Weber 2-zone: Cooking the Ultimate Turkey on a Grill
If you are using a grill in a 2-zone setup, you can start it in the indirect zone with some smoke, and then, when the meat hits about 150°F, flip it skin side down on the hot side to make it ultra crispy. This method is ideal for a grill.
Preheat the grill in a 2-zone setup and shoot for about 325°F in the indirect zone. Add the thighs and breasts first on the indirect side. After 15 to 20 minutes, add the drums and wings. Watch their temps individually with an instant read thermometer. Remove the breasts and the thick part of the wings at 160°F and the dark meat at 170°F. When the meat hits about 150°F, if the skins aren’t crisp, move the meat over to the direct side. Everything will be tender, juicy, and finished in about 1.5 to 2 hours.
Strongly consider butterflying (spatchcocking). It guarantees a moister bird and cooks much faster.
Dry Brine
If your turkey is not labeled “basted”, “self-basted”, “enhanced”, or “kosher”, help the proteins hold onto liquid with a dry brine.
1/2 teaspoon salt per pound
poultry rub
Preparing The Wet Rub For Turkey A dry rub is a mix of spices and herbs rubbed into meat, but for turkey, we’re going to use a wet rub. The wet rub goes under the skin. Additional rub on top of the skin, the oil helps crisp the skin.
parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme with oregano, basil, bay leaf, black pepper, and sugar. Use a rub without salt if the bird has been salted at the factory or you have salted it with a dry brine.
Spread the remaining rub on top of the skin. If you run out, rub the exterior with olive oil and sprinkle it with a little black pepper, sage, and thyme. Salt on the skin will help it crisp.
Preparing The Turkey Gravy
▢2 onions, skin on
▢2 medium carrots
▢1 rib celery, leaves and all
▢3 quarts water
▢1 cup apple juice
▢1 tablespoon dried sage leaves, crumbled (do not use powdered herbs, they can cloud the broth)
▢1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
▢2 whole dried bay leaves
make a succulent thin gravy the way you would make a soup stock, with giblets and trimmings from the bird, onions, carrots, celery. We will put them in a pan under the bird to catch its smoky drippings. Let the gravy remain thin and potent. Hot thin gravy will also warm the meat if it has cooled off too much.
A day in advance and after the bird has thawed, open the bag it came in and pour the juices into a deep foil pan. Remove discard any plastic pop-up thermometer. Pull everything out the cavities. Put everything except the liver in the gravy pan. Trim excess skin and fat from around both cavities and put them in the pan along with the neck and the juices. Cut off the wing tips at the first joint and add them in the gravy pan. If you are spatchcocking, rinse the brown organ meat off the backbone and discard it and throw the backbone in the bath.
Onions: leave the skin on, cut off the ends and cut the onion into quarters.
Carrots: Peel the carrots and cut them into 2 inch lengths.
Celery: Use the entire rib, leaves and all, cut it into 2 inch lengths.
Add these to the pan along with the rest of the gravy ingredients and refrigerate.
Cooking timeline
Timeline for a 6pm Thursday dinner
| WHAT TO DO | WHEN TO DO IT |
|---|---|
| Purchase everything except salad, begin thawing regardless of size | Friday morning |
| Unpack bird, check thaw | Wednesday morning |
| Prep gravy, make the wet rub | Wednesday |
| Apply salt dry brine, buy salad | Wednesday |
| Preheat cooker and gravy, apply rub | 1pm Thursday |
| Put turkey on the grill on and add wood | 2pm Thursday |
| Add water to gravy pan if necessary | 3pm Thursday |
| Add water to gravy pan if necessary | 4pm Thursday |
| Remove gravy, strain, skim fat, taste | 4:30pm Thursday |
| Remove bird, heat gravy, carve | 5pm Thursday |
| Splash with gravy, serve | 5:30pm Thursday |
Begin by preheating the grill about 5 hours before your guests are ready to sit down.
Prehead to 325°F When hot, clean the grate before you put the drip pan in. Place the drip pan of gravy onto the cookeron the charcoal grate.
Add your smoke wood. apple, alder, peach, cherry, and oak. Avoid mesquite, and hickory.
Place the bird on the grate, breast side up, close the lid and don’t open it for an hour.
Check the progress after 60 minutes. If necessary, add a quart of boiling water to the gravy pan. Maintain at least 2 inches of liquid in the pan. Do not let the solids in the pan burn.
Serve your meat hot and crispy. No need for a prescribed resting period. remove each breast lobe and slice it across the grain, making it more tender and making sure each slice has a strip of skin on it.
Carefully remove the gravy pan from the cooker. Pour it through a strainer into a large pot or saucepan. I use the OXO Fat Separator. If you don’t have a fat separator, use a large spoon or basting bulb to remove most of the fat. Discard the solids. If you find the gravy flavor is weak, bring to a boil and cook it down. Add salt as needed only before serving.
Splash some on the carved meat just before I put the platter on the table.