How to get that turkey just right this Festive season!

Christmas and New Year is the time to clear out of the kitchen and make your meal an outdoor one on the Big Green Egg. Whether you want to bake, roast or smoke, the Egg is the ultimate outdoor cooker for your Christmas/New Year feast. With a Big Green Egg grill, outdoor cooking is a complete breeze and requires so little effort that you’ll be free to relax with your family and friends.

As for a turkey, you can roast the whole bird, spatchcock it or cook its breast. You can brine it and then smoke it in your Big Green Egg BBQ. Check out our special turkey recipe for this festive season.

Ingredients:

• 1 turkey cleaned thoroughly
• Big Green Egg Savoury Pecan or other seasoning of your choice
• 2 cups of chicken broth, wine or water
• 1 whole onion cut in half
• 1 stalk celery

Note: If you want to soak your wood chips, be sure to do this the night before. Load the charcoal into the Big Green Egg cooker the night before, so everything is ready for the next day.

Eggcessories

• Savory Pecan Seasonings
• Pecan Smoking Chips
• Roasting Rack
• convEGGtor
• Drip Pan

Procedure

• Light the Big Green Egg cooker for 1 hour and bring the temperature to 325°F or 163°C
• Open the dome and start adding the smoking chips to the coals
• Add the convEGGtor to the Egg and then add the cooking grid
• Spread the seasoning over the turkey and load it into a Roasting Rack. Place into a drip pan
• Add the onion and celery to the pan and fill it with chicken broth, wine or water
• Place the pan with turkey on the cooking grid and close the Egg
• Check the internal temperature of the turkey after 2 hours. It must be around 165°F or 74°C )
• If your turkey has reached the ideal internal temperature, time to remove it from the Egg
• Tent with aluminium foil and let the turkey rest for a few minutes, so that the juices settle

3 simple tricks to roast a perfectly juicy turkey

When it comes to roasting a turkey, its breasts and thighs should be cooked at different temperatures. This is because the shape of the turkey makes even cooking difficult to achieve. Here are some simple tips:

• Spatchcock the turkey

Spatchcock means removing the backbone from the turkey and pressing the entire bird, so that it becomes flat. The change in the shape of the turkey will allow for faster and more even cooking. This will also help you free up room in your fridge and Big Green Egg BBQ.

• Ice the breasts

This tip will help you slow the cooking process. When you take the turkey out of the refrigerator, you can place ice packs on its breast to make it cooler than the rest of the bird. This means that the breast will take up to one hour longer to cook, resulting in dark and juicy meat.

• Keep checking the temperature

When roasting a turkey in your Big Green Egg cooker, it is important to monitor the turkey’s internal temperature. This should be done periodically to ensure that you remove it from the Egg at just the right time – without overcooking it.

Doesn’t matter if it’s your first time cooking a turkey. This simple recipe is for everyone out there who is excited about Christmas/New Year’s Eve. Don’t forget to take photos before you carve and serve this perfectly cooked bird!

Watch the video to learn more about the recipe: