How To Grill A Juicy Tender Turkey On A Grill. Barbeque/Barbecue A Turkey.

It's easy to grill a turkey on any grill it comes out juicy and tender. We have always grilled our turkeys. We use to grill in a Weber grill now we grill in a gas grill. My husband grills even when the snow is flying.

HOW TO THAW TURKEY:

There are two methods for thawing a turkey:

1. Thawing in the refrigerator:

Leave in wrapping and thaw with breast up, be sure to place in a plate or tray in case of drips. You need to start your thaw at least a day ahead for every 4 lbs. The thawed turkey will be fine for 4 days after being thawed.

2. Thawing in cold water:

Thaw your turkey in cold water with breast down and still in wrapper. Place enough water on the turkey to cover it. Water should be changed every 30 minutes. It will take about 30 minutes for every lb.

This turkey came with giblets and gravy inside. It also has the little red button on it to let you know when it's done.

Once turkey is thawed, giblets removed, rinsed inside and out, pat dry. Butter outside of turkey and salt and pepper. Place in a large metal roasting pan. We use disposable pans.

I do rinse my turkey, but I don't use the water sprayer to do this. You should run water slowly and try not to splash. According to Butterball call in, you should not wash the turkey it will spread bacteria around the kitchen and send spray all over. I know a lot of us have a hard time not rinsing our turkeys. If you do rinse the turkey be sure to clean all around the counters and sink to get rid of any bacteria that may have sprayed out.

We don't put stuffing in our turkey, but we do put in oranges, apples and celery for extra flavor.

Get the grill ready, turn all burners to high. Close the lid and preheat 10 to 15 minutes to bring the grill to 300 degrees. Each grill may be different my husband says ours always shows 300.

Make sure to check the turkey in the grill in case water has run out. Add more water if need be. It does take less time to cook on the grill so keep checking to see if it's done it may take less than 3 hours. If it has the red button you will know.

We were visiting my aunt and uncle in Florida one Thanksgiving. My aunt gets up very early puts the turkey in the oven the way we all use to do, but the year we were there she let my husband cook the turkey on the grill. It took a 25 lb. turkey 3 to 4 hours to cook.

NOTE: Save the carcass and the vegetables for making soup. Makes great soup. I put the whole carcass and vegetables in a dutch oven, cover with water. Cook until all meat is off the carcass. Strain and remove any bone or skin you don't want in the soup. You can also remove the vegetables. Save the stock for later and add whatever ingredients you would like to make soup. You can add leftover turkey and vegetables and noodles to make a nice hardy soup.

If you would like less fat in the soup place in refrigerator for a couple hours and skim the fat off the top of the soup.

We use to use our Weber grill and we cooked our turkey the same way as the recipe I have on here getting the grill ready is a little different.

• Open all vents on the grill
• Place about 30 briquettes evenly in grill
• Ignite the briquettes and, keeping the lid off, let them burn until lightly gray ash is showing, about 30 minutes.
• Place turkey in a foil covered pan in center of the grill.
• Add about 10 more briquettes evenly to the grill to maintain the heat.

Be sure to cook your turkey at the right temperature. You don't want the whole family to get sick. It should be 180° in the thigh of the turkey and it should be 170° in the breast. You can get any kind of thermometer for checking on turkey temperature.

Example of Temp for Turkeys:

14 to 18 lbs~~~3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hrs

18 to 20 lbs~~~4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hrs

Do check the water a few times to make sure it's not gone. Turkey will burn and you don't want that to happen.