out the recipe in the recipe box when you scroll down this write up.
Pros & Cons of Big Boss Air Fryer & Other Brands of Similar Style:
PROS:
- Energy Efficient and uses less power than traditional full sized oven.
- Frees up oven space if you need to cook lots of other oven foods or if you don’t have a lot of oven space.
- Cooks quicker than traditional oven and the skin is super crispy. Our tests on 14 pound fully thawed turkey took about 2.3 hours-3 hours
- No hassle with almost no oil and the most you would need is a light spray of oil to help crisp the food better. So it’s a healthier way of cooking crispy foods.
- Easy Clean up. The glass bowl is super easy to clean.
- You can immediately make the gravy in the same bowl while the turkey rests. No extra pots or pans.
- Feeds more people. The large size allows you to cook larger portions of food for more people. It’s great to cook meals for 4 people or more.
- Two racks for cooking. The big boss and an extra tray which allows you to cook two trays of food at the same time.
CONS:
- Once assembled, it’s big and bulky. But it does pack into the box easily and the box itself it’s not large for storing away.
- If you have a small kitchen or little countertop space, it will take up a lot of space. This is great for a whole turkey, but for everyday cooking, we recommend smaller air fryers.
- The circulating hot air is kinda loud during cooking.
Air Fryer Whole Turkey with Gravy
Ingredients
- 14 lb. (6.35 kg) raw Whole Turkey
- 6 Tablespoons (90 g) butter , cut into slices
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic , sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
- black pepper , to taste
- Oil , to coat turkey
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) chicken broth
- 3/4 cup (95 g) flour (for the gravy)
Equipment
Instructions
- Remove and giblets and neck bones from the turkey cavity (many times the giblet pack will be tucked under the skin by the neck). Pat the turkey dry.
- Tuck the butter slices and garlic in-between the skin and the turkey breasts. Oil the turkey and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the lower rack in the air fryer and spray with oil. Place the turkey breast side down in the air fryer. Pour in 1/2 cup of broth over the turkey. Place the extender ring and lid on the air fryer.
- Air Fry at 350°F for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- Every 30 minutes, baste with chicken broth (the first 2 bastes will be with the remaining broth. After that, baste from the broth & juices at the bottom of the air fryer).
- After cooking for 2 hours, take off the air fryer lid and extender ring. Lift the turkey out, flip to breast side up, and then place back into the air fryer. Baste the turkey and then place the extender ring and lid back on and continue cooking until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165°F at the thickest parts of the thigh, wings and breast, and the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh (about 30 minutes - 1 hour).
- Let rest for about 15-20 minutes.
- While the turkey rests, make the gravy. Remove the lower rack from the air fryer. Leaving the turkey juices and broth in the air fryer, skim the chunks from the drippings and broth.
- Put the flour in a medium bowl. Ladle in about 1 cup of the drippings and broth into the flour and whisk until smooth. Pour the flour mixture into the air fryer basket with the remaining drippings and broth. Whisk until smooth.
- Place the air fryer lid back on and Air Fry at 400°F for 10 minutes or until thickened, whisking a couple times while cooking.
Video
Nutrition
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Camilla gormley says
I think I will stick with the old fashion way of cooking a turkey, I love the aroma it wafts through the room I do have an air fryer and use it often Love it.
Best Recipe Box says
Hi Camilla, the old fashioned way is always great! Don’t change tradition, especially if it works for you! The air fryer option is a great problem solver, especially for those with very limited oven space. Our traditional ovens are filled to capacity with side dishes so it’s always been a challenge to cook for 14 people with limited oven space. The air fryer is a wonderful alternative and when cooked inside the house, we can still enjoy the aroma of turkey. Or if you decide to cook the turkey in the traditional oven, the air fryer is perfect for a side dish. Divide and conquer! Thanks for the input!
Dollie says
Thanks for all your recommendations for air fryers! I was really looking into a larger one since we have the space and I wanted one that’ll fit whole turkeys, chicken, etc. We had a smaller 10 pound turkey and cut back on the cooking time. It came out crispy and perfect! Thanks so much for your amazing recipes and detail with photos. It really helped me so much.
Rosemary says
Love your pictures! It gives me a good idea of what I should be expecting when we air fried our turkey. It came just like your pictures! And I used extra broth during basting, so the gravy was a little runnier. But by the time we ate, the gravy cooled and became thicker and it was perfect!
Best Recipe Box says
So glad it worked out for you!
Yadira says
Looking at all the recommendations you have for air fryers! Can’t wait to shop for one this weekend and make this for Thanksgiving!
Emily says
Have u have any experiences when the turkey is touching the sides of the bowl while cooking. Will it still cook right. I could only find a 15lb and it looks like tight squeeze. I love my big boss and never tried whole turkey.
Best Recipe Box says
Hi Emily, Yes it has and a 15 pound turkey is fine. The turkey will shrink as it cooks. Just make sure to add a little more cooking time and check with a thermometer to ensure it’s cooked all the way through. Enjoy!
Matt says
I don’t have a working oven at home so air frying has become a total game changer! The gravy was crazy easy and I’ll never cook my turkey in any other way again.
Jason says
Literally the best turkey I have ever made. The whole family was raving over it, and the gravy was to die for. Thanks for the recipe.
Best Recipe Box says
Hi Jason! That’s awesome that your family enjoyed it. We’re pretty obsessed with our original gravy technique and taste too! 🙂
Jason Zebley says
Also I brined it in a bit of pickle juice and other spices. It was really juicy
Best Recipe Box says
Wow, the pickle brine sounds brilliant!