Can You Grill A Turkey? – How to Grill a Delicious Turkey

Can You Grill a Turkey?

Happy Thanksgiving Week to all you Grillers out there. If the weather is cooling down, but you aren’t quite ready to put away your grill for the winter, you might be wondering if you can grill your turkey this week. In fact, grilled turkey the best turkey we’ve ever tasted. We know because Grill Girl had to try it out at the office one day.

You can easily grill a turkey on your gas grill with delicious results. Heat your grill to 325 degrees and use indirect heat, smoking chips, and the spatchcock method. Then get ready for a Thanksgiving meal worth celebrating. Check out details below or watch Grill Girl’s step by step videos!

Grill a Turkey, Step 1: Spatchcock the bird.

If you want to grill your turkey this year, Grill Girl highly recommends cutting out the back bone and flattening the bird down by breaking the rib bones. Then, cook the bird breast-side up. While the inside of the turkey gets cooked, the thighs and wings get done with a crispy skin. Most importantly, the breasts are cooked but not dry.

What’s in Grill Girl’s Roasting Pan?

Combine 1 Cup Apple Cider, 1 Bottle White Wine, 1 Quartered Onion, 2-3 Halved Carrots, 2-3 Halved Pieces of Celery, 3-4 Smashed Garlic Cloves, and 1-2 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper.
A note from Grill Girl: “Feel free to use one bottle minus one cup of wine in the roasting pan, but drink it AFTER you cut out the backbone of the bird. You need to be sober for that part.”

“Salt The Bird” Tips

Grill Girl’s go-to rub for poultry is 2:1 Herbs de Provence and kosher salt (for a whole turkey, it’s about 1/2 cup herbs, 1/4 cup salt). Herbs de Provence is a blend of dried herbs and spices, that traditionally includes thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and bay leaf. If those spices are a little much for you or you simply don’t have that blend, you can use any of those in combination with each other.

Spread the rub all over the skin. Then, work the rub under the skin where you can, including the thighs and the breasts. Lastly, sprinkle the remainder on the underside of the bird’s rib cage.

Grill a Turkey, Step 2: Prepare The Grill

Get smoke flavor into the turkey with smoking wood chips. You’ll need 4 cups of wood chips (whatever type you like best). Use one packet of dry chips and one packet of wet chips for maximum flavor. In other words, soak half the chips for about 15 minutes in water. After that, make 2 packets using aluminum foil with 2 cups of dry chips in one packet and 2 cups of wet chips in the other. Additionally, cut slits in the top of your packets. In the grill, place the packets directly over whichever burner is turned on. Rest the packets on the heat plates or briquettes. You can use a cast iron or stainless steel smoking tray instead.

Grill a Turkey, Step 3: Grill The Bird

First, remove your cooking grids. Heat your grill to 325 degrees. Then, turn off half your grill. Place the roasting pan over the burners that are turned off and the smoking chips over the burners that are turned on. The roasting pan and smoking chips will sit on the heat plates or briquettes you have covering your burners. Finally, replace your cooking grids and put the turkey over the roasting pan on the “off” side of your grill. As a result, the indirect heat and packets of chips create a smokey perfection.

Place an internal thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. For an accurate temperature, be sure the probe is not touching a bone. Cook your turkey to 165-170 degrees internally. For example, Grill Girl grilled this 12 lb bird for about 3 hours.

Grill a Turkey, Step 4: Remove, Slice, and Serve.

Currently, this is our favorite way of cooking the Thanksgiving bird here at GrillPartsSearch.com. With browned, crispy skin, and a beautiful pink smoke ring in the meat, our crew polished off this turkey in no time.

Likewise, running out of space in the kitchen? Throw your potatoes or other vegetables on the grill with your turkey for a complete, grilled Thanksgiving meal.

In short, Get Grilling and Happy Thanksgiving!

-Grill Girl

 

Can You Smoke Meat On A Gas Grill?

You can still get the flavor and cook of a smoker even if you only have a gas grill on your deck!

To smoke meat on a gas grill, use the different heat zones in your grill. Heat zones are formed by the multiple burners in your grill. An easy way to know how many heat zones you have in your grill is to count the knobs that control the gas flow. This method is call Indirect Cooking. You will also need smoking chips and a high quality external thermometer.

How Can You Smoke Meat On A Gas Grill Shown on a Grill

Simply follow the steps below to smoke on your gas grill!

  1. Determine the Heat Zones on You Grill
    1. Count the number of knobs on your grill that turn on or off your burners.
    2. Use ONLY ONE knob in the “on” position.
    3. Remove the cooking grid directly over the burner that is on.
    4. All the other heat zones (knobs) will remain in the off position.
  2. Prepare Smoking Chips
    1. There are many varieties of wood chips you can use to add flavor to the smoke in your grill!
    2. You will want to soak the chips before using.
    3. Wrap them in aluminum foil and poke holes in the top.
    4. Place the foil packet of chips in the heat zone that is ON.
    5. There is heat dispersal covering your burner; this is usually a stainless steel heat plate, lava rocks or briquettes.
    6. Place the packet of smoking chips ON TOP of your heat dispersal.
    7. Keep an eye on the packet. If all the chips inside burn up, replace the packet with a new one.
    8. Check out this video I made showing the prep of wood chips: See Video
  3. Prepare the Meat (or other protein)
    1. Salt and season the protein.
    2. There are many seasoning rub mixtures you can purchase.
    3. You can easily find a recipe to make your own seasoning rub!
  4. Use Thermometer to Hone Grill Temperature
    1. It’s best not to trust the grill thermometer when you want to smoke meat on a gas grill.
    2. The probe of the thermometer should be in the airspace of your grill and not touching anything.
    3. Adjust the burner that is on to get your grill to the smoking zone, usually around 180- 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. Smoke Meat!
    1. Place the cut of meat on the grids that are not above the “on” burner.
    2. Follow usual smoking instructions depending on your cut of meat or protein.
    3. Enjoy your dinner!
    4. If you’re a smoked meats connoisseur, check out these meat forks. They will change your life!

That’s all! If you’re wondering ‘can you smoke meat on a gas grill,’ hopefully now you know you can! It’s not even that difficult.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or share your favorite recipe!
-Grill Girl