Holidays
Even the skin poses a challenge because you want to cook it crisp, without overcooking the meat.
Well, I have a solution to cooking the perfect turkey every time, and it’s probably standing in your backyard. That’s right, your grill.
Grilling your turkey solves several problems, not least of which is leaving your oven free for the Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts. (Unless you’re as obsessive as I am, in which case, you probably cook those on the grill, too.)
Grilling enables you to smoke your turkey, which adds a whole new dimension of flavor. When you combine grilling with another basic barbecue technique—brining—you wind up with even more flavor, and you greatly minimize the risk of drying the bird out.
But before your fire up your grill, consider some other factors that play into a turkey’s ultimate excellence.
Thanksgiving Turkey Tips
- Size. Cooks often boast about their size of their turkeys, but bigger isn’t always better. I’d rather cook two 10- to 12-pound turkeys rather than one 25-pound monster. Smaller birds give you more control, with less risk over undercooking or overcooking. When buying a turkey, figure on 1 pound per person. (This assures you some leftovers.)
- Provenance. I’ve always maintained that where your food comes from matters as much as how you grill it. For me that means organic at very least, or from a local poultry farm when possible. You might also consider buying an heirloom or heritage bird—one of those old-time varieties raised more for their flavor than their breast size. They may be less meaty than supermarket birds, but the flavor can be richly rewarding.
- Fresh versus frozen. In the best of all worlds, you would buy your turkey fresh. But given the huge number of birds processed for Thanksgiving, this isn’t always possible. If you do buy your bird frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator and start early. Figure on one day of thawing for each 4 pounds, so 3 days for a 12-pound bird. Note on quick thawing: OK, if you’re like me, you probably forgot to thaw your bird ahead of time. To thaw it in a hurry, place it in a large container, like your sink or bathtub. Fill with cold water and ice cubes. Never use hot water (the temperature differential increases the development of harmful bacteria)
- To stuff or not to stuff. Don’t. Stuffing tastes best when crusty and brown on top. Putting it in the bird makes it soggy. It also confuses the cooking times.
- Pre-injected? A lot of supermarket turkeys come pre-injected with a saline solution—ostensibly to keep the meat moist. The real reason is economics: water costs less than meat. You’re going to brine your turkey, so you certainly don’t want the redundancy of pre-injected turkey.
- Grilled versus smoked versus spit-roasted. I’ve done them all. Smoking gives you a great flavor, but the skin comes out soggy. Spit-roasting looks cool, crisps the skin, and keeps the meat moist. But it’s hard to wrestle a 12-pound bird onto your rotisserie. Indirect-grilling gives you all the advantages above, but in addition you get to add wood smoke.
- To spatchcock or not? Never! Spatchcocking (removing the backbone and butterflying the bird) makes your turkey look like it was run over by a steamroller. No, you want to serve your turkey whole and rotund, in all its Normal Rockwell-esque glory.
Grilling the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
So now you’re ready to cook your turkey. My infallible method involves a 4-step process. It’s simple and not particularly labor intensive, but you do need to start a day ahead.
Step #1: Brine the bird for 24 hours in a salt, brandy, and honey mixture. Brining guarantees moist flavorful meat.
Step #2: Indirect grill the turkey at a moderate heat (325 degrees) until mostly cooked—with an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Baste the turkey often with melted butter.
Step #3: Increase the heat to high (450 degrees) to brown the skin and finish roasting the temperature: the internal temperature in the deepest part of the thigh should be 165 degrees. If the breast browns too much, loosely tent it with foil. Do not bunch the foil around the turkey or you’ll make the skin soggy.
Step #4: Let the turkey rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving and serving. Loosely drape it with foil to keep it warm.
Follow this simple recipe and your first timer’s turkey will be a winner every time.
And that my friends is how you smoke-roast a perfect turkey—even if it’s your very first one!
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