Thanksgiving Turkey


 

John Sp

TVWBB All-Star
Thanksgiving Rotisserie Turkey

Hello All,

We have an annual family reunion of my wife's side of the family at TG each year. There are three families with 19 people total. Each family contributes to the meal so we get a great variety of really good food. This year I did our turkey on my Weber OTG using the rotisserie attachment. I employed techniques and recipes learned here and the results were outstanding. I brined a completely thawed 13.5 lb bird in Apple Maple Brine for about 36 hours in the refrigerator. I followed this with a thorough rinsing (tap water) and a 16 hour refrigerated air dry. I stuffed the bird with two quartered apples (which fell out during the cooking process - not sure how much effect they had). I trussed the bird, iced the breast for about 45 minutes to promote even cooking, put it on the spit, and coated it with about 4 tbs of EVOO followed by a liberal sprinkling of Scarborough Faire Rub (I just can't bring myself to call it Simon & Garfunkel - the song has been around for hundreds of years). I set up the grill for indirect cooking using side baskets for the charcoal (1 full chimney of fully lit coals split between the two baskets). I ran the grill hot (~400) for the first 15 minutes and then damped the airflow to achieve 325 - 350 for the rest of the cook. I pulled the bird after internal temperature at the thighs reached 170 (Breast was about 175). The bird did not take nearly as long as I anticipated (about 2 hours and 15 minutes). I let it rest in a 170 degree oven (covered in foil) until dinner (about an hour). I let it rest at room temp under foil for about 15 minutes before carving for service. It was served along side delicacies provided by each of the families. The flavor brought by the brine and the rub were amazing. The bird was extremely juicy even after the additional oven time. The extended family really enjoyed it and I was proud of the results - there were no left overs. Pictures of the process appear below:


Brined and Trussed Turkey - Breast Iced to promote more even cooking


Spitted and Rubbed with Scarborough Faire


Half Way Point - temp approximately 115


End of Cook - Note the apples have fallen out


Finished Product - Ready for Carving (after resting under foil)


Plated with mashed potatoes & pan gravy, corn casserole, roasted almonds, sauteed green beans, dressing, roasted brussels sprouts, and lefse

I will be adding recipes for some of the sides as soon as I can get them from the others.

Regards,

John
 
Last edited:
John your turkey looks great. It would show better if you could post larger photos. :)

Thanks Gary - I'm not sure how to post biger ones. I am using the Forum URL code from ImageSahck to embed the pics. Each thumbnail is a link to the larger picture on IS though...

Regards,

John
 
Hello All,

We have an annual family reunion of my wife's side of the family at TG each year. There are three families with 19 people total. Each family contributes to the meal so we get a great variety of really good food. This year I did our turkey on my Weber OTG using the rotisserie attachment. I employed techniques and recipes learned here and the results were outstanding. I brined a completely thawed 13.5 lb bird in Apple Maple Brine for about 36 hours in the refrigerator. I followed this with a thorough rinsing (tap water) and a 16 hour refrigerated air dry. I stuffed the bird with two quartered apples (which fell out during the cooking process - not sure how much effect they had). I trussed the bird, iced the breast for about 45 minutes to promote even cooking, put it on the spit, and coated it with about 4 tbs of EVOO followed by a liberal sprinkling of Scarborough Faire Rub (I just can't bring myself to call it Simon & Garfunkel - the song has been around for hundreds of years). I set up the grill for indirect cooking using side baskets for the charcoal (1 full chimney of fully lit coals split between the two baskets). I ran the grill hot (~400) for the first 15 minutes and then damped the airflow to achieve 325 - 350 for the rest of the cook. I pulled the bird after internal temperature at the thighs reached 170 (Breast was about 175). The bird did not take nearly as long as I anticipated (about 2 hours and 15 minutes). I let it rest in a 170 degree oven (covered in foil) until dinner (about an hour). I let it rest at room temp under foil for about 15 minutes before carving for service. It was served along side delicacies provided by each of the families. The flavor brought by the brine and the rub were amazing. The bird was extremely juicy even after the additional oven time. The extended family really enjoyed it and I was proud of the results - there were no left overs. Pictures of the process appear below:

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Brined and Trussed Turkey - Breast Iced to promote more even cooking

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Spitted and Rubbed with Scarborough Faire

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Half Way Point - temp approximately 115

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End of Cook - Note the apples have fallen out

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Finished Product - Ready for Carving (after resting under foil)

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Plated with mashed potatoes & pan gravy, corn casserole, roasted almonds, sauteed green beans, dressing, roasted brussels sprouts, and lefse

I will be adding recipes for some of the sides as soon as I can get them from the others.

Regards,

John

While the song has been around "hundreds of years", thanks to Simon & Garfunkel, is worldwide known. Great cook!!

:cool:
 

 

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