Prepping for Thanksgiving

Along with all the stuff we are getting ready for Halloween, I am taking today to do a test run on a turkey.

I want to barbecue our Thanksgiving Turkey but I have never done it before and I would like some practice time.

Fortunately, while looking through the freezer the other day, Susan discovered we had a 12 pound turkey in there. Just right for practice.

I decided to thaw it and give it a try on my Weber, using the rotisserie and charcoal.

I am using the method for slow cooking in a Weber where the charcoal is placed in a ring around the outside of the kettle. This is known as a charcoal snake. I lit one end of the snake and that starts the cooking.

2:15 PM: The kettle is up to 200° which is good. The problem I am running into already is that the turkey is not very well secured to the spit. I have already opened the lid to reposition the bird and I am hoping that will work.

The turkey has been on the spit for 40 minutes so far. It has about two more hours to go.

3:19PM: I just shined a flashlight through the vent to see if the turkey was spinning on the spit. There was a little movement I didn't care for but it is spinning and the temperature is up to 260°.

4:53PM: It is almost time to check the turkey and see what the temperature is. I'm supposed to pull it off when it reaches 170-175° in the thickest part of the thigh. It still is not terribly secure to the spit but I have let it go anyway.

5:04PM: I just checked it and it is only at 145°. I'm going to let it go another 1/2 hour and then I'll check it again.

5:45PM: I have pulled the turkey and placed it into a cooler wrapped in aluminum foil. We are going to the Hub to have some beer and let the turkey rest.

6:30PM: I am very pleased with the way this all worked out. I have learned a couple of crucial lessons which I shall apply to the bird come Thanksgiving.

One lesson is to make sure the turkey is really bound up tight and secured to the spit. The other lesson is to do some flavor injecting into the turkey. It has a definite smoky flavor but I think it could be better.

The main thing is that I am full now.