Turkey & BGE - How To

Unknown

First, please be patient, this message will have a point.[p]I have a small, metal, egg shaped oval grill that I got a few years ago from Walmart for like $17 on-sale. It has a hinged lid on top, clam-shell doors on the side, two cooking grates, vents on the top and bottom, and makes one hell of a smoked turkey (full sized - 20lbs.).[p]I open the clam-shell doors, load the second grate with coals (briquettes), light them, and let them ash over. I then move the coals around to the sides and place a drip pan in the center of them on the second grate. This catches juice for the gravy and helps to maintain indirect heat. I then put the bird, unstuffed with a digital temperature probe inserted, on the top grate over the drip pan. I place some wood chips on the hot coals, close all the doors and lids, and open up all the vents. At 325 degrees a 20 pound turkey takes me 4 hours. I can almost set my watch by it. The turkey comes out golden brown, and smells and tastes out of this world. It's the only way I cook my turkeys, and in fact thats the only thing I use that grill for is cooking turkeys.[p]The only problem I have is I need to check every 45 - 60 minutes to see what the grill temperature is. The grill comes with a thermometer built in so I can check it pretty easily. When the temp drops below about 300 I have to light a small batch of charcoal and put it in to bring the temperature back up. This is pretty easy since I have a chimney type charcoal lighter and the clam-shell doors on the side give me easy access, but its time consuming among other things.[p]My uncle has a kamodo he brought back from Japan like 25 years ago so I'm aware of how good these things are with most types of grilling. I'm thinking about whether or not I should buy one of these, and I was just wondering how turkeys would work. Do large turkeys fit? Do you need to add more coals for longer cooking times, and if so is there an easy, efficient way? I've cooked turkeys on a round weber kettle grill, and everything worked about the same as above, but to add coals I had to lift the turkey, grate and all, and hold it off to the side while my wife took the tongs and added the hot coals to the grill. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that holding a hot, 20 pound turkey straight out from your body for 2 minutes is hard.[p]Anybody with any experience of cooking large birds on a BGE (mostly with respect to if and how to add charcoal)?

mad max beyond eggdome

Jym,
to answer you questions simply, i did my thanksgiving turkey last year in my large bge. . .1 full load of lump charcoal, with a couple of chunks of apple wood. ..had my turkey in a traditional roasting pan... got the temp steady at 325 and roasted it for 6 hours. . . came out perfect with charcoal to spare. . .with the efficiency of the egg, there is no need to worry about adding more fuel. . . and the moisture retention of the ceramics makes for a very moist bird. . .

egghead2004

Jym,
So far my experience with the egg is not with 20lb turkeys (which will easily fit in the large BGE), but 8 pound pork shoulders and butts. I've done 5 overnight cooks all between 18 and 22 hours of 225-275 degrees. In each cook, half of the charcoal still remains when the meat is done. You should easily get 12-16 hours @375. One of the nice properties of the BGE, is the ceramic material holds the heat in, it insulates. There is very little heat loss, thus requiring a smaller flame to heat the dome. You will not have to add charcoal when cooking anything with one of these eggs.
I have a Webber kettle and know exactly what you go through to add charcoal. I used to start it in a chimney and add a few coals by dropping them in on the side of the grill. It's a pain and you loose heat and moisture every time you open it.
Last December, right after Thanksgiving I tried to cook 2 prime ribs on the kettle, but we were in the middle of a major snow storm, I could not keep the temp over 275 with the wind and blowin snow. Fianly I had to bring the roasts in to finish in the oven. I'm not at all worried about long cooks this winter...I know the egg will do just fine.

Smoked Signals

mad max beyond eggdome,
What about gravy & smoked food? I've noticed that a smoked turkey and normal pan style gravy do not complement each other. What did you use?

katman

Jym,
I've got one of the large, old style (I call them low temp) kamado eggs as well as large and small "ceramic" eggs. If you get an egg you will be able to put one full load of lump in, cook your turkey at 325 shut the vents on the egg and have a little lump left for another cooking session. Once you have a stable temp and get your cook going you will be able to go do something else while the egg takes care of your turkey.

Toronto James

Jym,[p]Thanksgiving and Christmas are big turkey events in our family and this weekend (Canadian Thanksgving) marks another Turkey on the EGG.[p]I do big guys -- like 18-20 lbs and they just fit a Large BGE.[p]The taste is special and freeing up the oven for all the veggies and sides is great.[p]I like to brine my turkeys and then cook indirect at pretty high temp -- like 450 -- 500 to start. Another great part of having the Turkey on the Egg is with high temp your smoke detector would be blowing in the kitchen if you tried the same in the oven. (I also do the low and slow for other things but the combination of brining and high temp works well for me).[p]I can't recomend the BGE highly enough. The only drawback is the pricetag -- just bite the bullet, hand over your Visa card and enjoy![p]

mad max beyond eggdome

Smoked Signals,
by roasting in a traditional method (ie, in a roasting pan) in the egg i think i got the best of both worlds. . .i got a moist, roasted turkey with a nice hint of smoke, and the pan drippings that came from it made for fantastic gravy. .everybody who ate my bird last year said it was the best ever, and a couple of folks here on the forum followed my directions (nature boy was one of them) and they too had great success. . .[p]i basically prepare my bird by stuffing it with fresh herbs (mostly sage and rosemary), a quartered apple and a quartered onion) . ..i take a couple of sticks of butter, mixed with finely chopped herbs and smear that on the bird. . .i quarter a second apple and throw it in the pan. . .finally, i take about 2/3 of a bottle of white wine and pour it all over and in the bird. . [p]again, i roast the bird at 325 degrees, so it is not really being 'smoked' as one would do if really going lo and slo. . .the drippings from all of this makes for a fantastic gravy. . .in addition, at the same time i put the bird in to cook, i take the neck, giblets, heart, liver, and put in a big stock pot full of water, along with more herbs and celery, and let that simmer the whole time the bird is roasting (adding water as neccessary to maintain level). . ..[p]once the bird is finished, i drain the fat from the good crud in the pan. . .put the pan directly on the stove on high heat, take the meat off the neckbones, the giblets, hear and liver, dice them up very small and add them, add a couple of sticks of butter and about 1/2 cup of flour, whisk this all together into a nice roux. ..add the rest of that bottle of white wine (no, you weren't supposed to drink it while the turkey was roasting). . .keep whisking to reduce the wine. . .then start ladling in the turkey broth you spent all day making. . keep it cooking at high heat while adding more broth. ...get it to the consistency you want. .. it its too thick, add more broth. .. too thin, add a little premade flour/water paste (don't put more flour directly in the gravy or you'll get lumps). . .salt and pepper to taste. . .[p]i promise you the best gravy you've ever made. . .

Smoked Signals

mad max beyond eggdome,
So you really didn't smoke the bird ... you roasted it with a hint of smoke? I think I did the opposite of above... I smoked a bird with a hint of roasting. [p]I'll compare that gravy reciepe to my wifes. It looks very similar. She makes good gravy too. I know we will need several bottles of wine ... we drink it while we cook. [p]I'll try a couple of cheap-o birds or breasts before T-giving. Practice Practice Practice.[p]Thanks for tips.
Doug

Unknown

Smoked Signals,[p]When I roast the turkey on the grill I add a handful of soaked wood chunks (mostly hickory) to the coals once or twice. This of course gives the turkey meat a very nice hickory smoked smell and taste. In the drip pan I add a cup or so of broth, that I make from the giblets, every time I add more charcoal. This gives the broth a hickory smoked flavor as well, which translates very nicely to the gravy. It also gives the gravy a very dark caramel color. Tastes awesome.

katman

Smoked Signals,[p]My approach is simialr to what mad max does (only his recipe sounds better). The turkey comes out with a nice smoked flavor. You get a really tender turkey if you use a big bird. And, if I want gravy, I don't brine. Brining turkeys is something I'm playing around with to get my salt/water/ and soak time to my liking. I think the drippings would be too salty--and I like salt.

fishlessman

mad max beyond eggdome, following your directions last year i made the mistake of using red wine. makes a very unusual "purple" gravey. while good, it was a real hard sell. i have no problem with purple gravy and am thankful they left it for me.

mad max beyond eggdome

Smoked Signals,
one last bit of advice. .. i've been doing the turkey now for over 20 years for t-giving. . .i've tried at least once every trick known to man for getting the breast to be done at the same time as the thighs (paper bag method, foil tenting, roasting breast side down, old towel over the breast). ..the foolproof way to insure breast being done at the same time as the thighs is to take a one gallon zip lock bag full of ice cubes, and lay it across the breasts for 20 minutes prior to putting it in the egg/oven. . .this lowers the breast temperature sufficient enough that it takes the full roasting time to catch up to the thights, insuring that they will be done at the same time. . .well cooked dark meat with moist not overdone breast meat. . ..give it a try.. .

mad max beyond eggdome

fishlessman,
LOL. .. .this year try a nice bottle of white. . . everyone will like the color better. . .

terrafirmay

mad max beyond eggdome,
Icing the turkey breast is a terrific idea. I'm going to do it. [p]You didn't mention brining. Do you brine and, if so, what brine mixture do you use?[p]Thanks.[p]****

mad max beyond eggdome

terrafirmay,
to be honest, i've never ever brined anything in my life (not that i don't like it, i'm just to lazy). . in my most humble of opinions, between the butter slather, the 2/3 bottle of wine, and the moisture retention qualities of the egg, along with the ice bag trick, i've never had any trouble getting an extremely moist and flavorable breast on a turkey. . .and from what i understand, the drippings from a brined turkey aren't as good for gravy, and the drippings i get make for fantastic gravy. .. just my two cents. . .i know others here swear by brining.. .you just have to see what you like best. . .

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,
So when you pour the wine on the bird, do you have the drip pan under it so that the wine ends up in the drip pan during the cook?

LasVegasMac

Jym, You won't regret investing in a BGE - large one. Lot's of folks have all ready posted their "how to" info - all great. I usually do birds in the range of 18-20 lbs.[p]After two bird cooks on my "first" large BGE, the wife said that it would be fine if all turkeys are done on the BGE. Good stuff.[p]True, BGE's are a bit more expensive than your average grill / smoker....but after you get used to using it you will wonder why you did not buy one sooner! I now have two - my twins![p]Good luck - and check back here often.[p]LVM

LasVegasMac

mad max beyond eggdome, man, sounds great. The use of the roasting pan got my attention. I basically do what you do, drip pan instead. The only problem I've had is not watching the temp close enough and the dripping start to boil away. I use a hunk or two of cherry wood at the start only, the drippings have always been great for the gravy.[p]Making the gravey has become a tradition with the neighbor - great stuff.[p]One question - you said "traditional" roasting pan. Did you requisition one from the kitchen or go buy a new one - just for the Egg ?[p]Happy Eggin',[p]LVM

mad max beyond eggdome

LasVegasMac,
the turkey roasting pan i use is about 80 years old, had belonged to my wife's aunt elsie (a great old virginia cook). . .its made of aluminum and was probably pretty expensive in its day.. .has a small trivet like metal platform that the turkey sets on to keep it just off the pan bottom. . .after 6 or 7 hours in the egg it takes some good elbow grease to get it clean (my sister keeps telling me to put uncented shaving cream all over the outside to make cleaning easier but i haven't tried it yet). . .it has long oval shape that just fits into the egg so its perfect. . ..in order to keep the drippings from boiling off, or worse, scorching in the bottom of the pan, i did use an inderect setup courtesy of nature boy. ..basically, a couple of metal bars with a pie pan i kept full of water underneith the roasting pan so i had indirect heat. . .worked great. ..

mad max beyond eggdome

Ryles,
you bet, i don't pour the wine on until the very last step before it goes in the egg. . .so the bird is already in the pan, and to clarify i try to pour most of the wine into the bird's cavity itself, so over time it is helping to steam the bird from the inside out (almost like a beer can chicken in effect). . .but as the wine mixes with the bird's juices and the butter that has melted from the top of the bird, i use a basting bulb to constantly baste the turkey, drawing liquid from both the cavity and the pan. . .by the end of the cook it has all blended together very nicely. . .

Shelby

Jym,
I remember the days of smoking a big turkey on my old water pan smoker. Had to baby sit the thing all night, keep adding coal, etc. Then, I got my large egg. Now, I put the Thanksgiving bird on at 7am and we're eating a moist well cooked bird with little or no hassles.[p]Get an egg and you'll retire every other grill you own.

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,
what is the Ice bag trick? Thanks
David In Spring Hill Fla.