Grilled Thanksgiving Turkey Is Tender and Juicy

Add a hint of tender smokiness to your turkey while freeing up your oven for other dishes.
Grilled Thanksgiving Turkey Is Tender and Juicy
Using the grill to roast an unstuffed bird frees up the oven for side dishes. JeanMarie Brownson/TNS
Updated:
0:00

My family roasted four turkeys to accommodate all the holiday guests at my grandparents’ small Chicago bungalow. Their house smelled of holiday: turkeys roasting upstairs and down. My father carved the birds for hours. Great memories for those of us too young to realize the enormity of the effort.

This year, our Thanksgiving will be considerably smaller—one modest-size turkey will suffice. I’m planning to forgo a house full of roasting aromas for a patio with wafts of the pleasant smells from a charcoal grill. Using the grill to roast an unstuffed bird frees up the oven for side dishes such as cornbread dressing, sweet potato casseroles, and roasted Brussels sprouts.

JeanMarie Brownson
JeanMarie Brownson
Author
JeanMarie Brownson is a James Beard Award-winning author and the recipient of the IACP Cookbook Award for her latest cookbook, “Dinner at Home.” JeanMarie, a chef and authority on home cooking, Mexican cooking and specialty food, is one of the founding partners of Frontera Foods. She co-authored three cookbooks with chef Rick Bayless, including “Mexico: One Plate at a Time.” JeanMarie has enjoyed developing recipes and writing about food, travel and dining for more than four decades. ©2022 JeanMarie Brownson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Related Topics