Miracle appliance baffles homeowner by cooking 20-pound turkey in just 2 hours: 'Seems way too quick'

If you don't feel like spending all day in the kitchen next Thanksgiving (or any day), an electric roaster might just be your new best friend. 

One home chef posted about their experience with the kitchen gadget in the r/Cooking subreddit, explaining how it cooked their turkey much faster than expected. 

"My 20lb turkey was done in 2 hours with electric roaster.. seems way too quick!" they wrote. 

The poster was baffled about how it cooked so quickly since the directions said it would take up to four hours. They said they weren't planning on checking the turkey before then but were grateful they did since it likely would've burned otherwise. 

The OP wondered if other Reddit users had experienced similar issues with their electric roasters, hoping to take notes for the following year.

Many commenters reassured them that the cooking speed was normal despite their concerns.

"[An] oven has a lot of different functions and uses. Your roaster has one -- ROAST. And it seems it does the job really well!" one person said.

If you have the countertop space, an electric roaster could make cooking a more pleasant experience, especially if you have a big family. You'll be able to spend more time enjoying your favorite foods instead of standing over a hot stove for hours. Plus, these nifty appliances use much less energy than conventional ovens.

Since they're smaller, they heat up faster than electric or gas ovens and retain heat more efficiently. That results in a 30% faster cooking time and roughly 36% less energy consumption compared to traditional stoves, per Oster.

When you're buying a kitchen appliance, which of these factors is most important to you? Price 💰 Safety 🦺 Effectiveness ⚡ Style and appearance 💎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Electric roasters are much safer than gas stoves since they don't release toxic gases such as nitrogen dioxide, methane, and benzene, which can cause or exacerbate health problems — including asthma and heart disease. Switching to all-electric appliances such as electric roasters or induction stoves greatly improves indoor air quality and benefits the planet by reducing the amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.

If you want to explore clean home energy upgrades, the online marketplace EnergySage and the nonprofit Rewiring America are great resources to check out.

As far as electric roasters go, other commenters on the thread seemed to love theirs, though they said first-time users should keep an eye on their food until they get the timing down.

"We have a countertop roaster that we joke cooks our food in an alternate dimension because it's so fast. We just estimate that it will take half the time and plan accordingly. Love ours!" one person shared.

Another said: "We used electric roasters at the grocery store I worked at to demo the turkeys because they were quick. I got one to use at home and overcooked my first bird. Good save on your part!"

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