Thanksgiving Turkey on the Big Green Egg
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| Turkey in Brine (~ 20 hours) |
Following a recipe from the Big Green Egg website by chef Kevin Rathbun, Cindee and I set out to make the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving dinner a succulent success.
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| Is there a turkey in there? |
Not having had a brined turkey before or having tried to cook a turkey on the BGE, I was extremely pleased with how it turned out. The turkey has (had) a wonderfully smoky flavor and was so moist I couldn't believe it.
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| Turkey Prepped and Ready |
Ingredients
Water
Apple Cider
Peppercorns
Bay Leaves
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Oranges
3 sprigs rosemary
1 cup kosher salt
3 yellow onions, quartered
2 heads garlic, halved
1 19 pound turkey
2 lemons, quartered
10 sprigs thyme
10 sprigs sage
1 cup chopped potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Water
Apple Cider
Peppercorns
Bay Leaves
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Oranges
3 sprigs rosemary
1 cup kosher salt
3 yellow onions, quartered
2 heads garlic, halved
1 19 pound turkey
2 lemons, quartered
10 sprigs thyme
10 sprigs sage
1 cup chopped potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
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| Barely fits into my Large Big Green Egg |
Equipment: Large Big Green Egg, V-Rack, Cherry wood chips
Preheat the EGG to 350ºF / 177ºC without the Plate Setter.
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| Time to rest after a 3 hour smoke |
Pour the water into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, oranges, rosemary, salt, two-thirds of the quartered onions, and 1 halved garlic head. Mix until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove the giblets from inside the turkey and reserve for another use or cook and taunt your relatives with them. Rinse the turkey well. Place the turkey in a new plastic container. Pour the brine over the turkey, making sure it’s completely covered. Refrigerate for ~20 hours.
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| Plated and Ready to Eat |
Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse well to remove the brining liquid, and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brining liquid and solids. Stuff the turkey with the lemon quarters, the remaining halved garlic head and onion, thyme, sage, and potatoes. Brush the turkey with olive oil and season with pepper and garlic powder. No need to add any more salt given the brine bath it's had for the past day.
Soak 4 cups of cherry chips in water in a medium bowl for 1 hour. Scatter the cherry chips over the hot coals to add that little extra special smoke. I used the oak based hardwood lump charcoal for the primary fuel source which by itself leaves a wonderful smoky flavor to anything you are cooking. Also, I originally had the plate setter being used but ended up taking it out. I think, given the size of the bird we were smoking, the air flow was impeded to a degree that it affected my ability to keep the temp up where it needed to be. Removing the plate setter gave me extra room below and above the bird which allowed better temperature control. Place the turkey on the V-Rack and put the V-Rack in the Drip Pan. Place the Drip Pan on the Plate Setter and close the lid of the EGG. Cook for about 3 hours. If the turkey starts to brown too quickly, carefully tent the turkey with aluminum foil. I probably could have tented our bird a little earlier than I did. But then again, the flavor of the skin was fantastic so perhaps not. Continue cooking until the instant read thermometer registers 165ºF / 74ºC.
Remove the turkey from the EGG and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. To carve turkey, for many years we've followed Bobby Flay's approach to serving turkey or chicken. It's a great and very easy way to cut up a bird for serving. The YouTube video for how to do this can be found here.
As a side note, for the wine pairing with this meal, while I normally would have reached for a Pinot Noir (likely from my current favorite winery - Bergstrom), I grabbed another recent find courtesy of the wine-meister (dare I call him a Sommelier?) at Costco - 2007 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo. This particular wine from Chianti brought back memories of our family trip this past summer to Italy. So, I picked this wine as much for the memories as for the wonderful drink.
As a side note, for the wine pairing with this meal, while I normally would have reached for a Pinot Noir (likely from my current favorite winery - Bergstrom), I grabbed another recent find courtesy of the wine-meister (dare I call him a Sommelier?) at Costco - 2007 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo. This particular wine from Chianti brought back memories of our family trip this past summer to Italy. So, I picked this wine as much for the memories as for the wonderful drink.
