Turkey Roast

Looks as though we may be doing the two Thanksgiving Day thing again this year. I don't mind a bit as it allows me to spend a lot of quality time with the grill, as I smoke my birds – the though part is keeping them lit. I've been doing turkey or boneless turkey roasts on the grill as long as I can remember. I know some who swear by deep frying their bird, but I have had it done that way and found it was nothing to write home about, not to mention the vast quantities of very expensive peanut oil and the chance of it all ending a spectacular fire. Okay, the fire would be pretty cool -- sometime I'll have to relate the story of the giant fireball I created (unwittingly) on my old Weber, that was nuts.

The boneless turkey roast is a snap, I prefer the ones with both dark and light meat, all wrapped in a net bag ready for the grill. I toss the gravy packet that comes with it out as I don't know what is in the pouch and I don't want to know. The roast is small, so I usually do several, one with a rub, one injected with olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and one just salt and pepper. I use indirect heat, with a pan of beer under the roasts to provide steam and additional flavor and I use hickory through the whole process, but they'd be nice if one were to finish with apple. I do come through with a quick mop of apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper. About half way through the cooking process. They cook fairly quickly, even with the grill kept around 250 so I use a meat thermometer and when I find the temp at 165, I pull the roasts cover with foil and let them rest. The temp should cruise up to about 170, the safe temperature for poultry. Don't be too ashamed to use the microwave if the bird still looks a bit pink, better your guest fall asleep in front of the TV than spending the rest of the day hugging the toilet.

Consider the roasts if you don't feel like dealing with a carcass, don't want your bird to wind up looking like a prop from a slasher movie after your attempt at carving. While the roasts don't have the romance of a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving, they make up for it in less waste as they are all meat and they cook a lot quicker than a whole bird.