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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

How To Barbeque The Holiday Turkey

My mother never liked turkey.  Loved Istanbul.  Hated the bird.  I don't really know whether it was the taste, the size, or the preparation that bothered her.  Could have been the memory of getting a bustard, in Australia when I was six, because they didn't have turkeys, and how poorly that meal turned out.  Maybe it was because we never really lived near any extended family and I spent much of my youth abroad, that the Thanksgiving tradition in my home was always kind of flexible.

When I was growing up, we were as likely to have duck a l'orange or rack of lamb for Thanksgiving or Christmas as most people were to have turkey or ham.  Maybe that's why the tradition in my household is constantly evolving.  Our house, now, is the hub of activity and we've been hosting events like Thanksgiving for quite a few years.  We enjoy experimenting and inventing new traditions all the time, if we feel like it's more inclusive, more fun or may just taste better!  After all, who really loves the taste of cranberries and sweet potatoes with marshmallow on top?  Don't know of too many people having that more than once a year!  Our daughter is grown and lives nearby, and she enjoys bringing new ideas to the tradition, whether it's a new soup recipe, side dish or dessert.  We nominate what we like and want to keep from the new additions and add another piece in search of the perfect meal for our table.  



One of the traditions we've kept, was introduced to me by a neighbor, must be twenty years ago, and that was how to barbecue a turkey.  That was back when I was just developing my own style of barbecue and I took to it like a kid with a shiny new toy.  I know, it's a strange concept for a lot of people, who grew up with gramma roasting the turkey, with the vegetables around it and stuffing inside it.

Anybody ever think that the reason for that was because there just isn't enough room in the kitchen to cook all of the necessaries for a meal of that size?  And with all of that stuff in the oven, there's no way that bird stands a chance of coming out tender and juicy.  Gotta be in there for three hours or more. I don't care how much you baste it!

But those were different times, and with the more equitable distribution of labor today, everyone in my house needs to participate!  Now, it might be a little scary, the first time Dad offers to do more than carve the bird.  Actually preparing the turkey might mean missing some nap time on the couch in front of the Lions' game and letting the people in the kitchen have some breathing room for a change.  So, if you don't want the pressure, or the glory, this approach may not be for you.  But if you grill, you're gonna try it at some point, and you'll kick yourself once you know how easy it is and how great it tastes!

Now, I've had all kinds of people at my table, and I've been to fair few others where I've had roasted, rotisseried, baked and deep fried turkey, because I'm always open to new ideas.  But, in my honest opinion, the smoky flavor of a barbecued turkey takes the prize, every time.  All of the others have their pros and cons, but for the preparation and simplicity of this method, it's the one I stick with.  Heck, I even had some friends over who asked me if I'd do a turkey for them on the Friday after because they were upset I wasn't gonna give them all of my leftovers to take home!

Now, I'm a charcoal guy, and if you've read any of my other articles, you know I'm big on the how, rather than the recipe, and you can get all of the information on how to do the equivalent on a gas grill out my Layman's Guide To Great Barbecue, so, for the sake of brevity, I'm only going to relate how I do this on my grill.

I use a grill that has an adjustable grate and pretty large cooking surface, made out of cast iron, divided into four sections.  What I love about my grill is that I have a lot of ways to control the heat, which is the most important aspect of successfully cooking outdoors.  Turkey, as like any fowl, gets cooked over indirect heat at my house.  Make sure that your bird is completely defrosted and resting at room temperature before you put it on the grill.

If you're unsure about indirect and direct heat cooking methods, you need to study up and get some practice before you jump in with the Thanksgiving turkey. Fair warning!  You can look at other articles hear in the blog about managing your heat, or you can sign up and get the aforementioned  guide.  But, turkey is cheap, so maybe you want to practice on one before the big day, to make sure you get it right and avoid surprises.

Preparing the turkey is pretty easy.  About an hour before I light the coals, I unwrap the bird from the plastic casing.  For the last several years, a permanent guest and great friend of mine has always ordered a turkey through the mail, 14-16 lbs., which arrives the day before Thanksgiving, usually in the afternoon...just to scare us. It's never not arrived, so we're getting a little more comfortable with it! Of course, it's packed in dry ice, so we need to make sure it thaws thoroughly.

I remove the neck and innards and giblets, stuff I want nothing to do with, and give it to the wife.  Maybe she can make stock with it, or maybe she feeds it to the cats...I really don't want to know!

I start by coating the bird in olive oil, like rubbing baby oil on an infant.  It's messy, and a little disturbing, but it needs to be done and results are good.  Then I take as many spices as I think the bird can handle, some Mediterranean sea salt, Jamaica Me Krazy salt, lemon and pepper, garlic pepper, poultry rub...whatever you feel like, and completely cover the bird, top and bottom, not missing a single crevasse.  Your not doing stuffing in the bird, so if you want to throw some lemons or oranges or apple inside, feel free to experiment.


Time to fire up the grill.  I like to use two charcoal chimneys, filled to the brim.  I remove the top grates, prep my chimneys and light them at the same time.  They take about fifteen to twenty minutes, and when the flames are licking the top coals, they're ready to dump.  Now, I take an aluminum 9 x 12 disposable drip pan and put that on the ash grate in the center, below where the bird will sit. I keep the adjustable grate as far away from the grilling surface as possible and, wearing my gloves, I dump the coals on either side of the drip pan, spreading them evenly.

Now, I put two of my four cast iron grilling surfaces in the center, leaving the sides open so that I can access the coals, if I need to.  Using my method, I usually don't need to add any more coals during the cooking process, but that is dependent on the size of the turkey and your weather conditions.  Picking up the bird is a messy task and I just keep my gloves on and clean them afterward.

Place the bird on the center of the grill, above the drip pan...breast side down.  That's right, as though the bird was standing, before someone chopped off its feet.  You can do the bird, breast side up, like it usually is in an oven, as I did for years, but once I flipped it over, probably by accident, two things happened.  The cooking time per pound decreased and the bird got juicier.  Nope.  Not just luck.  Been doing my turkey that way ever since.   Close the lid and don't even look at it for forty minutes, unless you see smoke billowing out the air vents. (Which means you've got too much heat in there and the juices caught fire!)

So, the "how come" in me provided what, I think, is a pretty reasonable explanation.  The assumption is, keep the breasts as far away from the heat as possible to keep them moist.  That's okay...in an oven.  There, it's stuffed with things on the inside that need to cook, that will hopefully keep the bird moist through steaming, because it's going to be in there a long time, and it's easy to collect the juices and pour them back over the top.

On the barbecue, the heat is more intense, and the bird is going to cook faster anyway, plus there's no stuffing inside.  Sitting breast side up, my turkey used to take 9-12 minutes per pound, depending on size and conditions.  When I flipped it over, the cooking time dropped to 6-8 minutes per pound.  Here's how I see it: heat converts fats to juices; gravity pulls juices downward; dark meat contains more fat, therefor more juice; juices collect and heat, rather than escape and cook the bird faster, while keeping the meat moist.  Seems pretty logical to me.

So, you can try it both ways and see for yourself.  If there's a difference in taste, I'd say that the breast side up method get a little smokier, but I compensate for that by adding some water soaked wood chips to the mix.  At 6-8 minutes per pound, I find I don't need to add any more coals, where as about an hour and twenty minutes in on the other method, you should have another chimney going.

Whichever way you decide to cook your bird, use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature. Most of the time, you can wiggle the legs to see how loose the bone is, but still test it.  The thermometer will tell you it's done at 165F, but if you leave it that long, it'll be dry.  I like to take mine off at about 145F and let it sit for about fifteen minutes.  The internal temperature continues to rise while it rests in its own juices, but without the heat, it doesn't dry out.  It takes a long time before the internal heat registers on the thermometer, but be prepared...once it registers, the bird will rise about a degree per minute, as long as you're not fussing with the lid and letting all your heat get out!

So, what could be simpler?  A great tasting turkey, smoked, tender and juicy, plus, you get the credit, freed up some time and space in the kitchen so they could enjoy themselves, too, and I bet you hardly miss any of the game, because this is a no-fuss job!  Go ahead and carve that bird with pride and see if this doesn't become an annual tradition.  Maybe you'll even have turkey more than once a year!

Nothin' Beats Barbecue...