Rotisserie Turkey

[Joetee]

Ok, this yr I'm gonna try a 16# Rotisserie Turkey. I'm planning on doing a dry brine of coshire salt for 24 hours. Then rubbing Olive oil and Simon and Garfunkel rub before I put it on the heat.
I'm gonna try to keep it at about 325° grill temp. Remove it from grill at about 160° IT. Should be about 2 1/2 to 3 hrs.
Gonna try Meatheads gravy in the pan under the bird.
I'm gonna use a Cajon bandit rotisserie with a slow n sear on my 22 inch kettle with a little apple wood in the beginning.
Gonna fill the SnS with unlit charcoal except for about 12 hot coals on one end.
Also gonna cover wing tips and leg bones with a little foil for maybe an hour at the start.
Gonna cover the SnS water reservoir with foil as well.

What do you all think? Any suggestions? I'm trying to follow Meatheads idea except for the Rotisserie.
Thank you

[RonB]

I've been doing our Thanksgiving turkey on the rotisserie for years. The Weber setup is not at all airtight, so I don't try to control temps. 350* to 400* is OK with me. I do start with a full chimney of lit coals and let it go as high as it wants to go. Either in the SnS, or the charcoal baskets from Weber. If you use the SnS, make sure the turkey will clear the edge. I also suggest adding a piece of foil over the edge of the SnS to prevent drippings from flaring up and burning the skin.

With a turkey, it's important to get the bird as well balanced on the spit as possible. It needs to be very tight too. If it slips and goes out of balance, you can strip the gears in the motor. Don't ask me how I know this...

[FireMan]

How do you know this? 👀

[jefferson]

Thanks for the info, very helpful... in your experience, what is the biggest bird you can fit on the rotisserie and clear the SnS? I will get a slightly smaller bird than Joetee, somewhere around 13.5-15#

[RonB]

jefferson - I've only done one turkey since I bought the SnS. If I remember correctly, it was ~ 13 lbs.

[EdF]

Only one suggestion. I'm assuming you're going with 160 for the breast. A half hour before you put that fella in the cooker, put a bag of ice cubes on the breast. That'll allow the breast and backquarters to hit a more equitable set of temps.

[Mudkat]

Genius!

[EdF]

I cribbed the idea from some lineage of cooks before us. Main thing is it works!

[jgreen]

Good tip. I will try that too. Thanks.

[jefferson]

Thanks for raising this topic Joetee, I am doing exactly the same thing but had not worked out the details as far as you... super helpful!

[Joetee]

Thanks for raising this topic Joetee, I am doing exactly the same thing but had not worked out the details as far as you... super helpful!

We must put our heads together when trying something new. I've done chicken which came out wonderful. A turkey is a little bigger. One thing I hate is dry turkey.
so I'm open to any advise.

[texastweeter]

Inject, dry brine, butterball...

[RonB]

I've never had one come out dry on the rotisserie, but I do monitor temps closely once it starts getting close. One thing you can do if the dark, (or white), meat gets done first is carefully remove both dark quarters and continue cooking what's not done. You can continue the cook either in the kettle or the oven. It will affect the presentation, but not too much, and that's better than overcooking parts.

[BluesDaddy]

I basically did this last year and it was great. I like cooking the turkey on the rotisserie better than any other method, and I've about done them all. Good luck. I'm sure it will be great.

[Daddio on the Patio]

For those that have done this in the past, are you trussing the legs/wings at all, or just lettin’ her ride?

[RonB]

Trussing makes a neater package, but holding the leg quarters close to the carcass slows their cooking. I never truss, but I do foil wing tips and/or leg ends if they are getting too brown. Trussing also prevents browning of skin that is in contact with other skin.

[Joetee]

RonB commented
Yesterday, 01:46 PM
Trussing makes a neater package, but holding the leg quarters close to the carcass slows their cooking. I never truss, but I do foil wing tips and/or leg ends if they are getting too brown. Trussing also prevents browning of skin that is in contact with other skin.


RonB, you say you never truss. How does this work on the Rotisserie? Seems the legs would flop around and eventually fall off. Or drag and get caught on something.

[RonB]

I have only used the SnS for turkey once - last Thanksgiving. I did not have any parts fall off, but the leg bone may have bumped up against the SnS. I'm really not sure though. BTW - if the leg is ready to fall off, it may be done. Just sayin....

[Jon Solberg]

RonB Did you see an advantage to using the SnS over your previous method? Are you going to stick with the SnS this year?

[RonB]

Jon Solberg - I didn't notice any difference, but I only cook turkey once a year. Turkey is not my favorite, but I can eat it. We will be in Austin this year for Thanksgiving, and our son does not any type of grill or smoker, so I will use neither.... I have done a lot of chicken on the rotisserie and have not noticed any difference.

[Jon Solberg]

I hear ya on not the fav! I normally do ribs and lasagna but my Dad made the call this year. Happy to do it I'm guessing.

[Joetee]

I'll put it all together before the fire to see if everything fits ok since I have two kettles. Cold kettle for balancing and fitting everything. Make adjustments as I go and then pick it up and put on the fire. If I have to, I can just bank it or use the baskets. Some how it will work.
Not trussing sounds easy enough but I think having a tighter package might help with the balancing.
I have two 16 pounders. The first one on Wednesday is my experiment learning bird. This juice and some of the meat will be used on other dishes. The second one on Thursday with be the show bird. Having 20 people means more meat. LOL

[RonB]

If you are worried about something banging against the SnS, you could tie each leg loosely to hold it in place without them pressing against the body. The baskets are shorter than the SnS, so it the bird is too big, I'd use the baskets. When using the baskets, they should be offset from each other so that you have hot coals along the whole length of the bird. I put one basket on each side.
The baskets will overlap in the middle though they are on opposite sides, so you might have to angle the ends of the basket closest to the middle away from the bird if the middle is browning too fast.

[Joetee]

Ok thank you guys

[BluesDaddy]

Just to add a little observation, I think it will probably cook a little faster than you're anticipating. Also, I always truss my birds and haven't had an issue with doneness of the thigh and leg for the roti. Provides a much more even cook than just standard roasting.

[Joetee]

Just to add a little observation, I think it will probably cook a little faster than you're anticipating. Also, I always truss my birds and haven't had an issue with doneness of the thigh and leg for the roti. Provides a much more even cook than just standard roasting.

Thank you. In about to find out in a few days. I'll be doing one on wed or early Thursday morning and then another one for the show bird for Thursday after noon. I'm guessing about 2 1/2 to 3 hrs for a 16 pound bird at about 325 grill temp. Is this about right?

[Mudkat]

Good luck with this. I like the attention you are giving it. You are putting a lot into it so I am sure you will get back a great bird!