16.5 lb Turkey on the Searwood XL! (yes, it CAN be done)

[akhugelier1]

It’s not Thanksgiving, but I was itching to try something big on the Searwood XL, and just so happens we had a heritage turkey that we bought extra last November. I’ll get into the what/how, but man, it was delicious! I was really surprised this could actually rotisserie a 16.5lb bird, but it definitely did! Cool side note, if you’re dealing with a large bird or roast, I found you can remove the center grill piece and still put a foil pan in on top of the flavorizer bar. Pinch the other racks together to help hold, and viola!

The lowdown:
I brined the bird overnight for about 15 hours, took it out rinsed and dried it off, then let it sit in the fridge for another 6 hours on a rack. I made a garlic/sage/thyme butter and spread it under the skin and on the outside. Trussed it up, layered on Kosmo Q’s Dirty Bird (one of my faves), and fired up the Searwood XL. I smoked it for an hour and a half on the smoke boost setting, then ramped it up 375 degrees for just over two hours. Skin was crispy, but not burnt at all. The meat was super juicy! The pics look like it took on a lot of smoke, but it was subtle in terms of BBQ. The Fam loved it for sure, and it definitely had a slight smoke ring.

What I’d change:
I think when I do this again I’ll leave it on smoke boost for at least 2 hours, as I could definitely taste the smoke flavor but was hoping for a bit more. I think 375 was the right choice, but I could see 400 being an option for super crispy skin. All in all, a great cook and will definitely be trying once or twice more before turkey day. Thanks for reading all this, hope it helps!

 

[Bulkman]

Thanks for posting this! I was just thinking I need to try a turkey BEFORE Thanksgiving! I've done lots in my old stick burner, but not on the XL yet.
What was your IT?

 

[akhugelier1]

Internal was right about 150 in the thickest part of the breast when I pulled it. Normally on Thanksgiving I’ll rotisserie a similar size bird on my kettle and pull at the same temp, but then let it sit for 30-45 mins. Haven’t done one on my stick burner though, curious to hear your method. I always feel like I’ll either over smoke it, dry it out, or leave it with rubbery skin. What’s your go to method for that?

 

[LamboTexas]

It’s not Thanksgiving, but I was itching to try something big on the Searwood XL, and just so happens we had a heritage turkey that we bought extra last November. I’ll get into the what/how, but man, it was delicious! I was really surprised this could actually rotisserie a 16.5lb bird, but it definitely did! Cool side note, if you’re dealing with a large bird or roast, I found you can remove the center grill piece and still put a foil pan in on top of the flavorizer bar. Pinch the other racks together to help hold, and viola!

The lowdown:
I brined the bird overnight for about 15 hours, took it out rinsed and dried it off, then let it sit in the fridge for another 6 hours on a rack. I made a garlic/sage/thyme butter and spread it under the skin and on the outside. Trussed it up, layered on Kosmo Q’s Dirty Bird (one of my faves), and fired up the Searwood XL. I smoked it for an hour and a half on the smoke boost setting, then ramped it up 375 degrees for just over two hours. Skin was crispy, but not burnt at all. The meat was super juicy! The pics look like it took on a lot of smoke, but it was subtle in terms of BBQ. The Fam loved it for sure, and it definitely had a slight smoke ring.

What I’d change:
I think when I do this again I’ll leave it on smoke boost for at least 2 hours, as I could definitely taste the smoke flavor but was hoping for a bit more. I think 375 was the right choice, but I could see 400 being an option for super crispy skin. All in all, a great cook and will definitely be trying once or twice more before turkey day. Thanks for reading all this, hope it helps!

Looks wonderful!