We Tried Butterball’s Cook from Frozen Turkey

Can you cook a frozen turkey from frozen? You can now, thanks to the new Butterball frozen turkey. But is it any good? We tried it to find out.

I never thought I would be talking about advancements within the field of frozen turkey, but here I am. Cooking a turkey on Thanksgiving isn’t really that difficult—as long as you remember to defrost the massive bird the night before. And that’s not always easy. Maybe you’re just chronically forgetful. Maybe you don’t have room in your fridge to defrost the thing. Maybe you neglected to even buy a turkey until the day itself. Well, the poultry research team at Butterball has solved all of your problems with their new Butterball Cook from Frozen Turkey.

But how does the turkey taste? I cooked up one of these frozen Butterball turkeys for the Sporked team to sample (don’t worry, we took home the leftovers). Here’s our review.

New Frozen Turkey!

Butterball Cook from Frozen Premium Whole Turkey

Butterball

It’s exactly as easy as it sounds. You just unwrap it, pop it in an oven at 350°F, and wait four hours. Ta-da! Turkey! You don’t even have to remove a bag of giblets. Which means you also don’t have to wonder what the heck you’re supposed to do with the giblets. Just remember to not only put the turkey in a 3’’ roasting pan but also on a rack. As you might imagine, cooking this turkey produces a LOT of liquid. So, if you don’t put it on a rack you’ll get a soggy bottom.

Pros: The turkey cooks perfectly evenly and the meat tastes great. These Butterball frozen turkeys come brined, so the meat is juicy and flavorful. And the skin actually does get crispy—as long as it’s not touching any of the turkey juices. If you’re looking for a super-easy Thanksgiving turkey that requires the bare minimum of work, then you’ve found your solution. This thing is a dang miracle of food science.

Cons: If you’re an experienced home cook who likes to add your own flavors or flare to foods, then you’re a bit out of luck here. You can’t season this frozen turkey. You can’t stuff it. You can’t really add aromatics to the pan (they’ll just drown in water and turkey juice). You get what you get. You can have fun with the gravy, I guess! And I do have to reiterate how much liquid and other goop comes from this turkey. This is not a turkey that comes out of the oven and goes right onto the table. You’re going to need to drain the roasting pan before presenting your bird to your guests.

Credit: Liv Averett / Butterball

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

About the Author

Hi! I’m the editor-in-chief of Sporked. I will never turn down a fresh-shucked oyster but I’ll also leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and I love a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients. Why you should trust me: I have been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and am an avid at-home cook and snacker. I began my career writing about fine dining and recipes, moved into cocktails and spirits, and now I talk about groceries. If you can eat it or drink it, I’ve probably written about it. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s dried okra. Appleton Farms prosciutto from Aldi. Some sort of Trader Joe’s cheese (I’m into the aged gouda at the moment). Frozen waffles (usually the Eggo Cinnamon Toast Minis). Spindrift water (loving the Cosmopolitan right now). Favorite ranking: Smoked salmon. Imagine me as Scrooge McDuck but instead of coins I’m diving into a vault of slippery smoked salmon slices. Pure joy. I also found some real steals in that taste test! Least favorite ranking: Canned oysters. I had such high hopes for this but it quickly became a chore. The kitchen smelled like an uncleaned aquarium.