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Whole Barbecue Turkey RecipeThis barbecue turkey recipe delivers a worderfully moist result everytime so don't just leave it for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It's for the full bird so you’ll need to prepare your barbecue for a monster cookout - it’ll take about 4 hours to do a medium sized bird. There are pro's and con's to cooking your turkey low and slow. Firstly the negative is that the skin will be tough and inedible, it's the same whether you do a chicken this way or a turkey. For me it's not such a big issue with the turkey (but I do like crispy skin on my chicken) probably because cooking a whole turkey is much more of an event and there's usually so much more going on around my plate that the lack of skin really doesn't bother me. In addition, the positive far outweighs the negative and that is that your bird will be supremely succulent. What I like best about this sort of cooking is that you afford to be flexible in your timing and within reason the bird won't dry out. So for me, low and slow is always the order of the day when it comes to the whole turkey. For this particular barbecue turkey recipe I'm using a basic and mild seasoning so I don't want too much smoke, in fact I'm just going to set up my
kamado barbecue
for indirect cooking without the use of additional wood chips. (Other models such as the Weber kettle barbecue smokers work just as well).
For added flavor and succulence I've also brined my turkey in this traditional brine for smoked turkey overnight prior to the cookout and then layered a few rashers of streaky bacon on the top to protect the breast. So a low heat is required of about 225°F or 110°C, indirect heat, drip tray in the bottom filled with warm water and off we go. TIP - It is important to get the full mass of your barbecue up to the right temperature and under control from the start, that way you know exactly how long your bird has been cooking for. The seasoning is pretty simple, just sprinkle with salt and pepper and have some oil & butter mix on hand to start the basting process. Melt 100g / 4 oz of butter in a pot and add a tablespoon of oil – this baste will give all the flavour of the butter without burning it. Work on a relatively small bird around 9 – 12 lbs (5 or 6kg), season and baste and then lay breast side up on the barbecue. It may be necessary to use foil to shield the sides but that really depends on your barbecue. Put the cover on, cook at 225°F and baste every 30 minutes or so with your butter / oil mix and 3½ hours later you should have the perfect barbecue Turkey. Test it with a skewer for clear running juice or a use a bbq thermometer to check both the breast and thigh meat for a temperature of 165°F (74°C). If it needs another 30 minutes then so be it. Now this is one of the most important points about any barbecue turkey recipe; when you're happy that it's done, take it out of the barbecue and allow it to rest for at least an hour. This will give time for the juices to cool and settle in the flesh. Carve into it any earlier and you'll end up mopping the juice off the floor. If you can wait longer then please do, I would normally let a bird of this size rest for about 3 hours. Even for this length of time you've got such a big mass of meat that it won't go cold and if you serve on hot plates then no one will be any the wiser. See Also:-
Smoked Turkey With Chili Sugar Rub
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