Turkey is really good grilled. There’s a trick to getting it juicy and savory every time; inject butter. It really improves the turkey, which sometimes can come across as a bit dry.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 turkey (9 lbs)
- 3 tbsp your favorite bbq rub
- 2 oz butter
Sauce
- 3 small carrots
- 1 red onion
- 5 oz bacon strips
- 2 cups cooking cream
- 0.5 apple (peeled and pitted)
- 2 tbsp cognac
- salt, pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the turkey with cold water, and pat it dry with a paper towel. Rub the whole bird with the bbq rub.
- Melt the butter in a pan until it is runny. Let it cool off for a few minutes.
- Fill a marinade injector with the butter, and inject in the breasts, thighs and wings. Inject in a virtual grid with 1 inch distance between the holes. Push the needle down, and start injecting butter when you slowly pull it back up.
- Grab a large aluminum pan and put the carrots, bacon and onion in it. It shall be placed underneath the grate and the turkey. It will collect juices and fat dripping from the bird.
- When the turkey is prepared, fire up your grill, have it running on indirect heat at around 140° C / 280° F. I add 1-2 chunks of cherry wood to the fire for a little smoke flavor. A turkey this size takes approximately 2.5 hours to cook. When the turkey has reached 70° C / 158 ° F internal temperature (make sure you check in several spots), remove it from the grill and let it rest while you make the sauce.
Sauce
- Scrape off everything in the aluminum except the bacon, and place it in a sauce pan.
- Add the cream, cognac and apple, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Pour everything into a blender, and blend well. Pour the sauce back into the sauce pan, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Looks great, Hank. Have you ever done this with liquid margarine?
It is getting close to Thanksgiving , and I am starting to crave turkey. Please keep the recipes coming!
Hi David!
No, and I don’t think I ever will. I mean, why use margarine when you can use real butter? 🙂
Thank you for your reply, Hank. The reason I ask is that I have seen several BBQ recipes, recommending liquid margarine and some say that it has a particularly buttery flavor in barbecue?
I’ve also heard the same thing said about butter flavored Crisco.
Hi David,
personally I would personally always pick real butter over an artificial product. However, I guess the only way to find out is to test it. Give it a try with both margarine and butter and see what you like best.