Best turkey basters

Did you know that when roasting a turkey, the exterior of the bird can easily become dry and overcooked compared to the inner sections? To ensure tasty and moist meat throughout, it's recommended to use a turkey baster to redistribute the juices and help the entire turkey cook more evenly. 

In October 2021 two researchers got to grips with five turkey basters from Apollo, KitchenCraft, Oxo, Procook and Lakeland, to see which could suck up the most juices in one go, which drips the most and which basters are the easiest to clean.

A poorly designed baster can slow you down and potentially prolong the cooking of your meat, not to mention the mess caused if it's prone to leaking. We tested our turkey basters with a roasting dish full of hot oil and butter to replicate how you'd use one at home. Find out which one we recommend.

Stock up on Christmas kitchen essentials - check out our round-up of the best garlic presses, veggie peelers, nutcrackers and meat thermometers

The best turkey basters from our test

Best Buy: Oxo Turkey Baster with Cleaning Brush

Cheapest price: £12, available at Dunelm, also available at Homeloft UK

Key features: Cleaning brush, dishwasher safe on the top rack only  

Pros: Good suction power, easy to clean, almost no dripping 

Cons: A bit of dripping when held at a slant

Our verdict: Good suction power and easy cleaning make this turkey baster a worthy Best Buy.

Testers found this baster easy to control, noting how the squeezy head feels secure despite the fact you can remove it for cleaning purposes. 

It has clear measurements on the shaft which is handy when you want a precise baste. 

We found this baster drips slightly when held at a slant and barely when held vertically, so it's not too messy to use.

Plus the removable head and brush make for an easy wash once you're done. 

Tips for living well - get our free Food & Health newsletter: shop savvy, eat well, stay healthy

How the rest fared

Here's our verdict on the rest of the turkey basters we tested, listed in alphabetical order. 

Apollo Turkey Baster

Cheapest price: £4.28, available at Amazon

Key features: Hand wash only

Pros: Good suction power, only drips a bit when you hold it up directly

Cons: No cleaning brush

Our verdict: A solid option that's also good value.

You get the bare basics with this baster. There's no brush for cleaning and you can only see faint measurements on the shaft if you look close enough. 

The head is stuck onto the shaft securely so you can't take it off, which some will find safer than the alternative. However, this does make cleaning quite a bit trickier. 

It has good suction power and only minimal dripping during use. 

KitchenCraft Turkey Baster

Cheapest price: £4.49, available at Amazon

Key features: Hand wash only, 12-month guarantee 

Pros: Great suction power

Cons: Drips when held at a slant, no cleaning brush

Our verdict: A poorly made baster which redeems itself only in its suction power. 

This baster managed to suck up the most juices of any we tested - a hefty 50ml in one go. 

But although its removable head is useful for cleaning, it felt as if it could detach at any moment when using it. 

You also don't get a cleaning brush included.

Lakeland Deluxe Turkey Baster and Injector Set

Cheapest price: £9.99, available at Lakeland

Key features: Meat injector attachment and cleaning brush included, dishwasher safe, three-year guarantee

Pros: Cleaning brush

Cons: Drips a lot, opaque shaft, poor suction power

Our verdict: You could certainly get a better baster for cheaper. 

We found this baster drips a lot when held vertically and even more when held at a slant. It managed to suck up only 30ml of liquid, the least of all the basters apart from the ProCook.

The opaque design won't suit cooks who like to be exact as you can't see the volume of liquid you've sucked up. 

There's also a bit of spitting paired with an unpleasant noise when you're expelling the juices. 

However, you do get a cleaning brush and the head is removable which makes for easy cleaning. 

ProCook Baster With Cleaning Brush

Cheapest price: £7, available at ProCook

Key features: Meat injector attachment and cleaning brush included, hand wash only, one-year guarantee

Pros: Cleaning brush

Cons: Drips a lot, opaque shaft, poor suction power

Our verdict: You get all the bells and whistles with this baster but it's lacking in its basic functions. 

It's also a leaky baster and we found that this turkey baster drips steadily when held both at a slant and vertically. 

It also sucked up only 30ml of liquid and felt unstable when doing so. 

You can't see the contents of the baster due to the opaque shaft which proves difficult for cleaning, although you will get a handy cleaning brush. 

How to baste a turkey 

Basting is the simple act of redistributing the meat juices that have collected in the bottom of the roasting dish to moisten what you are cooking. 

Some turkeys, as well as chickens, are sold in supermarkets as self-basting which means the meat has already been injected with flavouring and in turn, the meat will be wetter than a regular bird. 

Here are our tips on how to baste a turkey or chicken yourself.

1. Start with your tasty baste mix. Softened butter should always make an appearance, but aside from this key ingredient there are countless flavour combinations to choose from. You can opt for a classic lemon, garlic and herb mix or bacon and red wine. 
2. If you're going for something like the former you should push the mix under the skin. With the latter you simply lie the bacon rashers across the breast and pour the wine onto the meat. 
3. Once the bird is in the oven you should go back to it periodically to suck the juices up with your baster and pour them back over the turkey or chicken.  

How often should you baste a turkey? 

This is a much-contested topic. Some swear by a basting every forty minutes, others stand by no basting at all in favour of sitting the meat in a brine beforehand. A saline solution can be a great way to add moisture to your meat.

If you're unsure on your tactic it's best to get a baster set that comes with a meat injector. This way you're still sucking the juices up but it'll ensure they go into the meat as opposed to covering it. 

If efficiency is your main concern it's best to space out basting as much as possible to avoid letting vital heat out of the oven and adding to the cooking time. 

How we tested turkey basters

Two researchers put five widely available turkey basters to the test in the kitchen. We heated a roasting dish full of olive oil and butter for 13 minutes. The oil was 100°C when we took it out for testing.

As always, Which? pays for all the products we tests so we can bring consumers honest, unbiased reviews. 

Suction power

We sucked up the hot oil and butter mixture, then measured it in a measuring jug. The more liquid the baster could pick up in one go, the better.

Ease of use

During our time using the basters, we noted down any issues we found. Most importantly, whether they dripped and how sturdy they felt in our hands.

Cleaning

Once all the basters had been used a number of times we hand-washed them in hot soapy water. Those with cleaning utensils and removable heads scored higher than those without.