I'm thinking about smoking the turkey this year.
I have a dual action char-griller grill that does gas on one side and charcoal on the other. I've been looking at some videos but they all seem to be using fancy, electronically temperature controlled pellet smokers. Not sure how I can regulate the temperature with out standing there for 3 or 4 hours and opening the lid whenever it gets too hot inside.
My grill is plenty big enough for the job but I've mainly just done burgers and steaks on it so far. This would be a more ambitious project than anything I've tried before. I've only used the charcoal side with lump-wood charcoal and a starter chimney (I don't like briquettes and I don't like lighter fluid) but I've never had to regulate the temps in a closed grill before - I just move stuff from the hot side to the cooler side of the grill as needed and generally get edible food.
I am told my ribs were great but I cheated and started them in the oven before moving them to the grill for smoke and color:
What I've read so far is:
count on about a pound of turkey per person
no more than a 10 or 11 pound bird in grill or else the outside gets way overdone before the inside gets done
it'll take about 3 and half hours to cook a 10 pounder
any experienced turkey grillers out there got advice?
Thanks!
= new reply since forum marked as read
it will taste much better 
One thing I've found that helps maintain the smoke flavor and temperature
This isnt my pic, but it's what I did
I've thought about getting a side smoker box to keep the charcoals in so I wont have to even open the main grill once I get the temps good. Hell, I'll probably go get it tomorrow and try to get a butt done for the weekend.
We splatchcocked it (cut out the backbone and flatted it.) We soaked it in a salt and chicken broth brine for 36 hours and cooked indirectly on a hardwood smoker with hickory and applewood chips. Best turkey ever. Splatchcocking allows it to cook faster than having the cavity. Put a pan under it to catch drippings for gravy and keep the pan from drying out.
Last edited Wed Nov 11, 2015, 07:58 PM - Edit history (1)
http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/ultimate_smoked_turkey.htmlI'm thinking about butterflying (spatchcock) one this year. I've done chickens that way and it works great.
But I know where to get the proper rolling papers and I use a propane torch keep them lit. 
The biggest thing is temperature control. You have to have enough heat to cook, but not enough to burn. Look for instructions for your particular type of grill/smoker. Get a probe type electronic thermometer, preferably one with the probe on a 3-foot long cable, so you don't have to open the lid and lose heat. There are even some with a "remote", where you leave the probe and a small box next to the grill, and can read the temp from 'most anywhere around the house. Most have alarms to let you know when the desired temp is reached.
Brining is good, but look closely to make sure your turkey isn't already 'needled', and injected with a flavor enhancing liquid (mostly salt). You'd be 'double brinig' the turkey, and it will be inedibly salty. (Don't ask, just don't. Please) Alton Brown from the Food Network has a really good primer on brining turkeys from one of his Good Eats episodes. It has a lot of tips and info.
Spatchcocking is a way that greatly accelerates getting the bird cooked, as it gives a greater surface area to face the heat source. I had an incident one year with a bird that was just too large for the rotisserie (that's how Wife wanted it that year). It hung up on a piece of the inside of the grill, and stayed stationary wjile the spit spun. Cooked on one area, but raw everywhere else. I butterflied and transferred to the oven, and it was done in about 40 minutes. One wing and one drumstick were a bit overdone from the extended proximity to the heat element, but everything else was just dandy.
The wood used for smoking should be a pretty mild one, fruitwood such as apple or citrus is best. If you use mesquite, the long time to get a turkey done will make the flavor way too intense. Remember, smoking accents the flavor of the meat.
Plan your meal out so that the bird is ready a bit before the other stuff is, so you can let it 'rest'. Have the turkey waiting on the potatoes, not the other way 'round.
Make sure your propane tank is full a day or two before, or that you have plenty of charcoal or soaked smoking chips on hand. Running out of gas with a half-done turkey on a holiday is Not A Good Thing.
Read up on what you want to do, and plan out your operation. Make lists of what you need and where it should be when it's needed. Make a 'shopping list' and check off each item to make sure you get it.
My philosophy is: The bird died for you, treat its' sacrifice with respect and do it up right.
Research and planning are the keys. When you have everything ready to go, and you know what you're going to do and when to do it, it all comes out right. A lot less stress for you, and when it comes out perfect (or close), the "audience" is really impressed.
Good luck.
When in Rome...
You **COOK** the turkey--you SMOKE the other stuff!
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(Oh. guess I should've read the whole thing......! Never mind............... 
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Have a tasty Thanksgiving!
to task satellite on my grandpa's patio? You have a good 'un too!
but then my wife's cranky aunt said it would be a disaster and started questioning everything we were considering so I gotta do it just to spite her. She of the never-cooked-anything persuasion.
Burgers on standby for backup lol.
Close friends and family only and not a whole bunch of people anyway so no matter what happens, i'm OK with the result. Either we get to eat good food or we have a funny story.
And then maybe after if things went so badly we end up cooking the back-up hamburgers and I need to learn why. lol
Thanks!
The good news is we are doing the dinner on Saturday to accommodate everyone's other families and schedules. So I basically have 2 days off prior to cooking to mess things up really good.
