Barbecued Turkey Recipes

BARBECUED TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse cavity of turkey with cool running water, and pat dry with paper towel. Place turkey, breast-side down, in a deep bowl or roasting pan. In a medium bowl, combine barbecue sauce, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and sugar; pour over turkey. Let marinate, refrigerated, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Light a charcoal fire, and let it burn until the coals have become white ash. Alternatively, heat one side of a gas grill set on medium-high.
• Brush the entire turkey with the marinade. Place turkey on the grill, breast-side up, near but not directly over the coals, or on the side of the gas grill that is not turned on. Cook turkey with the grill lid closed until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the leg and breast is 180 degrees, about 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Baste with the marinade every 30 to 45 minutes, rotating turkey a quarter turn each time. Add coals heated in a firestarter chimney as needed to maintain an even temperature.
• When the turkey is fully cooked, remove from the grill, and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with tomato-herb gravy, if desired, or additional barbecue sauce.

BARBECUED TURKEY SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a saucepan, saute the celery, onion and green pepper in 1/3 cup butter until tender. Add the next seven ingredients. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add turkey; heat through. Spread the cut side of each hamburger bun with 1 teaspoon remaining butter. Serve turkey mixture on buns.

OVEN-BARBECUED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Mix first 5 ingredients until blended. Remove half the sauce; refrigerate until ready to serve with the cooked turkey.
• Season turkey with pepper; place in shallow pan.
• Bake 2 hours or until done (165°F), turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce for the last hour. Serve with the reserved sauce.

THE GREATEST GRILLED TURKEY

Steps:

• Prepare an outdoor grill for indirect medium-high heat.
• Rinse turkey and pat dry. Turn wings back to hold neck skin in place. Return legs to tucked position. Brush turkey with oil. Season inside and out with Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a metal grate inside a large roasting pan. Arrange pan on the prepared grill. Grill 2 to 3 hours, to an internal thigh temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Remove turkey from grill and let stand 15 minutes before carving.

BARBECUED TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse the turkey inside and out, pat dry, and trim any excess fat. Place the turkey, breast side down, in a disposable aluminum roasting pan. Season the inside of the cavity with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Combine the vinegar, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour the sauce over the turkey and massage all over into the skin. Cover and let marinate, breast side down, refrigerated, for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
• About 1 hour before cooking, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill and let the coals burn to gray ash with a slight red glow. Keep the coals on one side of the grill to create areas of direct and indirect heat (see Know-how, page 151); if using a gas grill, heat just one side on medium.
• Flip the turkey, breast side up, in the roasting pan and brush all over with the marinade in the bottom of the pan. Flip the turkey again so it is breast side down and place the pan over the indirect heat (the side without the coals), cover the grill with the lid, and cook for about 2 hours, basting the turkey every 30 minutes with the marinade on the bottom of the pan and rotating the pan a quarter turn each time.
• Use a fire-starter chimney to heat new coals; replenish the coals every hour or so, as needed, to maintain an even temperature of about 350°F (see Know-how, page 151).
• Flip the turkey, breast side up, in the roasting pan and continue to cook, rotate, and baste with the barbecue sauce 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer, until the skin is crisp and an internal thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads between 165°F and 170°F. Remove the turkey from the grill and let rest, loosely covered, for about 20 minutes before carving. Serve warm with additional barbecue sauce on the side.
• Know-how: Grilling Basics
• Start a fire using a chimney starter (available at most home improvement stores) and hardwood charcoal, if available.
• Open the vents on the bottom of the grill.
• When the coals are lit and glowing red, dump them from the chimney onto one side of the grill and spread evenly on one side only.
• When the coals turn to gray with a red glow, they have reached their hottest point; the coals will begin to cool after that.
• If using a gas grill, set the grill on high for recipes that call for gray ash with a bright red glow; on medium for those that call for gray ash with a slight red glow; and on low for gray ash.
• Place the grate at least 6 inches above the coals and allow to get fully hot before grilling.
• To determine how hot the coals are, hold your hand above the grate, about 6 inches above the coals, and count how many seconds you can keep it there before it becomes uncomfortable: hot: 1 to 2 seconds; medium: 3 to 4 seconds; low: 5 to 6 seconds.
• To cook over direct heat, place the meat directly over the coals. Steak and fish are usually seared and should be placed over direct heat when the coals are at their hottest. If you are cooking something that takes longer, like chicken or pork, place it over direct, medium-hot heat to brown and crisp the skin, then move to the indirect heat until the coals die to low to finish cooking.
• To cook over indirect heat, move the meat to the side of the grill without the charcoal, but maintain the fire so the grill stays hot. Cover with the lid and open the vents.
• For slow-cooking dishes like Wood-Smoked Backyard Barbecued Pig (page 170), monitor the temperature using a thermometer. If your grill doesn't come with one, insert an instant-read thermometer in the grill vent to get a read on the temperature and try to maintain the temperature indicated in the recipe.
• To replenish the heat, prepare extra coals in a fire-starter chimney placed over a separate grill and add the hot coals to the hotter, charcoal side of the grill as needed.
• For information on grilling steak, see page 190.

TURKEY BARBECUE

Steps:

• Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the butter, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce and seasonings; rub 3 tablespoons over turkey. Cover and refrigerate remaining butter mixture. Bake turkey, uncovered, at 325° for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 180°, basting occasionally with pan drippings., Remove turkey; pour drippings into a saucepan. When turkey is cool enough to handle, remove meat from the bones. Shred turkey and return to the roasting pan. Add broth and remaining butter mixture to the drippings; bring to a rolling boil. Pour over shredded turkey., Cover and bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Serve on rolls with lettuce and tomato if desired.

BRINED AND BARBECUED TURKEY

Steps:

• In heavy large stockpot over high heat, bring 2 gallons water to boil. Stir in salt and sugar until completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add carrots, onions, celery, leeks, bay leaves, peppercorns, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, star anise, thyme, sage, and parsley. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Line large cooler with large heavy-duty garbage bag. Strain brine into cooler, discarding solids.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Transfer, breast side up, to cooler. If necessary, place large plate on top to keep turkey submerged in liquid. Tie bag tightly, then close cooler and transfer to cool place. Allow turkey to brine for 12 hours, turning over once halfway through. Using probe thermometer, check temperature of liquid every 3 hours and if necessary, add freezer packs enclosed in resealable plastic bags to keep temperature at or below 40°F.
• Line large, rimmed baking sheet with paper towels and top with wire rack. Remove turkey from brine and transfer, breast side up, to rack. Let stand 30 minutes to drain completely, then pat dry. Transfer to roasting pan. Tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks loosely together with kitchen string. Place butter in pan next to turkey.
• If using gas grill, open hood, light all burners, and set on high. Close hood and preheat 10 minutes.
• If using charcoal grill, open bottom and lid vents and light charcoal. Let coals burn until completely coated in gray ash, about 25 minutes, then arrange around perimeter of grill to form circle.
• Transfer roasting pan to grill rack and cover grill. If using gas grill, turn all burners to low. During cooking, adjust burners to maintain temperature at 450°F.
• If using charcoal grill, if necessary lower temperature by partially closing vents (do not close completely). Maintain temperature by adding 60 new coals, prelit in chimney starter until completely covered in gray ash, every hour.
• Cook turkey, basting every 15 minutes with pan juices (tilt pan to let juices run out of cavity) and rotating pan 180° every hour, until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 1 1/2 hours. (Time may be longer in cold weather. Avoid opening lid often because of rapid heat loss.)
• Transfer turkey to platter, cover loosely with foil, and let stand 20 minutes before carving.

BARBECUED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• The day before, make a dry brine: Put 2 wire racks on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Mix together the sugar, chili powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, cayenne and 1/2 cup salt. Pat the turkey drumsticks dry. Put 2 drumsticks in a large shallow bowl and sprinkle generously with the dry brine, rubbing it into every nook and cranny. Transfer to one of the wire racks. Working in batches, sprinkle and rub the remaining drumsticks with the dry brine and transfer to the wire racks. Sprinkle the drumsticks on the racks with any remaining dry brine. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours and preferably up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the drumsticks, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through cooking, until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer measures at least 200 degrees F, about 2 hours. Let cool to room temperature. Transfer the drumsticks to large re-sealable plastic bags. (The turkey can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
• Preheat a gas grill to medium-low or prepare a charcoal for medium-low indirect heat: bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer's guide for best results).
• Brush the grill grates with oil. Put the drumsticks on the grill (or indirect side if using charcoal) and cook, turning and basting with the barbecue sauce every 5 minutes, until the drumsticks are deep amber on the outside and heated through, about 15 minutes.
• Let cool for 5 minutes, then wrap the exposed bone-end of each drumstick with foil and serve while warm.

BBQ TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat a gas grill for low heat.
• Rub some of the butter all over the turkey, inside and out, then rub all over with chicken base. Cut remaining butter into cubes and toss with onions, apples, and garlic in a large bowl. Stuff the bird with this mixture and place in a disposable aluminum roasting pan. Fold the turkey skin around the neck area to cover the hole and then turn the turkey over and pour wine into the opening at the other end until the turkey is full or the bottle is empty. Set the turkey breast side up.
• Place the roasting pan on the grill and cover loosely with aluminum foil. If you have a pop up timer or heat safe meat thermometer, insert it into the turkey breast. Close the lid.
• Roast until the temperature in the breast reads 170 degrees F (75 degrees C) and the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 degrees C (80 degrees C), about 4 hours depending on the temperature of your grill. When the temperature is getting close, remove the aluminum foil covering the turkey and allow it to brown during the final minutes of cooking. If it starts to brown too much, just cover it back up. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.