The best way to cook a turkey

Rylee62

Hello fellow eggheads! This is my first post, for I am a new egghead. - I purchased a large Green Egg about 3 weeks ago and love it. - Love it sold much my Weber Summit went to market. - My question is Turkey? - Is it best to cook 300 degrees standing up beer can style. - or lay it down traditional style. Im going to give it a light Apple and Pecan smoke. Its a 18# bird - Im thinking about 20-30 minutes a pound. Cook to 165 degrees. Indirect heat, drip pan with a little water??? Any ideas would be welcome. thanks friends. Rylee

TexanOfTheNorth

Rylee, welcome to the forum and to the lifestyle!

Not sure there is a "best" way to do a turkey. Here's a link to one method that I used with great results...

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1157846/yesterdays-turkey#latest

Your other options should also work.

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  If you want to change up a turkey cook go with spatchcock style.  Here's a link for a chic-just super-size it. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/spatch.htm  And an 18 lb bird is about the max size for spatchcock on a LBGE.  Ice the breasts for about 20 mins and then go for it.  Set-up that works:
Set on the egg, raised, indirect @ 375-400.  Legs to the back. 
Approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes to low 160's in the breasts and 180's in thighs.  Great eats.

cook861

Welcome 

gdenby

Hi! I think you are going to enjoy yourself. There' usually a medium learning curve for the Egg, and a tendency to go overboard accessorizing.

One of the finest ways to Egg a turkey is Mad Max's method. Its somewhat elaborate, and aimed at making a Thanksgiving centerpiece . Still, very good info.

Typically, I'm much simpler. Dry brine the turkey for a few days in the fridge. Make some herb butter, and shove it under the skin. Cook raised over a drip pan, dome 350-ish. Pecan for smoke. Maybe a basting or two. Yeah, breast meat 160 - 165.

Rylee62

Thanks for the tip! Im learning fast! I have grilled, baked, smoked, Love my egg!

Rylee62

I wanted to update - has anyone experienced fast cooking on the egg. I just cooked a 16# unstuffed turkey in 3 hrs flat. I figured 5hrs. Its now resting inside the egg until company arrives. another 2 hrs! ugh. Internal temp on bid is 170 degree's. Should stay warm! Cook was at 300 degrees. Steamed with beer and water - added a little apple and pecan smoke flavor. Should be good. Happy 4th of July

Rylee62

blind99

Welcome to the forum! Your cooking time is right on. wrap it in foil, and a beach towel, and put it in a cooker. It should stay over 140 degrees for many hours. Happy 4th and good eating!

TexanOfTheNorth

Was 300* your dome temp or at grid level? How far apart where the two temps?

Skiddymarker

I like the mad Max technique, but rather than ice the breasts, I've cooked the last two turrkeys breast side down for the first 2/3rds of the cook, breast up to brown the skin for the last 1/3rd. 12# birds BTW, so easy to flip. 
Yes the egg will cook a turkey much faster than you might think. 
Have never had a beer can or inverted one come out right, spatchcocok is OK, but SWMBO says it looks like a Franken Chicken. 

Chubbs

Queue @Mickey

Mickey

Spatchcocked Turkey and Chicken on the Big Green Egg

(you cut out the backbone and cook opened)

I like a 11/12 lb bird. If I need lots of turkey I just cook a couple ( 1 & 1/2  hr cook app)

Chicken 3 to 4.5lb bird or birds. Under an hour cook. 

Or, just add a package of legs extra. 

I do not brine the turkey or Chicken. 

If time I like to leave uncovered in the fridge overnight (no problem if no time) 

I cook "direct" @ 400 on a raised grill "skin side up" and never turn over.

I will use a coffee rub. Use what you like.

NOTE PLEASE (A LOT OF SMOKE IS NOT YOU FRIEND)

I use about a single handfull of mixed chips: Cherry & Pecan. 

Cook to temp (not time) breast @ 165 and thigh @ 175

 

Coffee Rub (turkey, chicken, beef & pork)

Equal part: Instant Expresso Ground coffee..

Equal part: Brown Sugar..

½ part: Black Pepper..

½ part: Kosher Salt..

½ part: Garlic Powder..

¾ part: Ancho Chili Powder..

  Don't worry on exact, just close on measurement. I used to use turbinado sugar but we like with brown better. This is pulled from MollyShark, Hungry Man, & Richard In Fl then tweaked. I find the ancho chili powder is far less expensive in the bulk spice area than the bottled area ( have used both light or dark version). I make it starting with a half cup Instant Expresso Ground coffee and work from there as it seems to store well if sealed.

Bentgrass

Looks great Rylee !  Here is a pic of a 22.5 pounder I did a few weeks ago on my large.  Was a tight squeeze.

TigerTony

I love turkey cooked on my bge. For me there is no best way. I like all teh methods. Traditional, smoked and spatchcocked, it's all good.
Here is a picture traditional style style

SGH

TigerTony said:

 For me there is no best way. I like all teh methods. Traditional, smoked and spatchcocked, it's all good.

I have to agree brother. I love turkey just about any way that it can be prepare. I would add deep fried and pan fried slices to your above list. 

Rylee62

Thanks all - the bird was a great! everyone loved it. 

SoCalGirl

Turkey.  Ah, yes. 
The hubby bought 3 frozen turkeys when a store went out of business and sold to the walls.  (Not to mention the 3 frozen full racks of baby back ribs.) It may be fall officially, but it's still too hot to warm up the kitchen for a 20 lb bird, so I thought I'd fire up the egg.
Didn't have time to brine (which I will next time), but used a curry/black pepper/salt rub.  350-400* with basting every 30 minutes and just short of 3 hours it was done.  Fabulous.  I just used water and herbed butter to baste, and the gravy came out as well or better than any I've ever done.
We usually smoke a fresh turkey on Thanksgiving, but this year I'm egging it with just a little smoke.
Thanks to everybody who posted here (and posted links) about turkey.  I managed to read enough to know what I needed to do.  I've never been the barbequer in the house but HWMBLT (I'm SWMBO, he's He Who Might Be Listened To) hasn't been near the egg yet.  I'm having a blast!

PASmoke

Sorry I'm a little late to the dance on this one....but welcome! I have found Turkey on the BGE to be fantastic....it's the only way I make our Thanksgiving bird now. But I had to work through two challenges that it looks like you came across too. 1) It does cook faster than in the oven - even when using the same temp - which I've always found strange. 2) Color: If you don't give it a good tinfoil wrap it will turn very black. 

Once you adjust to those quirks - you can't beat it! 

How did yours survive the two hour rest and turn out?

heypatk

No wrong way to BGE a turkey, when my kitchen was being remodeled I made Turkey for the first time on my egg.  I did several practice runs prior to Thanksgiving since Turkey was 58cents a lb.  So it is all good.  I have brined it using Alton Brown's brine, and I have not brined and dressed it up in a bacon sweater.  They both had big compliments.  But I cooked it at 325 and will not use my oven for Turkey ever again

fishlessman

for tday i follow the madmax recipe for a traditional roasted turkey, but ive also been known to low and slow a bird, different product but still has its merits
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1142418/low-and-slow-turkey

Raymont

+1 mad max, maybe because I love the gravy!