We’re thrilled to share our Air Fryer Turkey Crown recipe with you. A simple yet delicious way to cook a turkey that’s perfect for any occasion, especially Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner.
How to Cook a Turkey Crown in the Air Fryer
To make things even easier, we’ve incorporated visuals to guide you through cooking a turkey with juicy meat and crispy skin.
So, whether you’re a seasoned home chef or a novice in the kitchen, this air fryer turkey crown recipe will indeed become a favourite. Let’s get air frying!
Ingredients
Let’s dive into the ingredients for this Air Fryer Turkey Crown recipe.
Turkey Crown
This is the star of the show. A turkey crown is the whole turkey breast on the bone (bone-in turkey breast) with the legs and wings removed.
Sometimes, the rib cage and drumettes (the part the wing attaches to) are left intact, as seen in our pictures on this blog. If you can, it is best not to have these, as during cooking, they tend to stick up and touch the top of the air fryer heating elements.
For us, it was a small enough joint to leave them on. If you run into problems with the size, you can cut the drumettes and rib cage off before or during cooking and lay them under the crown.
What size turkey will fit in the air fryer?
The turkey size will depend on whether the ribcage and drumettes are attached and your air fryer basket size.
We have used a mini 1.4kg turkey crown from Tesco, which fits perfectly in the Ninja dual air fryer basket. You could always air fry two minis, one in each basket, perfect to feed the whole family on Christmas Day!
You can get a larger bone-in turkey breast joint if you have a bigger air fryer. Adjust the turkey crown cook time if you buy a larger joint.
Olive Oil
You’ll need olive oil to ensure your turkey doesn’t dry in the air fryer. This will help keep the meat moist and tender while giving the skin a beautiful golden colour. Any olive oil or vegetable oil will do the trick.
Salt and Pepper
Simple seasoning is often the best. Good quality sea salt and freshly ground black pepper will enhance the natural flavours of the turkey without overpowering it.
PrintAir Fryer Turkey Crown
Our method uses the air fryer’s ability to perfectly crisp the skin while keeping the meat juicy and flavourful. By starting with a room-temperature turkey and flipping it halfway through cooking, you’ll ensure even, consistent results.
We’ve seasoned our crown with olive oil, salt, and pepper for a classic taste that lets the turkey shine. But we encourage you to get creative with other seasonings, as our blog post suggests.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: British, English, European
Ingredients
- 1.4 kg Turkey Crown
- 1 ½ tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 large pinches of Salt and Pepper see notes for more Seasoning Ideas
Instructions
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Ensure the crown fits in your air fryer!!
Remove and discard packaging and the excess juices, place the 1.4 kg Turkey Crown in the switched off air fryer to bring to room temperature for one hour before cooking.
(do not skip this step the breast joint needs to be at room temperature for even cooking throughout)
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Pat dry turkey crown thoroughly with a kitchen paper towel. Clean the air fryer tray and basket.
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Rub 1 ½ tablespoon Olive Oil all over the turkey using your hands. Be sure to cover it all.
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Sprinkle 2 large pinches of Salt and Pepper on both sides of the turkey crown, and rub into the skin.
(See blog post for more exciting seasoning ideas)
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Use some extra olive oil or a spray oil to grease the bottom of your air fryer basket or line it with an air fryer liner.
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Place your seasoned turkey crown in the air fryer basket, breast side down.
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Set your air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Cook the turkey crown for 25 minutes with the breast facing down.
*Cooking times given are for a 1.4kg turkey crown. Adjust time to suit the size of your turkey crown.
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After 25 minutes of cooking, carefully flip the turkey crown over using two forks.
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Flipping halfway is key ensures the skin crisps evenly on both sides.
Continue to cook the turkey (at 200°C / 400°F) for another 25 minutes.
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Once the turkey crown has had a total cooking time of 50 minutes, open the drawer and check the internal temperature of the cooked turkey.
It should read at least 75℃/ 167℉ at the thickest part (check the thickest part of the turkey breast). Make sure the thermometer is in the meat and not touching the bone.
If you do not have a thermometer, cut a deep slit into the thickest part of the turkey breast and check the cooking juices are running clear.
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It is important to let the cooked turkey rest for 30 minutes before serving.
This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey, resulting in a more tender and juicy bird. Add some fresh herbs to serve.
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Carve and serve with your favourite sides.
Notes
Add extra flavour to our air fryer turkey crown, consider these additional seasoning ideas.
You can enhance the richness of the turkey by placing butter mixed with herbs and garlic under the skin.
A cranberry glaze or bacon slices added towards the end of the cooking process can also provide an extra burst of flavour.
Remember, cooking is about personal taste and creativity, so feel free to adjust these suggestions to your liking.
Cooking Times
Adjust cooking time depending on the size of your turkey crown
We can not fit a larger turkey in our air fryer drawer, so we have not cooked a larger one before, but if you have a larger air fryer, add extra time and test with a meat thermometer for doneness!
