Simple Grilled Turkey with Crispy Skin

Sometimes, it can be daunting to prepare a turkey dinner with only one oven. Why not free the oven by grilling your turkey? I was skeptical, at first. Our turkey turned out to be so flavorful and it moist. The crispy skin was an added bonus. Want gravy? My Make Ahead Turkey Gravy to the rescue!

I believe I’ve roasted at least 25 Thanksgiving Turkeys in my lifetime.  I’ve made Butterballs, and graduated to buying free-range turkeys.  I’ve brined them and I’ve not brined them.  However, I’ve firmly resisted the idea of deep-frying a turkey– not that I haven’t heard rave reviews. I just don’t want to be a State Farm Insurance television commercial statistic, as one of those unfortunate folks who caught their house on fire. (Plus, it doesn’t sound cheap to buy the fryer and all that peanut oil!) 

 Over the years,  I’ve been pretty lucky, in that I’ve never made a choke-dry kind of turkey. Amen.

My biggest challenge is that I only have one oven.  It’s always been a challenge to get the stuffing and yams baked, and then the rolls.  So, when the Digital October/November 2012 issue of Cook’s Illustrated was downloaded into my iPad, I was intrigued at the thought of grilling our turkey.

So I begged asked  my husband to watch the video with me and he agreed to set up the Weber. I assured him that this would not be as time-consuming as his famous grilled brisket or pulled pork. According to the recipe, I had to season the bird with salt & pepper, and then rub in a mixture of salt, pepper and baking powder (apparently this is key in making the skin turn out golden and crispy. Yum.

 

I didn’t photograph the process of preparing the bird, because I didn’t want to contaminate my camera with poultry bacteria.  Plus, I didn’t really think that Blogosphere needs another turkey recipe (my excuse translating that I wasn’t sure I’d need to blog this recipe). 

Well, I was wrong– and I will tell you that this was one delicious bird!  You should can prepare the turkey 24- 48 hours ahead. Somehow, I missed that and it was four hours until the turkey needed to go on the grill, that I discovered this. D’oh! Fortunately, as the photo shows, the turkey turned out fine– big relief.

Yes, you can make this on a gas grill, and I will include those instructions as well.  So, you need 4 quarts of briquettes and a disposable pan with water.  The briquettes are placed on the side of each pan, so that the turkey is not set directly over the coals (unless you’re making turkey jerky, I suppose.)

This is a 12 pound turkey, so if you are feeding an army of pilgrims, this recipe isn’t for you.  I wouldn’t recommend doing this with a 20 pound bird, but if you do– and it works- please let me know!

Vegetable oil has been rubbed on the turkey, before being placed on the grill. Craig has been careful that the turkey isn’t placed over the coals.  Good job!  Grilling time is said to be 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.   I got busy making the Sweet Potato Casserole and making the Mashed Potatoes .

GRAVY WARNING: You don’t get drippings for making gravy, with this method. Instead of resorting to package or canned gravy, I made “Make Ahead Gravy” the night before. I simply put the gravy into a small crockpot on WARM and that was ready to go.

For years, I belonged to the “stuff-the-turkey-with-stuffing-inside-the-turkey” Club.  Then, it was announced that this only invited bacteria and cooks were advised to always bake the stuffing separately.  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I admit that I do not care for stuffing.  (It’s a texture thing, and I’m sorry.)  However, I oblige others who love stuffing and I’ve developed a few of my own recipes that my family loves.

Not this year.  I didn’t have the strength desire to bake cornbread and make my famous stuffing. So, I resorted to — gasp— buying stuffing mix!    However, this year, I did something I wish I had thought of a long time ago…

Because my oven wasn’t occupied by a roasting turkey, I even had time to make my first Pumpkin Roll.

Craig: No, the recipe says 3 hours.

Me:      Well, that’s the suggested time.

Craig:  No, I don’t want to lose heat!

Me:      What if it’s already cooked, then it’ll be dry?!

Craig:   (Dubious look on his face.)

Me:       Trust me, I always shorten the recommended time. We can always add more (smug look on my face)

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Simple Grilled Turkey with Crispy Skin

Grilling a turkey is ideal when you want powerful flavors and little prep. No brining, and all you need is salt & pepper and baking powder. Baking powder? Yes, that's right. That's the secret to getting the skin to turn out golden and crispy.

Prep Time2 days d 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Grilled Turkey Burgers

Servings: 8

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• 1 large disposable aluminum roasting pan (if using charcoal) or 2 disposable aluminum pie plates (if using gas)

Ingredients

• 1 12- to 14-pound turkey neck and giblets removed and reserved for gravy
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

• Place turkey, breast side down, on work surface. Make two 2-inch incisions below each thigh and breast along back of turkey (4 incisions total). Using fingers or handle of wooden spoon, carefully separate skin from thighs and breast. Rub 4 teaspoons salt evenly inside cavity of turkey, 1 tablespoon salt under skin of each breast, and 1 teaspoon salt under skin of each leg.
• Combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and baking powder in small bowl.
• Pat turkey dry with paper towels and evenly sprinkle baking powder mixture all over. Rub in mixture with hands, coating entire surface evenly.

  NOTE: I actually use twice as much, without any problems, as I ran out of the mixture!
• Wrap turkey tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. NOTE: I didn’t plan ahead and did this 4 hours before, and had no problems with the turkey success.
• Remove turkey from refrigerator and discard plastic. Tuck wings underneath turkey. Using hands, rub oil evenly over entire surface.
• FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent halfway and place disposable pan filled with 3 cups water in center of grill.
• Arrange 1 1/2 quarts unlit charcoal briquettes on either side of pan (3 quarts total) in even layer. Light large chimney starter two-thirds filled with charcoal briquettes (4 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour 2 quarts of lit coals on top of each pile of unlit coals.
• Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
• FOR A GAS GRILL: Place 2 disposable pie plates with 2 cups water in each directly on 1 burner over which turkey will be cooked. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner (burner opposite pie plates) to medium and turn off other burner(s). Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 325°F.
• Clean and oil cooking grate. Place turkey, breast side up, in center of charcoal grill or on cooler side of gas grill, making sure bird is over disposable pans and not over flame.
• Cover (placing vents over turkey on charcoal grill) and cook until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs/drumsticks register 175°F, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, rotating turkey after 1 1/4 hours if using gas grill.
• NOTE: We checked our turkey at 2 1/2 hours, and it was borderline overcooked!!! I strongly suggest checking the bird at 2 hours.
• Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Carve turkey and serve.

Notes

NOTE: Once we devoured the turkey, I placed the carcass into a pasta pot, with carrots, celery and onion, some peppercorns and bay leaves. I added 10 cups of water and simmered the stock for 2 hours. Wow, did that make a flavorful turkey broth! It’s in the freezer for future meals.

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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