I normally roast our Thanksgiving turkey in the oven. My wife won’t let me smoke the turkey because it doesn’t fit her notion of what a Thanksgiving turkey ought to be like – she doesn’t even like that I brine it. But I was thinking about cooking the turkey this year on a spit on my gas grill. I’m looking for comments and results from those who have done this. Thanks. We normally have a small bird – around 13 pounds.
Not personally done it, but my concerns would be that you might not be able to get full rotation on the bird in a normal sized grill. Chickens and Cornish Game Hens always do well in this manner, so the theory is sound.
If you do have the capacity, then I would stuff the bird with S&P, aromatic veggies, rosemary, thyme and sage. Good rub down of EVOO or better yet, duck fat and S&P on the skin. Let her spin and baste with some melted duck fat.
The hardest part is getting balanced on the spit. After that it’s super-easy, especially with a gas grill. Season 'er up and let 'er rip.
I’ve got a Weber Genesis so I think it should fit okay. Also, everything I’ve read says you need to leave the grill open – can anyone chime in on this?
BTW – I did smoke a turkey and duck at the same time once. I had the duck over the turkey. The skin on the turkey was so shiny, it looked like I had the thing plugged in! ![[dance-clap.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/835ce082e2fa9c96c4b7f96406bf6e9a0db882ff.gif "[dance-clap.gif]"){kind=small}
Not sure on the lid being up, again as I haven’t done it, but a Weber Genesis will give you the BTU’s to cook it…so it sounds fine by me.
Tim,
I have done it with great success on a normal weber kettle. No brine, just season and let er rip. The drip pan usually contains some white wine, water, herbs s&p. As it cooks the liquid reduces along with catching any turkey drippings that makes one fine gravy.