Grilling Tips: Turn Off That Oven! Grilled Turkey Recipe for Thanksgiving

Grill Your Turkey! We Don't Need No Stinkin' Ovens!

Purists beware. May very well not like what you are about to learn when it comes to the standard Thanksgiving Turkey. It is my belief that while oven roasting a poultry gets it cooked, grilling that bird results in a poultry that's cooked with immense flavor. Being "turkey experimental non-purists", I also recommend smoking and frying your bird as alternatives but that's a blog for another day. table grill

Turkey is significantly more flavorful when grilled. I encourage you to try this immensely flavorful method this Holiday season. The main element ingredient is to brine your bird first. Brining infuses extra moisture to your turkey preventing it from becoming dry during cooking whether you oven-bake, Grill, smoke or deep fry your bird. Specifically, brining is defined as:

"a salt marinade which in turn causes meat tissues to absorb water and flavorings by wearing down proteins. This is why brining is a favorite method of preparing a Thanksgiving or Holiday turkey because any moisture loss while roasting still produces a juicy and flavorful turkey" ;.

To properly brine a turkey you'll need to start the night time before you want to cook and serve your meal. You will require at least 10 to 12 hours set aside, a big enough container to keep your turkey and enough brine to cover your precious bird. Also, don't forget salt, water, seasonings, and enough room for refrigeration. A large stock pot, large oven roaster, or a 5-8 gallon very clean plastic bucket would make perfect containers. The main element to determining the container size is set by allowing yourself room enough to turn the turkey, so it ought to be big.

Now onto the fun part. The turkey should be cleaned out and completely thawed, if frozen (although we always recommend a fresh bird). It is essential to note that the turkey should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that'll make the turkey too salty.

Making the Brine

To make the brine, use a ratio of 1 cup of iodine-free salt to 1 gallon of very clean, very fresh, chlorine free water. You will require more than 1 gallon of water but that's the ratio to aim for. Ensure that the salt is completely dissolved before adding the seasonings you select, ensuring not to incorporate anything which contains extra salt.

"Brines can be spicy/hot with peppers and cayenne, savory with herbs and garlic, or sweet with molasses, honey and brown sugar. Whatever your taste preference, you will find a sizable number of brine recipes out there" ;.

Carefully place the turkey in a box and pour in enough brine to fully cover the turkey with a few inches since the the top of turkey. It is essential to not have any area of the turkey above the top of the brine. Next, place the container, turkey, brine and all in the refrigerator. The turkey should sit in the brine for at least 10 hours but not more than 24! Brining for a long time will destroy the flavor. If you are employing a smaller than 10 pound turkey, cut down on the brining time or reduce the quantity of salt in the brine.

When you are ready to begin cooking, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it off in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surface. Discard the brine and cook your turkey per picking a cooking methods. Again, that is where we might lose the purists as we recommend grilling your turkey! Grilling a chicken is not sacrilege or verboten. Many early Americans did not have metal indoor ovens and leveraged lots of the grilled turkey recipes and methods they learned from their native American friends.

Grilled Turkey Recipes - The Basics:

There are many factors that could influence how your turkey will prove, so watching the basic principles is extremely important. To start with, since you is going to be grilling indirectly with a low fire the weather plays a significant role, especially in late Autumn and Winter. Although a cold temperature plays a position, the most important weather condition to be cautious about is wind. Wind robs heat from outdoor cooking appliances, and due to its very nature comes and goes into wisps rather than a regular temperature, so watch your grill temperature closely.

"The choice between the use of charcoal or gas makes a large difference. As a guideline, gas will be easier due to time of year. All in all, according to what you own, or what your grilling method preference is, prepare yourself for the variables" ;.

To begin, you will have to create an indirect fire that will hold a constant temperature in the 300 to 350 degrees F. range. This really is where the ability of a gas grill makes play. If the current weather isn't likely to cooperate we strongly recommend gas, simply as a result of fact that you can control the temperature much easier.