My childhood memories of Thanksgiving include parades, football, and the seemingly endless wait for the turkey to come out of the oven. Roasted turkey is pretty good when it’s smothered in gravy and accompanied by cranberry dressing, stuffing, and all the other goodies that Turkey Day entails, but without all those extras it’s a little lacking. Enter fried turkey. Let’s take a look at the Masterbuilt Butterball Turkey Fryer to see if it’s worth the hype.
This article has been updated as of April 2025 to include the most recent options and pricing. Jump to the update.
Unlike oven-roasting, which takes about four and a half hours for a 12-pound turkey, deep frying your turkey takes about 4 minutes per pound, meaning that the turkey is done in less than an hour. Better yet, instead of dry meat, you are left with a moist turkey and delicious, golden-fried skin.
I was lucky enough to try out* the Butterball Electric Turkey Fryer for a pre-Thanksgiving fried turkey rehearsal. Unfortunately, the camera ate my pics of the finished product, but I was really impressed by how simple and easy it was to use. Simply fill the fryer with about two gallons of peanut oil, pre-heat the oil for about a half-hour (the fryer lets you know when it’s ready), and put the turkey–in its metal basket–into the fryer. Just make sure that your turkey is completely thawed before frying unless you want to end up on the local news.
I was very impressed with how thoughtfully designed the fryer is. Manufactured by our friends at Masterbuilt, who previously let us take one of their awesome Electric Smokehouses on a test drive, the Butterball Fryer is meant to be used indoors — I set it up on the kitchen island. The lid keeps splatter contained while letting steam escape.
Once the turkey is done cooking, you can lift the basket and attach it to the rim of the fryer above the oil vat so that the turkey can drain and cool without leaving an oily mess behind. Afterward, the drain valve simplified clean-up and made it easy to save the oil for another day (oil has about six hours of cooking life in it – that’s a lot of turkeys).
If you’re on the fence about trying a fried turkey, I say just go for it. It’s simple, hard to screw up, and way faster than oven roasting. Best of all, it’s decidedly better tasting!
Updated April 2025
Since this article was originally published in November 2017, Masterbuilt appears to have discontinued this fryer. Here are some of the best turkey fryers according to experts:
| Turkey Fryer | Retail Price (Approx.) | Top Pros | Top Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayou Classic 44-Quart | $318 | – Large 44-quart capacity fits turkeys up to 25 lbs – Powerful 58,000 BTU burner heats oil quickly – Durable stainless steel pot and burner | – Expensive – Accessories (rack, skewers) feel flimsy – Too large and inefficient for small birds |
| Char-Broil The Big Easy | Now $109.00 was | – Oil-less design for safer, healthier frying – Includes smoker box for added flavor – Easy cleanup with grease pan | – Large and heavy, not very portable – Longer cooking times than traditional fryers – Limited max turkey size (~16-21 lbs) |
| King Kooker 29-Quart | Now $89.99 was | – Complete kit with burner, pot, timer, and thermometer – Affordable and sturdy burner with 38,000 BTU – The timer adds safety by reminding you to check the turkey | – Aluminum pot dents easily – Burner paint smells during the first use – Performance affected by wind |
Thank you to the folks at Masterbuilt for providing the fryer used in this article. While the fryer was free, my enthusiasm is 100% real!
Adventurous Tastes is reader-supported. I’ve included affiliate links in this post and may receive commissions for purchases made through links. For more information, please read our full disclaimer.