RecipeBlog - Feature - PRO605 Turkey

Charcoal Roasted Turkey Recipe on the PRO605 Charcoal Professional BBQ

By: Andrea Alden

With the holiday season upon us, it’s time to think about fall-tastic family dinners. This Charcoal Roasted Turkey on the PRO605 Charcoal Professional BBQ is ideal for anything from a small Sunday dinner to Thanksgiving and even Christmas dinner. Serve this meal with your favorite fixings like mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and cranberry sauce. If you’re feeling adventurous, add some wood chunks to the charcoal and smoke the turkey. Try sweet woods like apple, maple, or cherry, or you can get bold with brandy-oak, mesquite, or whiskey barrel.

Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
180 min
Yield
6+
Difficulty
Medium

Charcoal Roasted Turkey Recipe on the PRO605 Charcoal Professional BBQ

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Ingredients

Method

Photos

Ingredients

1

fresh turkey approx. 10 lbs. 

1

orange, + zest

1 tbsp.

kosher salt

2 tsp. 

freshly ground black pepper

3 tsp. 

ground thyme

3 tsp. 

ground sage

6 cloves

garlic, crushed

1 small

onion, quartered

¼ cup

butter, melted

2 cups

turkey/chicken stock

butter

butter

Method
  1. Light a ½ load of charcoal and fill two of the charcoal trays in the PRO605 Professional Charcoal Grill with charcoal. Add a bit of the lit charcoal from the chimney to each. While you’re still in the grill, add a drip pan to the center charcoal basket, filled with stock and the turkey neck, giblets, two cloves of garlic and an onion, quartered. This grill will get nice and hot – around 450°FF to 500°F. If using a gas grill, preheat the rear rotisserie burner, or the two outside bottom burners and allow the grill to heat.
  2. While the grill is warming, zest the orange and then slice it into quarters. Combine the orange zest, salt, pepper, and thyme. Stuff the turkey with the quartered orange and crushed garlic. Thoroughly season the outside on all sides with the salt mixture. 
  3. Place the well-seasoned turkey onto the hot charcoal barbecue over the drip pan and allow to cook at high heat until nice and golden on all sides. This can take up to 45 minutes.  
  4. Now comes the challenging part – the waiting. Close the vents nearly all the way and rake the coals to help lower the temperature to around 325°F to 350°F. Insert the probes of a meat thermometer into the turkey thigh area being careful not to touch bone. Try Napoleon’s Digital Wireless Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer. Cook the turkey for about 10 to 15 minutes per pound, around 2 hours, until an instant-read barbecue thermometer reads 165°F in the thigh area. 
  5. While the turkey is roasting, baste it every 15 minutes, starting at the one-hour mark, with the ¼ cup of melted butter. 
  6. When the turkey has reached the ideal temperature, remove it from the grill and rest under foil and some towels for at least 30 minutes or until ready to carve. 
  7. To make the best gravy ever, while your turkey is resting, separate the turkey fat from the drippings and any remaining butter from basting. Add them to a saucepan over low heat, whisk in an equal amount of flour. Allow the flour to cook off for a minute or two, it will darken in color a little. Slowly whisk in turkey stock, turkey drippings, and/or any water from cooking vegetables into the flour mixture until you have the perfect thick texture. If the gravy is too thin, simmer until thickened, too thick, add more stock. 

PRO TIP: If you totally mess up and the gravy is too thin, take about 1 tbsp. of the gravy liquid and add 1 tbsp. of corn starch. Whisk that together until smooth and slowly add that back into the main gravy while whisking. Allow it to simmer a few minutes and it should thicken nicely. 

Holiday cooking is so much easier when you use your grill. This barbecue recipe for Charcoal Roasted Turkey on the PRO605 Charcoal Professional BBQ will be an instant classic, a family favorite. What occasions do you make a whole turkey for? Share your answers, recipes, stories, and photos to our social pages like Grills Facebook and Instagram using the hashtags #BBQTurkey and #NapoleonGrills.

Happy Grilling!

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Light Charcoal

Light the charcoal

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Seasoning Ingredients

Combine the seasoning ingredients

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - SmokeTurkey

Grill at high heat until golden, then slowly cook at 325°F to 350°F for 10 to 15 min per pound

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Nearly Done

It's nearly done. Doesn't it look delicious?

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Serve1

Serve with all of your favorite sides

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Serve2

Stuffing and mashed potatoes are a must

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Serve3

What do you serve with Turkey?

AndreaAlden
Andrea Alden

I used to be the Sultana of Sizzle, but you can call me Andrea. I have always been passionate about food. Even though I was majoring in Art and Graphic Design, I would frequently be found cooking for my friends and family.

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RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Light Charcoal

Light the charcoal

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Seasoning Ingredients

Combine the seasoning ingredients

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - SmokeTurkey

Grill at high heat until golden, then slowly cook at 325°F to 350°F for 10 to 15 min per pound

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Nearly Done

It's nearly done. Doesn't it look delicious?

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Serve1

Serve with all of your favorite sides

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Serve2

Stuffing and mashed potatoes are a must

RecipeBlog - PRO605 Turkey - Serve3

What do you serve with Turkey?