Festive Turkey on the BGE

Jimmy99s

Hey BGE'rs,

Finally getting around to doing another post... hadn't tried a turkey yet, picked up two approx 15 lbs each after Canadian Thanksgiving. One for practice, and one for Christmas dinner. Did some reading, found this article to be quite useful: https://dizzypigbbq.com/recipe/mad-max-turkey-method/

Thawed out the turkey completely. Removed giblets, etc and simmered all day for stock / gravy later. Mixed my own rub made up of: paprika, seasoning salt, garlic and onion powder, pinch of summer savoury, sugar. Applied evenly, some mixed into a paste with softened (not melted) butter. Placed in a roast pan (should be slightly bigger than the one I have) breast up, stuffed only with some onion / apple halves, and splashed with some white wine. The other key point made in article --- covered breast a large freezer bag of ice for 30 mins prior to going on the BGE. Supposed to help ensure dark meat is done at same time as breast.

Fairly straight forward cook otherwise. Dome temp at 325F. Roast pan fit nicely in my large BGE, I set it on three little blocks of concrete to keep the roast pan off of direct contact with the plate setter. I need to invest in some BGE "feet" for this! Basted several times in first hour, and covered with foil for about the last hour. The turkey cooked faster than I planned (cooked for 4 hours, but it did end up being a bit over). The pic showing 188F internal temp is at 4 hour mark. However, this was a practice one and was able to get closer to perfect for the Christmas dinner turkey. Gravy recipe on the above website was pretty awesome, basically make a roux from the drippings then add some of the stock to your desired thickness.

All in all - pretty fun. The BGE proves to be quite versatile not only as a smoker, but an oven as well!

Canugghead

Welcome aboard. The gravy is the bomb, our kids even used it as salad dressing. Back in the day Mad Max would open his turkey hotline on Canadian and US Thanksgiving. I called him because the turkey was browning too fast 
BGE 'feet' have been discontinued, you can use copper plumbing T's or elbows, or hex nuts, or foil balls, etc to create the space. I also made some mini hockey pucks with leftover high temp cement.

Carolina Q

You won't go wrong with Mad Max Rosen's method. As you have discovered. 

Feet can be found at any garden shop. Terra cotta planter feet.