Weber Turkey

I was asked to post this on another thread so rather than Hijack that one I'll do so here.

I've been doing whole turkeys on a Weber charcoal kettle grill for about 30 years. The process is pretty simple.

Ingredients: 1 whole fresh or frozen turkey,( If you can get one with the pop up button, go for it) 1 to 2 pounds of sliced bacon, (Don't be fussy about the bacon the cheaper and fattier the better!) Spices or Rubs as desired.

Tools: Large rectangle cake pan or glass cake dish big enough to hold the turkey. Toothpicks

Lighting the charcoal grill. Arrange the grill on a level surface and place a pile of 15- 20 briquets or lump charcoal on the bottom rack directly under the handles of the main rack. This is very important as you will need to feed charcoal through the handle slots in the top grill rack as cooking progresses. If using lump charcoal sort it to save the smaller pieces to feed down through the rack. Light the charcoal and let it burn to a uniform light gray as you prepare the bird.

Prepare the turkey by removing the giblets from inside the body cavity and under the neck skin. You may find them in either or both places. Rinse the turkey with cold running water inside and out. Turn the wing tips behind the back of the turkey and place the turkey breast up in the baking dish. Rub the outside of the turkey with black pepper or other desired seasonings. A little rosemary ot thyme is nice. Stay away from seasoned salt or other salts as the bacon will provide enough salt. Then starting at the very front of the bird, at the bottom right next to the pan, wrap a slice of bacon around the front of the bird securing the ends with toothpicks. Over lap another slice by about 1/3 above the first again securing with toothpicks. Proceed with bacon slices up and over the top of the bird just like shingling a roof until the entire bird is hidden in bacon. At some point you will no longer need the toothpicks as the bacon will lay flat on it's own. Gravity is grand, isn't it? Lay slices of bacon the length of each drum stick and half slices up the major wing sections. In short, hide the turkey under a blanket of cheap bacon. Keep in mind that you need to leave a small hole for the pop up button if your bird has one. Pour 1/2" to 3/4" of water in the pan to start things out and keep the bird moist. Eventually the melting bacon grease will seal the bird and prevent it's drying out.

 Place the pan in the center of the grill with the sides parallel to the handles so you have room to add charcoal or damp wood chunks for smoke if you desire. Place to cover on the grill. Leave the top vent on the grill about 1/4 open with the bottom vents set at about 1/2. We want enough oxygen for the charcoal to burn but want to retain heat as much as possible.

Check the bird about every 45 minutes. If you check too often you lose valuable heat but if you let the fire go out prior to adding charcoal you are really in trouble. Unfortunately, experience is the best teacher. Add 10-12 charcoal briquets each time you check the bird. Add mesquite or hickory chunks etc. if you desire. Depending on bird size this could be 3-4 hours. I usually figure a half hour past the time an oven cooked bird takes. The bird needs no basting. the bacon does it for you!

When the bacon begins to look like it's fit to make bacon crumbles for salad, the bird is nearing the done point. Watch the button or check the bird with a good meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and/or thigh. Be very careful removing the bird as it will likely fall apart. It will be extremely juicy and smoky.

This indirect method can be used for meatloaf, pork roast etc. Good luck and let me know how it turns out. Sorry for the lack of pictures but if I do this soon I'll come back and add them. Rockydog