Thanksgiving Turkey

With Thanksgiving a few weeks away, I thought that I would share the technique that I have used to cook a turkey on a Weber grill for many years. Not mentioned below, is that I do also brine the turkey overnight to preserve the moisture and add flavor:

Turkey on a Weber Grill

Below is a copy of the original article from the Milwaukee Journal Sunday, Nov 21, 1993.

In some households, charcoal roasting (which technically is what you are doing not grilling or barbecuing) is the preferred method for cooking any turkey, no matter what time of year, whether or not its even a holiday.

Pandoras Turkey, as this outdoor-cooked bird has been dubbed, turns out beautifully brown and crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. It also makes the entire neighborhood smell heavenly in the process.

The extraordinary part of this procedure is that it never should take more than three hours to cook a turkey completely.

If it seems, however, that the procedure given here is overly long and detailed, rest assured: This is the easiest way to cook a turkey.

Before you get started, here are a few tips:

Look for a bird that is a squat as possible; a high breast-bone will prevent the lid of the grill from closing completely. Turkeys in the 18- to 20- pound range seem to fit best. If you find a bird larger than 22-pounds that fits on the grill, plan to ignite an extra pound of charcoal and add an additional 30 minutes of cooking time.
There will be plenty of juices in the roasting pan. These can be divided for use in the gravy pot and for moistening the oven-cooked stuffing. So far, there have been no complaints in the stuffing department. In fact, no one ever has detected that it wasnt cooked inside the bird.
Turkeys cooked in covered kettle grills dont need basting. In fact, if you take the lid off to baste the bird (or even just to peek), youll blow the whole process. The rapid influx of air causes the coals to heat up quickly, resulting in an uneven cooking temperature and shortening the life of the coals.

An opening note: Before starting, you will need the following pieces of equipment on hand: a covered, kettle-type grill, five pounds of charcoal briquettes, and a few metal or bamboo skewersor needle and cotton thread for trussing.

Start with a clean grill, free of old coals and ash. Ignite about 5 pounds of briquettes. If you have difficulty determining 5 pounds, simply buy a 10-pound bag of charcoal and use half.

While coals heat, prepare turkey for cooking. Remove neck and giblets from inside bird; reserve for making gravy, if desired. Wash bird thoroughly with cold water only. Pat dry with towel, absorbing as much moisture, inside and out, as possible. Place turkey in disposable, heavy-duty aluminum roasting pan.

(See end of article for possible stuffing. Following is procedure for it, if desired). Coarsely chop onions and celery. Put in large bowl; mix with cup melted butter and poultry seasoning or sage. Place handful of mixture inside neck cavity. Pull skin over cavity, and thread it closed, using small metal or bamboo skewer. Put rest of mixture in the body cavity, and fasten closed with another skewer. Secure legs to tail using metal fastener found on most turkeys, or abandon skewers and metal fasteners altogether in favor of trussing bird (provided that someone, somewhere, taught you how to perform this procedure).

Rub entire surface of turkey with the remaining cup melted butter or vegetable oil. Place turkey breast side up, in roasting pan, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. (Finely ground white pepper adheres to the surface better than coarser black pepper).

Check fire. Coals are just right when they are completely covered with fine gray ash. Once at that stage (usually in 20-25 minutes), push them to either side of fire grate in equal quantities, leaving the center free of briquets. (Note from Al: I start the fire separately behind the charcoal rail fences that I mentioned earlier. That way you do not have to mess with separating the coals. Then I place an aluminum foil pan, filled with water, in the middle, between the charcoal rails. Eventually, the water boils, helping keep the bird moist.) Put the cooking grill in place. Position roasting pan and turkey in middle of grill, and cover grill. Leave both the top and bottom vents completely open.

Within minutes, you will start to hear some action in roasting pan and smell that delightful aroma. Turkey will be done when the coals have burned out, usually around 2 hours. You can tell coals have burned out when turkey no longer makes any cooking noises inside grill and when smoke has stopped coming out of the vents.

Remove lidfinallyand voila! A beautifully roasted, mahogany-brown, crisp-on-the-inside, moist-on-the-inside turkey. (Note from Al: Check with meat thermometer. Make sure it is done). Carefully move the bird from roasting pan to carving board and let stand for 15-20 minutes before carving. This allows juices to return to interior of meat and makes turkey much easier to carve. Add any juices that accumulate on carving board to your gravy, or use for moistening stuffing.

After dinner, youll have one more thing to be thankful for: Your oven wont need cleaning.

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