TURKEY

Preparing the Turkey

Ensure that the turkey is fully thawed to refrigerated temperature (no ice left deep inside the cavity).  Rub the skin with vegetable oil to coat it evenly, then season with salt and pepper to your taste. I don’t stuff my turkeys because they take longer to cook. In my experience this results in a dryer bird.

Cooking time:- I allow 20 minutes and then an additional 20 minutes per kilo, so for a 5 kilo bird I would allow 20 plus 5 times 20 or 120 minutes in total.

I allow the cooked bird to stand for ten minutes before commencing carving. That should achieve an internal temperature of 165f , the current USDA standard.

Method

1   Lay a sheet of foil folded so that it is double thickness on top of the grill bars,   the sheet should be just big enough to cover the area of the family Q roasting   trivet. Double thickness creates a small air gap that helps with insulation.

2   Place the roasting trivet on top of the foil so that the legs of the trivet hold the   foil   in place.

3   Use a knife to make slits in the foil so that fat dripping from the turkey can drop   between the iron grill bars to the bottom of the barbecue.  When doing this we   are trying to make sure that the fat doesn’t fall onto the grill bars. Make the slits   each side of the centre burner not directly above the iron.

4   Light the barbecue, (outside burner only and set to high) and preheat for 10   minutes with the lid down and the trivet in place. Do not light the centre burner.

5   After preheating place the prepared turkey on the roasting trivet and close the lid.

6   Continue cooking the turkey with the lid thermometer around the 200c mark.   (It depends on ambient temp a bit, but try setting the burner about 4 notches above low or 4   notches below high to achieve this).

I hope this helps in cooking the perfect Turkey for you and your family.Merry Christmas.