A big thanks to Paul Holzschuh for sending in this tasty recipe!
I grilled my first whole turkey this weekend, and Rainsley and I were pretty happy with the results. Here’s how it went down:
11lb bird soaked in water with about a ½ – ¾ cup Kosher salt, ¼ whole peppercorns (mixed) ¼ cup sugar, and 2 of the Zatarain’s boil in a bag. I brought a cup of water to a boil with the salt, peppercorns, and sugar until the salt and sugar dissolved. I let it cool and added it to the other water, the turkey and the boil in a bag. One of the boil in a bags I stuffed in the cavity. This brined for 24 hours.
I fired up the Weber on day 2 and set up for indirect heat. It works best if you spread the coals in a ring along the outside edge of the grill so the bird can sit in the middle. (Paul likes to use natural lump charcoal and hickory chips) While the coals were going I pulled the bird from the brine and rinsed it several times. Then I rubbed the turkey with a mixture of:
3 Tbs Olive Oil
3 Tbs Lemon Juice
3 Cloves garlic
3 Tbs Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbs Fresh Marjoram
3 Tbs of the Basic Seasoning Salt
(these are all estimates)
Finally, I stuffed the turkey with a lemon quartered, an apple quartered, and fresh sprigs of Rosemary, Sage, and Marjoram.
On the grill it went over a pan of water with the remnants of a cheap bottle of white wine.
After about an hour and a half, I started basting it down with a mixture of rosemary, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, and a red onion.
It was one of those crazy days where I was able to get the heat way down low and cooked it for almost 4 hours. I probably could have pulled it at 3½, but it was still very juicy. Wrapped the turkey up for a couple of hours and let it set.
Rainsley whipped up some asparagus and rice pilaf and there it was.
Paul
Looks and sounds great! Using Brine is a great way to add flavor and juiciness to poultry.