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How To Cook ATurkey

Roundman
Roundman Posts: 43
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hey All,[p]I have a twenty pound turkey I would like to cook on the BGE. Any one have any tips. I have followed the advice from this forum on boston butt, brisket, chicken, and double smoked ham. Now I need some advice on cooking the best ever turkey.[p]Thanks,[p]Roundman

Comments

  • Chef Wil
    Chef Wil Posts: 702
    Roundman,
    best ever turkey, spatchcock that sucka.

  • KevinH
    KevinH Posts: 165
    Chef Wil,[p]I'm still not far up on the learning curve, but I don't think a spatchcocked 20 pound turkey will fit on a BGE. He will be lucky to put it whole on a drip pan on the lower grid and get the dome to close. :-)[p]Might be able to cut it in half and use the spatchcock method one half at a time. 20 lbs is ridiculous![p]I say coat it in olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, salt & pepper, stuff the cavity with a couple of lemon halves, onions, and celery stalks. Then set the whole thing in a large aluminum pan and cook it at 325 degrees for however long it takes to get the meat thermometer to read 170 in the breast. Lay it on its back. Might even want to cover the wings and legs in foil to keep them from getting scorched.
  • Chef Wil
    Chef Wil Posts: 702
    KevinH,
    theres many good recipes out there and yours sounds good as well, but trust me on this one, I did a 21 lb'er 2 weeks ago, spatchcocked, cooked for about 7 hrs. and turned out really good and juicy and a crispy skin. The turkey was brined.

  • KevinH
    KevinH Posts: 165
    Chef Wil,[p]Your experience obviously trumps my speculation. What temperature did you use? I spatchcock chickens at 350-375.
  • Roundman
    Roundman Posts: 43
    Chef Wil,[p]What temp and for how long, spatchcock sounds good. I love my chicken cooked that way. Do you just cook it till the temp get to 170 degrees in breast?

  • Chef Wil
    Chef Wil Posts: 702
    KevinH,
    I am still learning myself. I come on this forum as a form of continuing education for me and my egg. There have been more than a few non complimenting cooks done on the egg and a few good ones. I just like to challenge the egg <wink>.

  • QBabe
    QBabe Posts: 2,275
    Roundman,[p]I like to brine mine and then do it indirect over a drip pan at about 325°. My 20 lb maple-brined bird took about 5 hrs (my understanding is that a brined bird will be faster than one that wasn't brined).[p]maple-brined-turkey.jpg[p]I've never tried spatchcock turkey, but I'd think that you'd be very challenged for room with a big one like you have. It really fills up the space just as it is, let alone opened up. My recommendation would be go the traditional route with the big boy and get a smaller bird to try and spatchcock sometime.[p]Have fun and let us know how it turns out...![p]Tonia
    :~)