Big Country Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Well, as is no surprise considering she comes from a large Italian family, my wife and I are going to overdo it this year as we host our first Thanksgiving. My parents will be in town as will be my aunt/unle and 2 cousins, and my wife's sister and her family and her mother will be over. My mother in law is doing her "traditional" roast turkey then bringing it to our place. It's got the stuffing stuffed in it, etc. My wife wants to do one at our house so we have that smell of Thanksgiving in the house. I have seen on many of the cooking shows various methods, etc, such as rubbing a garlic/herb butter under the skin, rubbing oil on the skin, and putting together an herb pack to stuff in the bird. I am not really looking to put any sort of dressing/stuffing in the bird, but would like to maybe do a garlic/rosemary/lemon type of seasoning mix to stuff in the bird while roasting. Any suggestions on how to best do this and any additional herb that may work well in this sort of application.. perhaps thyme? Should I use the same basic flavors in the butter rub under the skin? Should I infuse the oil I rub on the skin? Basically looking for a quick check to see what I should/shouldn't do as neither my wife or I have done a bird on our own before, and I wanted to make it extra flavorful. I also wanted to do a bird on the grill. Have a 5-burner gas grill for this. Originally I was going to try find a vertical stand that could fit a turkey and essentially do a variation of "Beer Can chicken" with it, but no luck finding a vertical stand large enough yet, and, as the smallest bird at trader joe's was a 17 pounder, not sure the turkey would fit on the grill with the lid closed (may have to freeze one of these turkeys and find a smaller one for the grill) I do have a roasting pan that can go on the grill, so looking for a seasoning method that would help infuse a bit of a BBQ flavor.. maybe a little kick to it, though not sure I neccessarily want to go cajun with it (not saying I won;t, just looking at options). So, any tips for doing a full bird on a grill? Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 i stuff the bird with chopped carrots, celery, onion, lemons, and garlic. i also hit the inside with oil, salt, and pepper. for my herb mix, i stay prett standard with sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley. i coat the outside with herbs and oil. under the skin i do herbs and butter.... i'll post my basic turkey for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 As far as the grill is concerned, You'll want to do it in a roasting pan and treat like it is a convection oven. That means that using indirect medium heat a 17 lb bird should take you around 3 hours give or take. You'll want to throw a couple of cups of chicken stock in the roasting pan so as to provide moisture while cooking. The turkey is done when the temp reaches 165 in the breast and 175 in the thickest part of the thigh. Let the turkey rest for around 20 minutes before carving it. You can use the pan drippings to make the gravy if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I do my bird on The Egg at 350 over indirect heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_gop_liars Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 "Beer Can chicken" with it, but no luck finding a vertical stand large enough yet Try the Turkey Cannon I've cooked a 12lb on it but I think you can go bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Try the Turkey Cannon I've cooked a 12lb on it but I think you can go bigger. That is just obscene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Grilled one came out awesome. I stuffed it with carrots, celery, onion, bell peppers fresh thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley. I made an herb butter with those herbs and rubbed that between the skin and breast. I then coated the outside with some olive oil, a little s&p and some cajun spice rub Put that in a roasting pan and onto a grill, indirect heat, tha had the grill at about 275-300. After the first hour, started oing light coats of BBQ sauce (I like Bullseye, so just took a couple cups of that, cut it with a can of chicken broth), and di light coats on the bird every 20-30 minutes or so. About 5 hours cook time roughly for a 17 pounder. Looked awesome and tasted great. Very moist. Will be doing again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Big Country, I bought a fryer and fried my first turkey this year. After how great it turned out, I may never go back . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Big Country, I bought a fryer and fried my first turkey this year. After how great it turned out, I may never go back . . . Had fried either last year or the year before ay mt wife;s aunt's house. It was delicious. I may add it to the rotation, however, assuming we have it at our house again next year, I think my wife may be set on the dual turkey method of one on the BBQ, and one in the roaster to give the house that Thanksgiving smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.