Turkey on the Weber kettle

[IdahoJim]

I want to try cooking a turkey on my 22" Weber kettle for Thanksgiving. We will be cooking a prime rib as well on our Memphis Advantage pellet grill, where I know what I am doing. The turkey is a free gift from work, so I figure if I mess it up, nothing really lost.

My wife and most of her family don't really care for turkey, hence the prime rib. Turkey is my family's traditional Thanksgiving main dish. I will need to make the family stuffing recipe also, as well as our family Tourtiere (French meat pie) recipe. Our tradition is a stuffed whole bird cooked in the oven. I want to play with cooking it on the Weber, which will free up oven space for sides that need different temperatures.

Regarding equipment, I have

• the Weber kettle (Performer with the folding table)
• a Slow-N-Sear with the removable water tray
• a SNS Drip 'N Roast pan
• 3 fire bricks
• Thermoworks Smoke and Dot (some of which will be used for the rib)

So, how should I cook this bird on the Weber kettle? It is about 16 pounds.

• Whole stuffed turkey
  • This is the way we've always done it.
  • It does introduce the issue of making sure the stuffing is cooked to a safe temperature as well as the bird.
  • Will a 16 pound whole turkey fit on the Weber kettle?
• Whole unstuffed turkey
  • This means giving up the stuffing from inside the bird, but it may be worth it.
  • Will a 16 pound whole turkey fit on the Weber kettle?
• Spatchcocked
  • I've done this once with a chicken with very good results. I'm not sure how well I can spatchcock a turkey.
  • Will a 16 pound spatchcocked turkey fit on the Weber kettle?
• Rotisserie?
  • I don't have one, but that would be an excuse to buy a new toy (and probably a Thermoworks RFX to go with it).
  • This seems pretty easy.
  • Meathead actually recommends against it in his article (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...turkey-recipe/)
• Something I haven't though of

The other question is, do I use the Slow N Sear, do an oversized snake, or something else.

Thanks you all in advance for sharing your knowledge, opinions or smart aleck comments

[ecowper]

I normally spatchcock a turkey and cook it on my WSM 22 and cook the stuffing in the oven. I have the same kettle setup as you, except that I have the SnS Kettle not the Weber. I've got a 15 lb turkey and I did a quick check, sure enough if the bird is whole it will fit just fine with the SnS insert setup. If I spatchcock it, then I think it won't fit unless I were to force the legs to point the opposite direction and maybe snug the wings down with some twine.

I've never actually tried to do a turkey on the kettle since I have the WSM, but now I'm thinking I want to try :-)

[IdahoJim]

ecowper, do you run low and slow with the turkey on the WSM 22, or do you go hot and fast?

[ecowper]

IdahoJim I go hot .... 325-350. It's just like chicken, you want it done before it dries out. I put a bit of wood in, usually apple or maple, not hickory or oak. I want it kissed by smoke, not smoked heavy like brisket or ribs.

[captainlee]

I've done whole un stuffed with good results. Smoking at a lower temp stuffed will definitely increase your time but I don't know by how much. I've done chickens on the rotisserie but never a turkey, but the chickens come out great. Depending on the size of the bird only a small one would fit on my rotisserie. If at all possible for a whole bird go the rotisserie rout.

[IdahoJim]

Just to clarify something I left out, I plan on cooking pretty hot and fast, probably around 350 degrees to get a nice crisp skin. I may throw some smoke wood chunks in the charcoal to get some smoke flavor.

[ecowper]

Jim, here's a 18-20 lb turkey on the WSM .... it's a WSM 22, so same grate size as your kettle. If you can figure out how to deflect the fire so you aren't getting direct heat, your Kettle with a spatchcocked turkey will work fine. As you can see, if you crack the leg/thigh joint and rotate the legs the opposite direction, it would work great with the SnS insert.

[radiodome21]

I’m in a similar boat as well for the past two years I’ve done my turkey spatchcock on my SNS kettle. But those are usually 12 to 13 pound birds in this year I have a 17 pounder because we have more people to feed. I also go high as well for heat because there’s nothing worse than bad skin. I might actually halve mine and do 1/2 on the S&S kettle and the other half on my Weber Smoky Mountain, which is an 18 inch. My wife is also doing one in the oven and she just does it traditional. Honestly, I’m sure it’ll turn out good either way as I don’t really care about turkey and I usually end up eating more sides anyways.

[ecowper]

I forgot to mention ..... one year I parted my turkey and did it on the SnS Kettle. it was a 13 lb bird, but parted it fit on the Kettle just fine and cooked fast. And I would say that a 16 lb bird, parted, would fit easily as well. I posted about it the year I did it

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/chicken-turkey-and-duck-recipes/1510684-turkey-dinner-did-some-new-things

[Alan Brice]

Flip/flop the legs so the bone are close to the coals. Foil the ends. Veeola.

[RonB]

When it was more than just SWMBO and I, I did whole turkeys in the kettle using the rotisserie and they always came out great. Now that it's just the two of us, I just cook a boneless breast without the rotisserie.

If you decide to try the rotisserie, I suggest using the charcoal baskets so you can move them closer or farther from the bird to get the skin you want. Also, I never truss a whole bird because that slows the cook. Keep an eye on the ends of the legs and wing tips so that you can wrap in foil if they start to get too dark. You can also remove the wing tips to prevent them from rubbing on the lid.

And get a heavy duty rotisserie. The original Weber roto I had eventually broke and stopped spinning. That's not good.

The original Weber motor lasted 2 years. The replacement has been going strong since 2013. Of course, it doesn't get used often anymore. Here's the motor:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043C5ZDI

[Alan Brice]

Put the wings/tips in yer gravy stock.

[RlsRls]

Probably too late but try to find the rotisserie kit for the 22 incher! I did one years ago on an 18 incher, probably 12 to 14 lbs. One of the best turkeys ever! Obviously great for roasts etc also...

[Alan Brice]

Only Fire had one that incl pizza door n peale, buck n half. Been handful of years.

[Jfrosty27]

I did a 13 pounder on the roto a few weeks ago. Super easy and very tasty. I used the Weber charcoal baskets with one on each side and a drip pan filling the space in the middle. I ran the grill at about 350-375 degrees. Only took about an hour and 45 minutes. The short cook time kind of shocked me.

[jayjordan]

There's an onlyfire rotisserie for the Weber Kettle 22" on sale at Amazon for $77.00

I just bought this for myself...it has been a few months since I bought grill/smoker hardware!

https://www.amazon.com/Onlyfire-2-Inch-Charcoal-Rotisserie-Masterbuilt/dp/B00XMTB1KY?crid=27O9X2Q2NNQOE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SCM 1OSj6Qwhu-Q2onIiNWv4LrPdvl5O1I901GUsvNQKX_N0igwarszhnaR9XUiY be1Yj7UdWDrjyCuTddZ-WeWD3aohYFjMGaj3XPS8ntL6ZDoRRJM-oZRgYZJp41Yb5hKNQvIov6X4kcrPH8sx3LXo46O4zcUEN1qaLv Uy8uuKVfm-zeFFIaDYD3Hbw3TGFhoXsmGEkMpLwCFBydwJaN73Dbjb-YxGdXLQoHdwBNyk.a6JP6woEDTrHy4HOh7IiE0zp3sJwzcARXQ Yo1bJOBaE&dib_tag=se&keywords=rotisserie%2Bfor%2Bw eber%2Bkettle&qid=1763669755&sprefix=Rotisserie%2B for%2Bweb%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-3&th=1

[Jfrosty27]

Mine is also the OnlyFire. Works perfectly.

[jfmorris]

If it helps, here is a 20+ pound turkey I did on my Performer, spatchcocked, with the SNS insert. As you can see, the tips of the legs wanted to hang over, so I kinda kept my fire to the middle of the SNS basket, with the legs wrapped in foil and sprawled wide. I kept the grate temp over 300f with charcoal and wood chunks.

I never buy a bird under 18-20 pounds, and sometimes 24 pounds.




Your signature says you have a 26" kettle too? Why not use that?

That said, I will be doing a 20 pounder on the Performer, using the Weber rotisserie ring. I've been doing them that way the past 3 years. I've found no issue with it, if you can truss it well, to prevent legs and wings from flopping all over the place. About 2 years ago I bought a "turbo trusser" just for use on Turkey day.

I do agree with Meathead that spatchcocked does a faster job, with likely more even results. Cooking with the rotisserie, it takes the same length of time as the oven or smoking whole at similar temps. I have found I do NOT want to use the SNS or charcoal baskets - I just bank the coals to ONE side, and put the lid vent on the opposite side of the turkey (or chickens). The SNS wall blocks some of the radiant heat that you want for browning the skin in my opinion, making banked coals, that are not directly under the bird, a better choice. I usually put a rectangular foil drip pan in there and that helps hold the coals to one (or both) side.

[IdahoJim]

jfmorris, thanks for mentioning my signature. It was way out of date. I sold the 26" kettle. I did not like how heavy the lid was. I'm loving the Performer.

[jfmorris]

IdahoJim the Performer is the one grill I would keep if I could only have one grill. So versatile, and every time I use it I love all the convenience features - propane igniter, charcoal storage, huge working surface for food prep and such.

[IdahoJim]

I'm leaning towards breaking the bird down before cooking it and doing the "deconstructed" thing. I think there will be no problem fitting on the grill that way. I also think it will make serving a bit less stressful, since half the carving is already done. It would be fun to buy a rotisserie, but then I would have to store it somewhere. I am trying to declutter as it is, and I just don't see myself using the rotisserie that much.

[jayjordan]

Meat Church has a spatchcock turkey video that might be useful.

https://youtu.be/_uCOiZmRROE?si=xxr8P8LDwnNx3-IQ

[jfmorris]

I have deconstructed it as well, and that is a great way to go. If you can, I like to keep the leg quarter intact, but debone the thigh, and tie it back up into a cylindrical shape with a few loops of twine. That gives you a nice way to slice medallions of dark meat for those who prefer it. I posted a pic of this a day or so ago somewhere. Once you slice all the thigh meat, someone can have the drumstick.

[Rod]

Here is a 14.5lber I did on my Performer with the original SnS (no water insert). For some reason I targeted 340 degrees. It took 1hr 45min to cook.

[HawkerXP]

If not using the rotisserie you will need to check for clearance between the breast and lid / thermometer. Dolly Parton turkeys will hit the inside of the lid. Spatchcocking will give you more room.