Bar B Que 2 @ Amazon.com
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Last year I got up on Thanksgiving morning and prepared to bar-b-que a turkey as I have done for about the last 9 years. However, this year was different. We had recently “upgraded” from a Weber Kettle bar-b-que grill to a bright, shiny, new gas grill. I was still not completely comfortable with this contraption but figured it couldn’t be too different from my Weber and charcoal. RIIIIGHT! After preparing the bird inside, I brought it out and placed it on the grill. I was going to use indirect heat so I only lit the outside burners. I turned them on a medium setting and went back inside to get a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, my son came in screaming that the grill was on fire. I went running outside threw open the lid of the grill and was greeted by a bird in flames. It looked like a giant meteor rock with legs and was blazing away. Well I started laughing my butt off and ran for my camera. My kids pulled out their phones and started snapping away and we all laughed so hard we nearly fell over. My husband came outside and put out the fire spoiling all our fun. (It was his grill) What I forgot to do was place a drip pan under the bird. The grease and juices almost immediately caught fire and torched my thanksgiving dinner. Luckily I our local stores were open, so my husband ran and got another turkey and I began again from square one. 1. Prepare the bird The first thing you need to do is remove the bag of giblets from the cavity of the turkey. These can be used to flavor stuffing (since we won’t be cooking it in the bird) or can be boiled with vegetables to make a great broth to be used later with all your leftovers. Or you can boil them up and feed them to your dogs as their own special thanksgiving treat. This is my dog’s favorite choice. Place the turkey in the sink and rinse it inside and out with cool water. Next you will season the outside of the turkey. I use a combination of pepper, seasoned salt and garlic powder. Cover the whole bird well. Inside the turkey you want to place two small oranges that you have pierced several times with a knife, and a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary. The juice from the oranges will help to keep the turkey moist as it cooks on the grill and along with the rosemary will add a really wonderful taste and aroma. You need to truss the turkey or tie its legs together and tuck the wings in. Since you are using the grill to cook your bird you cannot use twine for this process but must use metal. My husband always gets this for me at the hardware store. You only need a small piece of stainless steel cord. Wash it well and wrap it around the end of the legs and twist tightly. There is no need to wrap it around the body of the bird, only the ends of the legs. You also want to tuck the wings into the body so that it resembles a person with their hands behind their head. There are a lot of sites on the internet that have videos of this process. 2. Prepare the grill Open your gas grill, remove the cooking racks and place a drip pan in the center of the grid or panels that are directly above the flame. I would suggest using one of the disposable foil pans that you can purchase at any grocery store. The pan must be large enough to fit under most of the bird and deep enough (at least 2 inches) to catch most of the drippings and hold some water that you will add. Replace the cooking racks and turn on the outside burners. If you have a temperature gauge on your grill you will want to keep the heat between 375 and 400 degrees. A medium flame on both outer burners usually will do just fine but you may have to turn it up depending on how cold it is outside. I have done this when it was snowing out so don’t let a little cold scare you. Now you want to add some water, about half an inch, to the drip pan. The steam from the water will keep the turkey nice and moist. Periodically while cooking, you will want to check the level of liquid in the pan. Do not let the pan dry out or overflow. 3. Cook The Bird Place the trussed turkey in the center of the grill, over the top of the drip pan. Close the lid and monitor the temperature. You can turn the flames up or down as needed. Remember also that the more often you open the lid the longer it will take to cook your turkey. At least twice while the bird is cooking, you will want to baste the outside of your bird with some melted butter and added spices. I usually add garlic and rosemary to the butter. How long the turkey takes to cook, depends on a couple of things. How cold it is outside, how often you open the lid and how big your turkey is. An average cooking time by weight is usually printed on the label of your turkey. If it has a pop up thermometer this will help you know when the turkey is done. A cooking thermometer is also helpful. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees. You will want to measure this at the inner part of the thigh and thickest part of the breast. When it is done remove from the grill and untie the legs. Remove the oranges from the cavity and dispose of them. If you put them in your garbage disposal they will make it smell good too. Arrange the turkey on a platter and you are finished. 4. Enjoy Each year I take one of these turkeys to my Mother-in-law’s house. We always have 3 different turkeys cooked 3 different ways (we have a very large family). Mine is the only one that is completely gone at the end of the day. I never have any leftovers.
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