Turn That Oven Off While Grilling! Thanksgiving recipe with grilled turkey

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Beware, purists. What you are about to read about the classic Thanksgiving turkey may not be to your taste. In my opinion, grilling a turkey produces a bird that is cooked with wonderful flavor as opposed to baking it in the oven. I also suggest smoking and frying your bird as alternatives because we’re “turkey experimental non-purists,” but that’s a blog post for another day.

Grilling turkey dramatically increases taste. This holiday season, I strongly urge you to try this incredibly delectable cooking technique. The first step in brining your bird is a crucial one. Whether you deep fried, tandoori oven, smoke, or bake your turkey, brining gives it extra moisture to prevent drying out while cooking. In more detail, brining is described as:

“a salt marinade that breaks down proteins to allow water and flavorings to penetrate meat tissues. This is why brining a turkey for Thanksgiving or the holidays is a popular approach because any moisture lost during roasting still results in a juicy and tasty turkey “.
Start brining your turkey the night before you intend to cook and serve it to ensure appropriate preparation. You will require a large enough container to house your turkey, at least 10 to 12 hours put aside, and enough brine to completely cover your priceless bird. Salt, water, seasonings, and appropriate space for refrigeration should also be remembered. The ideal containers would be a huge stock pot, a sizable oven roaster, or a 5-8 gallon extremely clean plastic bucket. Allowing yourself enough space to flip the turkey is the key to deciding the container size, therefore it should be large.

Now for the enjoyable part. If the turkey is frozen, it needs to be cleaned out and fully defrosted (although we always recommend a fresh bird). The turkey should not be self-basting or Kosher, it is very important to notice. A salty stock is introduced to self-basting and Kosher turkeys, which causes the bird to become overly salty.

Brine preparation

Use 1 cup of iodine-free salt to 1 gallon of really clean, extremely fresh, chlorine-free water to generate the brine. Although you will need more than one gallon of water, that is the ratio you want to go for. When adding your chosen seasonings, make sure the salt is completely dissolved. Avoid using any seasonings that have an excessive amount of salt.

“Brines can be sweet with molasses, honey, and brown sugar, savory with herbs and garlic, or spicy/hot with peppers and cayenne. There are several brine recipes available, no matter what your taste preferences are “.
Place the turkey carefully in the container, then add enough brine to thoroughly cover it, leaving a few inches of space at the top. It’s crucial that no turkey component protrudes beyond the brine’s surface. After that, put the container in the fridge along with the turkey and brine. At least ten hours, but no more than twenty-four, should pass while the turkey is brining. A prolonged brining process will sour the flavor. Reduce the brining period or lower the salt content of the brine if you’re using a turkey that weighs less than 10 pounds.

When you’re ready to begin cooking, take the turkey out of the brine and give it a thorough cold water rinse in the sink to eliminate all salt residue. Cook your turkey using the ways of your choosing after discarding the brine. Once more, this is where we risk alienating purists because we strongly advise cooking your turkey! It is not forbidden or sacrilegious to grill a turkey. Many early Americans relied on the grilled turkey recipes and techniques they learned from their native American companions because they lacked stainless steel interior ovens.

The Fundamentals of Grilled Turkey Recipes:

The outcome of your turkey depends on a variety of variables, therefore it’s crucial to pay attention to the fundamentals. The weather is important because you will be cooking indirectly over a low fire, especially in the late Fall and winter. Although a cold temperature is a factor, wind is the main weather phenomenon to be aware of. Watch the temperature of your grill carefully because wind steals heat from outdoor cooking items and, by its very nature, fluctuates in temperature rather than maintaining a constant level.

“The decision to use gas or charcoal has a significant impact. Generally speaking, petrol will be less expensive because of the season. Be prepared for the variables depending on what you own or your preferred grilling technique “.
You’ll need to start by making an indirect fire that can maintain a temperature of between 300 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit all the time. Here is where a gas grill’s strength is useful. Gas is always a better option if the weather isn’t going to cooperate because it’s much simpler to regulate the temperature.

What you need before beginning:

A fresh or fully thawed turkey is first required, and it must be brined as we previously discussed. A 12 pound chicken is ideal, and anything above 15 pounds should be avoided because the larger bird may burn on the outside before the inside is done.
A V-shaped roasting rack is also advised to support the turkey and prevent it from moving around excessively. Because it won’t have a firm platform to sit on, this rack needs to be durable.
An oven thermometer is another suggestion. When you open the grill, this crucial gadget will help you keep an eye on the temperature.
A source of smoke can also be useful. Grab some wood chunks or chips for the charcoal or gas barbecue. Use oak or hickory, or a fruit wood like cherry or apple.
You also need a reliable meat thermometer.
You will most definitely need a lot of petrol. You will unquestionably need to have an extra, full tank on available if you’re utilizing a gas grill. Make sure you have plenty of charcoal on hand and a method for starting new coals for the fire outside the grill if you plan to use charcoal. If you use charcoal, a charcoal chimney starter will be helpful and is necessary.
It is crucial to have a container to catch the cooking turkey’s drippings. The drippings can be used to make sauce, and stopping the drippings will help prevent unsightly stains on your patio or driveway. To capture the drippings, we advise using a shallow roasting pan.
Time will also be necessary. You will need around the same length of time to cook your turkey because you will be grilling it at a temperature similar to what you would get in an oven. Because grilling is less precise than roasting in an oven, cooking times may vary. Be certain that you can adapt for that.
Cooking a Turkey on the Grill:

Clean and ready your bird in Step 1! – Get the turkey ready. This entails emptying the body chamber of everything, removing any pop-up plastic timers, and giving it a thorough wash in cold water. Clean off. Don’t bother “trussing” or tying the bird up. Trussing won’t accomplish anything besides delay the cooking of the thighs, which you should cook more thoroughly than the rest of the bird.

Step 2: Season the bird or brine it! Turkey can be seasoned or brined as desired. Check out the brining section up top. Remember to rinse the bird thoroughly before grilling it if you do use a brine.

Step 3: Get the grill ready! Prepare the grill for when the time arrives. Keep in mind that you will be indirectly heating a huge bird while grilling it (keeping the turkey away from being directly over the hot flame or coals). Before lighting the grill, it is a good idea to move the turkey there to check the spacing and temperature. If you use charcoal, this is extremely crucial. To avoid having the hot coals immediately beneath the bird while using charcoal, be careful to build the fire up in the proper location. One side of the bird may cook too quickly if it is too near.

To avoid flare-ups, catch and store the drippings, and stop drippings from discoloring your driveway or those pricey patio bricks, you should place a drip pan under the turkey. To keep the grill moist and prevent the drippings from burning away, be sure to add water to this pan on a regular basis. The drippings can be used to make delicious gravy!

Step 4: Charcoal or Gas Grilling? Using your rotisserie will be simple if your grill is set up for indirect cooking. Simply keep a close check on your bird to make sure the skin isn’t scorching and that heat is reaching the internal organs. Set the turkey, breast side down, on a well-oiled grate or v-shaped roasting rack if you are using a gas grill and not a rotisserie. You will have an even heating surface and only need to worry about turning the turkey in about an hour if your grill allows you to switch the heat on and/or off on either side with numerous burner controls on the side opposite where you place the turkey.

If you’re using a charcoal grill, you should bank the coals on either side of the bird or in a ring around it. To prevent one side from cooking more quickly than the other, you want equal heating. Try to keep the turkey away from the very borders of the cooking surface, whether the grill is gas or charcoal, so that heat can circulate around it.

Set Your Temperature in Step 5! An ideal cooking temperature is 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Set an oven thermometer near the chicken if you have one because this is the area you should be most concerned about. Make the necessary adjustments to the control valves on a gas grill to get your desired temperature. If you are using charcoal you will want to keep a close check on the temperature to keep it in the appropriate range. As needed, add more coals to the fire.

Turn Your Bird in Step Six! Throughout the cooking process, you may need to turn or flip the bird depending on how your grill is configured. If you have a two burner gas grill, you must rotate the chicken after about 30 minutes, flip it over and rotate it again after another 30 minutes, and then rotate it once more. This prevents one portion of the bird from being burned on the grill’s hotter part. This rotation must be continued until the turkey is finished.

The turkey needs to be rotated after roughly an hour if the heat source is placed all around it or on two sides of it. Of course, a lot of this depends on how quickly the turkey is cooking. The outside of the food shouldn’t cook more quickly than the within. To check the internal temperature, use a meat thermometer. Your cooking temperature is too high if the outside is becoming too browned before the interior is warming up.

7. Check Your Bird’s Temperature! You should start checking the internal temperature of your grilled bird after around two hours. Even at the coldest area of the turkey, you should aim for a temperature of 165 degrees F because every single piece of meat must be at or above this level. Make sure to test numerous different locations, but be patient and wait for the temperature to be correctly recorded before starting to poke plenty of holes in your bird. As a general guideline, a bird’s internal temperature should only increase by roughly 10 degrees every 15 to 20 minutes from the time it is first placed on the grill until the time it is finished.

Step 8: Take Your Bird Outside to Rest! Before carving, take the turkey off the grill and allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The proper texture for cutting and eating is produced by the resting period, which enables the juices to flow back into the flesh.

Carve and serve in Step 9! Make a bird carving. As soon as you begin carving your turkey, you’ll see how the brining helped it maintain moisture. You will want to brine all of your poultry after trying this since the first bite will convince you to grill and brine turkeys indefinitely. Serve and tuck in!

Step 10: Have fun with your family and friends! – Celebrate what has been given to us, our freedom, and our wholesome grilling addiction!

What do you believe? What energizes you? I appreciate your feedback, constructive dissent, and discussion. Post a comment or a response. It’s Alright. Go for it!