Ho, Ho, Whole BBQ Christmas Turkey!

If you haven’t tried BBQ’n a whole Turkey before you’re missing out! The finely developed smoky flavours, succulent meat & crispy skin are truly worth the couple of hours it will take. Plus it frees up your oven for roasting other yummy things!
We’ve scoured the internet for tips, trick & turkey-hacks to help you with your BBQ Turkey mission. Here it is…go forth & BBQ!

INGREDIENTS:
– Based on a 5kg Turkey – yes it’s a biggin’ but adapt where necessary for a smaller bird.
– 1 Lemon sliced
– Juice of one lemon
– 1 Bunch of Rosemary leaves picked
– 1 Bunch of Thyme leaves picked
– 200g Butter for smearing & stuffing
For Brining:
– Container or tub that holds 10 litres of water
– 800gm salt (for Brining)
For Cooking:
– Roasting thermometer

TURKEY PREP:
Brining or salting then rinsing the Turkey is a popular method used to ensure the cooked turkey will retain an excellent juicy factor. By all accounts…yes, this seems to work every single time!
Place your turkey in a tub of 10lts of water that has had 800g of salt poured and mixed through it. Leave overnight, in the refrigerator.
Do desalinate, place in fresh water (without salt!) for an hour, ensuring you change the water every 15 minutes. Try to empty cavity of liquid as best you can & pat dry the skin.
METHOD:
Place lemon slices, rosemary, thyme and a large nob of butter in the cavity. Reserve some rosemary, Thyme & Butter to use for basting. Secure the legs with butcher’s string or close the cavity with skewers.
Pour lemon juice over the whole bird, and smear well with butter on all sides
BBQ PREP:
The indirect heat method will be used for the Turkey in a classic Charcoal BBQ <insert hyperlink to BBQ product page> that has a roasting lid.
For great results use our classic http://bit.ly/FirebrandCharcoal . If you want to try and get a more smoky flavoured Turkey you could try mixing in some pieces of our http://bit.ly/HardwoodLumpCharcoal
You will need to light enough for a medium heat and have more prepared on the side to add to the cooking process about an hour in.
A http://bit.ly/FirebrandChimneyCharcoalStarter is an easy and safe way to get your first lot of charcoal lit & then re-use to light your second batch and hold them until you are ready to add to the BBQ an hour in. the Chimney also makes it easy to remove charcoal if you find the temperature gets too hot during the cooking process.
Place a foil tray in the middle of the BBQ, directly underneath where the bird will sit & pour half a cup of water into the tray.
Light your charcoal, wait until they are white-hot all the way through then spread around the edges of your BBQ.
Juices will drip into the tray that can be reduced and used for Gravy later and the water helps maintain a little humidity in the barbecue.
Ensure your coals cool down sufficiently before placing the turkey on to avoid burning the skin too fast.
Place your Turkey in the centre of the Grill & close the Roasting Lid.
Cook for 2 hours & 15minutes basting every half hour with Rosemary & Thyme steeped in melted butter. Turn over about half way through the cooking process & add more pre-pared charcoal to maintain heat.
The turkey is ready when the internal temperature reaches 65c at the thickest part. Be sure to rest the bird for at least ½ hour before serving, wrap with foil to keep warm.
Serve with your favourite roast veggies, reduce the drippings for gravy & ENJOY!!!