I’m going to share my interpretation of one of the best soups in the world with you. Which, I’ve been told, was developed because British soldiers stationed in India couldn’t begin a meal without soup. Every soup fan should put this on their bucket list since it is so hearty, delicious, and soothing. With naan, please.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 whole turkey |
Ingredients
- 1 (12 pound) thawed whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh savory
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon salt (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ cup olive oil
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Rinse turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Combine savory, sage, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; rub 2 tablespoons herb mixture inside the turkey cavity and inside the neck cavity. Loosen turkey skin over breast and legs; rub remaining 2 tablespoons herb mixture underneath loosened skin. Rub olive oil over entire turkey.
- Light 20 charcoal briquettes and place 10 on each side on the lower grate of a kettle charcoal grill. Place a drip pan or disposable aluminum baking pan in the middle of the lower grate and pour in water. When the coals are gray with ash, place a 2-inch square piece of hickory or other hardwood onto each bank of coals.
- Place turkey on the cooking grate and cover the grill. Monitor the heat with a grill thermometer to maintain a temperature between 150 and 250 degrees F (65 to 120 degrees C); add 3 to 5 coals to each side, about every 90 minutes. If pieces of hardwood burn away, add more to keep a steady stream of smoke rising from the wood. If open flames erupt when you open the lid, douse them with a drizzle of water or beer.
- Smoke turkey for 20 minutes per pound, about 4 hours; let the heat increase to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) during the last hour of smoking. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching a bone, should reach at least 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).
- You can also brine the turkey with 1 cup salt per gallon of water for 12 hours in the refrigerator (this helps thaw it faster, too).
Reviews
I marinated the bird overnight in brine in the fridge. Absolutely, will make it again. It took about 6 h to cook on the smoker.
Used a propane smoker but followed the recipe otherwise. Turned out great!
Yes I Would Make it again
Delicious! We used this recipe for our family Thanksgiving. We smoked it at 200 for about 4 hours.
I found a recipe, similar to yours in our local newspaper, about 30 years ago and have been using it every thanksgiving. We all love how the meat is so moist. Thank you Tom for sharing your recipe.
This was pretty easy since it was the very First thing I have EVER smoked! I have a combo gas, charcoal, smoker. It was a trick to 1. Start the smoker, ( Good thing I wasn’t Appling as a contestant on Survivor!! LOLOL ) LOSER! & 2. keeping the proper temperature going. I had my spray bottle of water, which helped even more then closing the dampers, they only did so much but still too hot. My 13 lb. brined turkey took less then 2 hours. Too hot, I get it:) It was very good! I did give hubby a piece before we ate dinner and he thought it was ham. It was a Smokey Thanksgiving as I also served Ham! hahaha. Thank You Tom T. had fun with this one!