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Grilling a Turkey
- By Cheri Sicard |
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Grilling a turkey makes good sense for busy cooks, especially if you're
dealing with a small space kitchen. With the turkey cooking merrily away on
the grill, the oven is free for other chores such as cooking large pans of
dressing, side dishes or even home baked pies. And, as always, grilling cuts
down on clean-up time so you'll have more time to relax and enjoy the day.
Whether you have a gas or a charcoal grill, you can use it to prepare a
moist, delicious turkey, if you keep a few tips in mind.
- After removing the plastic wrapping, prepare the turkey by freeing the
legs from tucked position and removing the neck and giblets from neck and
body cavities. Rinse the turkey and drain well. Turn wings back to hold neck
skin in place. Return legs to tucked position. It's not necessary to truss a
turkey for the grill.
- You can marinate the turkey by using a fork to make random holes over the
entire bird. Place the turkey in a large, plastic cooking bag or clean
plastic trash bag and pour in the marinade. Close the bag securely and let
it marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Before cooking, scrape off excess
marinade and discard. Do not re-use marinade to baste the turkey.
- Do not stuff a turkey that's to be grilled as it can take too long for the
temperature of the stuffing to reach the required temperature of 165 F
degrees.
Grilling
Use indirect heat to grill the turkey. Prepare the grill by removing top
grill rack and opening all vents. Mound 50 to 60 briquettes in center of the
lower grill rack or the bottom of grill and ignite briquettes. When coals
become ash-gray -- about 20 to 40 minutes -- divide them into two equal
parts, positioned on the outside edges of lower grill rack or bottom of
grill.
Place a foil drip pan or a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil
between the two piles of coals.
Lightly grease the top grill rack before repositioning it on the hot coals.
Place the prepared turkey in the middle of the grill rack, directly over
drip pan, and replace the lid on the grill.
You can figure roughly 12 minutes cooking time per pound of turkey. Be sure
to check turkey's doneness by using a meat thermometer. Breast meat is ready
at 170 F degrees, thigh meat at 180 F degrees. Maintain grill heat during
cooking by adding 5 to 8 briquettes to both sides of hot coals every hour or
as needed. Keep the lid on the grill closed as much as possible to prevent
heat loss.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cheri Sicard is the editor of FabulousFoods.com where you'll find
recipes, an online cooking school, celebrity chef interviews, holiday and
entertaining ideas, free cooking newsletters and more.
http://www.fabulousfoods.com
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if you have any questions or comments!