The F.U.N. Place Recipe Box Archives

Smoked Turkey

Serves 8 to 10 Rinse the turkey inside and out with cool water and pat dry. Reserve the neck and giblets for gravy or stock. Rub the turkey inside and out with the oil. In a small bowl, mix together the poultry seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, and celery salt. Rub the mixture all over the turkey, inside and out. Place the sprigs of sage, the onion and the garlic in the cavity of the turkey. Tuck the wings behind the back. This keeps the wing tips from over-browning and makes the turkey easier to carve. Tie the legs together with a piece of kitchen twine. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh or breast, making sure the bulb doesn't touch the bone.

Place the seasoned turkey, breast side up, on the grill directly over the drip pan. The hot coals should be divided equally to the left and to the right of the drip pan. Place the cover over the grill. After 45 minutes or so, check the fire to see if the coals need replenishing. If so, add a few pieces of charcoal to the edges of the hot coals. Thirty minutes before the turkey is done, add mesquite chips which have been soaked in water for at least 1/2 an hour to the coals for a smokier mesquite flavor. If at any time it seems as though the turkey is browning too quickly, make a "tent" out of aluminum foil and cover the bird loosely. Smoke the turkey 11 to 12 minutes per pound, or about 3 hours for a 16 pound turkey. The meat thermometer should register 180 to 185 degrees when the turkey is done.

Posted by Homebound on November 17, 1998


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