Grilling Turkey

A few days ago we talked about Deep Fried Turkey. Today I want to discuss grilling turkeys. But before I get to that, a quick update on this month's FabulousFoods.com Cooking Club challenge. Eliot Brown was our first entry. Eliot made Jorge Cruise's Turkey Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries. Way to go Eliot! You incorporated three of the Favorite Fall ingredients into this one post. Check out Eliot's recipe notes, or learn how to enter this month's challenge yourself by clicking to the Cooking Club Blog.

Turkey on the Grill
Grilling a turkey makes good sense for busy cooks, especially if you're dealing with a small space kitchen. With the turkey cooking merrily away on the grill, the oven is free for other chores such as cooking large pans of dressing, side dishes or even home baked pies. And, as always, grilling cuts down on clean-up time so you'll have more time to relax and enjoy the day.

Whether you have a gas or a charcoal grill, you can use it to prepare a moist, delicious turkey, if you keep a few tips in mind.

• After removing the plastic wrapping, prepare the turkey by freeing the legs from tucked position and removing the neck and giblets from neck and body cavities. Rinse the turkey and drain well. Turn wings back to hold neck skin in place. Return legs to tucked position. It's not necessary to truss a turkey for the grill.
• You can marinate the turkey by using a fork to make random holes over the entire bird. Place the turkey in a large, plastic cooking bag or clean plastic trash bag and pour in the marinade. Close the bag securely and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Before cooking, scrape off excess marinade and discard.
• Do not re-use marinade to baste the turkey.
• Do not stuff a turkey that's to be grilled as it can take too long for the temperature of the stuffing to reach the required temperature of 165° F.
• Keep the lid on the grill closed as much as possible to prevent heat loss.

Full Turkey Grilling Tutorial
You will need to use the indirect heat to grill the turkey. Our full photo tutorial includes grilling times and temperatures, how to place the drip pan (important so your turkey doesn't burn and scorch, and more. Turkey Grilling Tutorial.

More Traditional Turkey
I found a great blog post at Culinate on how to make a traditional Brined and Roasted Turkey. Check it out at this link.