Consider a brine.
Brining your turkey helps to add flavor to your turkey and keep it juicy while it cooks. There area plenty of brine recipes to choose from, depending on your preferred flavor profile. Should you decide to brine, submerge your turkey in the brine in a large bucket or bag the day before you plan to cook it. Flip the turkey halfway through bringing to be sure the entire bird gets the benefit of the extra flavors and juice.
Season your bird.
Again, you can choose any flavor lineup you prefer, but rubbing the skin, or underneath the skin, of your turkey will increase the flavor profile. You can go as simple as salt, pepper and olive oil; you can go with a spicy Cajun rub, or you can rub crushed garlic and lemon zest under the skin.
Stuff your turkey.
We’re not talking about typical bread dressing here. Stuffing your turkey helps add another layer of flavor to your turkey. Whether you choose to stuff your turkey with lemons and oranges for a citrus flavor or traditional onions, celery and carrots, the flavor additives can be stuffed in the cavity of the turkey or placed on a drip pan below your turkey.
Cook with wood chips.
One of the main reasons to cook your turkey on the Big Green Egg is that the Egg gives you the ability to add more flavor by smoking your turkey with wood chips. Popular choices for smoking a turkey include pecan chips, apple wood chips or hickory chips. Regardless of which type of wood you prefer to smoke your turkey with, make sure you’re choosing high-quality wood chips for the best temperature control and flavor.
Maintain a temperature around 350 degrees.
The ability to control the cooking temperature on a Big Green Egg makes creating a perfectly cooked turkey simple. Most cooks recommend cooking your turkey between 300 and 350 degrees. At the lower temperature, the turkey will cook in about 15 minutes per pound, and at the higher temperature, it will cook in about 12 minutes per pound.
Remove the turkey from the grill when the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
The only true way to know when your turkey is done is to monitor the internal temperature. Your turkey should be removed from the grill when the meat is 165 degrees. If you notice the skin is browning too quickly, you can tent it with aluminum foil until the turkey has finished cooking. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
If you’re ready to tackle cooking a turkey on your Big Green Egg this holiday season — or if you’re ready to invest in a Big Green Egg — stop by Tri-County Hearth & Patio to check out our selection of Big Green Eggs and accessories.