Here it is! The show stopper for the big day. It was actually my sister-in-law’s idea to BBQ the turkey. She asked if I’d be doing it. At first I thought no – it’s Thanksgiving, you can’t do that…. Then I remembered an article I’d read in finecooking.com about Lee Ann Whippen’s BBQ’d turkey…. Then I started thinking that Thanksgiving was early this year, and that the weather was unusually warm for this time of year… So basically what I’m saying is I just HAD to BBQ the turkey. All signs in the universe were pointing to DO IT. Here’s how…
– This process and recipe was taken from Fine Cooking Oct/Nov Issue 2012 pg 38-41. I made a larger bird then the recipe was built for so my numbers have been adapted to reflect this…
For the Brine
Brine Ingredients
12 cups of apple cider
1.5 cups of coarse pickling salt
1 3/4 c of raw Demerara sugar
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of honey
1/2 tsp ground cloves
5 dried bay leaves
1 – 22 lbs turkey (preferable fresh, free-range – not kosher or self basting; neck and giblets, except liver, reserved for broth)
Brine Directions
Make the Brine
(This should be done MINIMUM the day before you want to cook your turkey – ideally two days.)
Combine all of the brine ingredients and 10 cups of water in a 10 quart pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until cold.
Bring on the Stove – notice it got a thick layer of foam. I did not remove it – it did not affect the turkey.
Brine the Turkey
Put the turkey breast side down in a pot or tub large enough to hold it and the brine. Add the brine. (The turkey will float but that’s ok) and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 20 hours. The turkey can be removed from the brine, patted dry and refrigerated for up to 1 day, cover with plastic wrap.
Note: I have talked before on brining large pieces of meat. I would suggest using a clean camping cooler for a large animal such as this. This is one of the main reasons it is CRUCIAL that you make sure your brine is cooled before you submerge your bird.
I did not have enough brine to fully cover my bird. To compensate, I flipped my bird half way through brining and covered the exposed part with plastic wrap. Make sure you take into account the additional space of the cooler for brining!
For the Broth
Broth Ingredients
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
kosher salt to taste
2 medium carrots – cut into 2″ dice
2 medium celery stalks cut into 2″ dice
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
Make the Broth
With a chef’s knife, cut the turkey neck into 3 or 4 pieces and chop the giblets. Heat the oil in a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Cook the neck and giblets with a pinch of salt, stirring often, until browned, about 8 minutes.
Giblets in all their glory. Organs and gizzards
Add the carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns, 2 tsp salt, and 6 cups of water.
Everything in the pot – you can see the turkey neck on top.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat, skim off any form, and simmer, covered until flavourful, about 1 hour.
Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a large bowl – you’ll have about 4 cups.
*Broth can be made up to two days ahead; refrigerate when cool.
Note – If you ask your butcher you can get a lot of giblets. I ended up with two necks and a ton of gizzards and organs. A lot of people don’t take them – my butcher was giving them out for free!
For the BBQ Spice Rub
BBQ Spice Rub Ingredients
Note – I doubled the original spice rub recipe. I always like to have more rub then necessary and my bird was larger. You can always save it and use it elsewhere, and it’s a huge pain to mix it again when you run out half way through.
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
4 tbsp chili powder (I used a spicy ancho chili powder, but use one to your preference. If possible use real chili powder, not the generic processed “chili powder” that comes from the store and has everything BUT chili’s in it!)
2 tbsp brown Demerara sugar
4-1/2 tsp of smoked paprika (I used smoked-sweet)
3 tsp kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground mustard seeds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Notes: This recipe also called for 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp ground coriander (before doubling the recipe). I did not have any of these in my cupboard so I omitted them.
Whenever possible use whole spices and grind them in a spice mill or coffee grinder. I have a coffee grinder dedicated just to grinding spices. I ground the cumin, cinnamon, and mustard seeds.
Make the Spice Rub
In a small bowl, mix all of the rub ingredient, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar with your fingers.
*Rub can be made up to 1 month ahead and kept in an air tight container
For the Turkey
Turkey Ingredients
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, quartered and peeled
4 oz (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, softened + 2 oz (4 tbsp) cut into 4 slices
About 3 lbs thick cut bacon, preferably smoked, at room temperature
2 cups of hardwood chips – preferably a combination of apple and hickory, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before hand, and drained
1 cup of apple cider or juice in a spray bottle (I used leftover hard cider)
Turkey Directions
Prepare the Grill (Gas Grill Directions only)
Cover the grill and turn off one of more of the burners and adjust the active burner to 275F. You are trying to accomplish an oven type effect, so ideally your bird will not be over the active element. If you have a 22 lbs bird this will not be possible on most conventional BBQ’s.
Rinse the turkey and discard the brine. Rub the inside of the body and neck cavities with 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil and then sprinkle each cavity with 1/2 tbsp of the spice rub. Put the onion pieces inside of the body cavity. In a small bowl, combine the 4 oz of softened butter with 1 tbsp of the spice rub. Carefully slide your hands under the skin of the turkey to loosen it from the breast. Using your fingers, spread the butter mixture directly on the breast meat, being careful not to tear the skin.
Spice Rub Butter
Rubbing the butter under the skin
Tie the legs together with the twine. Tuck the wing tips behind the neck, securing any loose skin over the neck cavity beneath them.
Seasoned turkey tied together
Rub the outside of the turkey with the remaining 3 tbsp of vegetable oil, then 3-1/2 tbsp of the spice rub.
Using a foil or a foil lined roasting pan – cover the area the turkey will occupy with bacon slices. (I forgot this part and my bird turned out fine if you’re light on bacon).Put the turkey, breast side up on the bacon, then lay enough bacon slices across the turkey to cover it, securing the slices with toothpicks. (It’s ok if the sides of the turkey aren’t entirely covered).
Covering the turkey with bacon
More pics of a turkey covered in bacon 🙂
Make 2 heavy-duty aluminum foil packets, each filled with 1 cup of the drained chips. Using a fork, poke holes all over the packets. Lifting the grill grate, set one of the packets directly over an active burner; reserve the second packet. Replace the grill grate.
Put the turkey, in its pan, on the unlit side of the grill, or as much as possible, and cover the grill. Smoke the turkey until the bacon is dark, rotating the pan occasionally for even cooking every 2-3 hours. When the first packet stops smoking replace it with the second packet. About 1.5-2 hours.
When the bacon is dark, remove it from the top of the turkey; enjoy it as cook’s treat or discard. (Note this bacon will NOT be good for use in another recipe. It will be very dark, crisp and burnt).
Turkey after 5 hours in the BBQ. Look how much heat that bacon deflected off of the turkey.
Burnt Bacon – not good for eating 😦
Generously season the turkey with all but 1 tsp (which will be used for gravy) of the remaining spice rub. Put the butter on top of the breast and thighs and continue smoking, spraying the turkey with the cider and rotating the pan every 30 minutes until the temperature in the center of the breasts registers t 165F. About 1-2 hours more. If at any time the turkey becomes too dark, loosely tent it with foil.
Tideview cider ready for misting
Remove the pan from the grill. Tilt the turkey so the juice in the cavity runs into the roasting pan. Transfer the turkey to a serving platter and tent it with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Turkey at the end of the cooking process. Notice how much the pan juices and bacon fat have burnt in the pan. This did not affect the flavour (THANKFULLY) but it was not good to be used in the gravy.
For the Gravy
Gravy Ingredients
6 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cider vinegar or to taste
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Make the Gravy
Heat the turkey broth until hot. Note the original notes from the recipe call to pour off the drippings from the roasting pan into a fat separator. Allow fat to rise to the top and transfer 1/4 cup of the fat to a 12″ skillet; discarding the remaining fat. HOWEVER, I did not do this. In my pan a lot of the drippings and fat were burnt. This was how I made the gravy.
Make a slurry by adding the flour and 2 tbsp of water into a liquid measuring cup and stirring until it is dissolved. Add this into the heated broth, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of the spice rub and continue to whisk. Whisk in the cider vinegar and simmer until the gravy barely coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.
Vessel 