Grilled Turkey

My family loves turkey.  My son is actually a turkeyholic kinda guy.  During the summer months when its insane to heat up the oven to roast a turkey I change venues and use our Weber Grill for turkey roasting.  This can also be done on a gas grill but I think the Weber is worth the effort.

Start by preparing the grill.  You will need a drip pan in the middle of the grill where the charcoal is placed.  I make mine just out of a couple of layers of foil.  Since the turkey is cooked with indirect heat the charcoal is placed in a circle around the perimeter of the grill.  Once the charcoal has started to turn white put the grate on top and you're ready to grill.

A 12 to 14 pound turkey will take approximately four hours to cook.  Each hour you will need to add some additional briquettes to the fire.  No more fuel just charcoal.  I add about 20 additional briquettes each hour, to do this there are voids on the side of the grate where the handles are, you can just feed the charcoal right through the voids.  This is the only attention you need to pay to the turkey while roasting on the grill.

To prepare the turkey

Ingredients

12 to 14 pound turkey

Medium jar of sauerkraut (drained)

1 package of kielbasa or smoked sausage (sliced)

Clean the turkey, remove the inside packages of extras (these can be used for stock) and dry the cavity.  Stuff the turkey cavity with a mixture of the drained sauerkraut and sliced sausage, just like you would for a traditional stuffed turkey. This combination keep the turkey moist and provides you with a wonderful side dish when the turkey is finished. Salt and pepper the turkey and you're ready.  Place the turkey directly on the grill and cover.

Fast forward approximately four hours, if you turkey has a pop-up timer it will work with this grilling method just like in the oven  and you will have a beautiful bird for your summer table and the house remains cool.


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