Note: This post is a part of GrillGirls Big Green Egg Series, a deep dive into the popular Kamado style grill and all that it offers. Follow along on this adventure if you have ever been curious about getting an Egg or want to better understand how to get the most out of your Egg.
Cooking a turkey on a Big Green Egg is one of the best ways to get a juicy flavorful bird with crispy skin. The Green Egg’s versatile Kamado-style ceramic cooker allows you to roast, grill smoke, and bake using lump charcoal for fuel. With a little prep and the right techniques, you can make the perfect holiday turkey on your Egg.
Why Cook a Turkey on a Green Egg?
There are several advantages to cooking your turkey on a Big Green Egg rather than a traditional oven
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Moist and tender meat – The Egg’s indirect heat circulates around the turkey, locking in juices for succulent meat. The turkey essentially roasts in its own juices.
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Crispy skin – The Egg gets hotter than a regular oven, resulting in crispy, crackling skin.
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Infused with flavor – Cooking over lump charcoal imparts a delicious smoky flavor. Wood chunks can add even more flavor like hickory, apple, pecan, etc.
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Frees up oven space – You can cook your turkey outside on the Egg and use the oven for sides, desserts and more.
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Quick cooking – The Egg cooks faster than an oven at the same temp. Expect 13-15 min per lb for whole turkey.
Green Egg Turkey Roasting Setup
Cooking a turkey on the Egg requires an indirect setup. Here’s a basic setup:
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Place convEGGtor on lower grid.
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Add drip pan on convEGGtor (disposable aluminum pans work great). Fill pan with 1-2 cups broth/wine/water.
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Top with cooking grid.
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Place turkey on vertical poultry roaster then set on grid over drip pan.
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For added flavor, put a handful of wood chunks around perimeter of charcoal.
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Preheat Egg to 325°F with dome closed.
This setup lets the turkey roast in gentle, indirect heat while the drip pan catches juices.
Trussing, Seasoning and Prep
Before roasting your turkey, proper prep and seasoning is key:
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Thaw completely – Thaw frozen turkey in fridge 1-2 days before cooking. Do not thaw at room temp.
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Remove giblets – Check inner cavities for giblet packet and neck. Discard or use for gravy.
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Truss turkey – Trussing brings wings and legs close to body for more even cooking. Use butcher’s twine.
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Season generously – Rub skin all over with oil or butter then season inside cavity and outside with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.
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Add aromatics – Stuff cavity with quartered onions, apples, rosemary, garlic for extra flavor.
Once prepped, place turkey on roaster and get ready to roast!
Roasting Times and Temps
The Big Green Egg can cook a turkey faster than a traditional oven. Follow these general roasting guidelines:
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Whole turkey – 13-15 minutes per lb at 325°F
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For 18 lb turkey – Cook for approx 3.5-4 hours
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Brined turkey – May cook slightly faster by 30 minutes or so
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Stuffing – Add after 2 hours if cooking in turkey; if cooked separately bake at 375°F in oven
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Check temp – Cook until thigh meat registers 165°F and breast 170°F.
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Let rest 30 minutes before carving.
Adjust roasting time up or down if turkey is not fully cooked after estimated time. The Egg will brown and crisp the skin nicely at 325°F.
Basting and Maintaining Heat
Basting and monitoring temperature are key for the entire roast:
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Baste every 30 minutes with broth/wine/butter from drip pan. Helps keep turkey moist.
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Maintain steady Egg temp between 300-350°F.
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Add more charcoal and wood chunks as needed to hold temperature.
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Keep dome and bottom vents fully open to allow air flow.
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Use a thermometer – Do not rely on pop-up timer which can be inaccurate.
Safety Tips
When handling raw turkey and cooking to proper temperature, safety is important:
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Defrost turkey safely in the fridge, allowing 1-2 days depending on weight. Do not thaw on counter.
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Use separate cutting boards/utensils for raw turkey to avoid cross-contamination. Wash hands and surfaces after touching raw turkey.
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Cook to an internal temperature of 165°F in thigh and 170°F in breast. Use a food thermometer to verify doneness.
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Do not keep turkey in the “danger zone” between 40°F-140°F for longer than 2 hours total before and after cooking.
Carving and Serving
After letting the turkey rest, it’s time to carve and serve this beautiful bird:
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Allow turkey to rest 30 minutes before carving so juices redistribute.
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Carve turkey by removing each breast half and slicing. Then remove leg quarters and slice meat from bone.
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Serve with pan juices, gravy, cranberry sauce and your favorite sides!
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Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat within 3-4 days. Reheat thoroughly to 165°F.
Delicious Flavor Variations
The basic roasted Green Egg turkey is fantastic, but you can also add flavor in creative ways:
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Smoked – Use more wood chunks (up to 2 cups) for a smoky flavor. Apple, cherry, hickory and pecan all work well.
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Cajun spiced – Blacken flavor with Cajun seasoning.
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Herb roasted – Stuff cavity with rosemary, sage, thyme. Rub herbs under skin.
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Fried – Deep fry turkey outdoors using peanut oil and electric turkey fryer for crispiest skin.
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Grilled – Grill seasoned turkey over direct high heat on Egg for char and caramelization.
So while the traditional roasted turkey is always a hit, don’t be afraid to put a unique spin on your holiday bird cooked on the Big Green Egg!
Make Delicious Leftovers
Leftover turkey has so many tasty uses beyond sandwiches and casseroles:
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Turkey noodle soup – Simmer turkey meat in broth with veggies and egg noodles.
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Turkey hash – Dice and pan fry with potatoes, onions, peppers and spices. Top with a fried egg.
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Turkey tetrazzini – Toss turkey in a creamy mushroom pasta bake.
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Turkey salad – Dice turkey and mix with mayo, celery, cranberry sauce for sandwiches.
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Turkey pot pie – Simmer turkey with vegetables and a creamy sauce, topped with puff pastry.
With a little creativity, you can reinvent those turkey leftovers into all kinds of delicious dishes!
Mastering the Turkey on the Big Green Egg
Cooking the holiday turkey is easy and foolproof on the versatile Big Green Egg. With indirect heat, flavorful charcoal and wood, and simple roasting techniques, you can serve up the perfect turkey with crispy skin and moist, tender meat. Impress your family with a smoked, fried or spiced up turkey. And enjoy creating inventive leftovers meals all week long. The Big Green Egg delivers a holiday centerpiece to remember. What will your turkey masterpiece be this year?
Don’t worry, cook turkey
All of the above can seem a bit overwhelming, but its not. No matter what type of turkey or method of preparation you’ve chosen, the cooking principle on the Egg wont vary.
I’ve decided for the sake of this write-up to focus on the straight-forward process of getting your Big Green Egg set up, and your turkey cooked, no matter what method of preparing the bird you have chosen or when youre cooking it. Turkey is great anytime of year, not just Thanksgiving.
With an estimated 46 million turkeys being cooked on Thanksgiving, there’s a pretty good chance that the majority of them are going to fall into that category. As mentioned, even if you’ve chosen a different method, the set up and cooking principle on the Egg wont vary.
Enhance? Yes, I said enhanced. It can also called self-basting. If your turkey is labeled enhanced or self-basting it has been injected with a solution of broth, salt, phosphates, sugar, and flavorings intended to add moisture and taste to your bird. Around 30% of all poultry raised in the US will be enhanced for sale.
Lets get stared with some turkey basics and work our way up to the cook.
The general rule of thumb is 1 pound per person. This simple one to one ratio should feed everyone well and still allow you a good amount of tasty leftovers for those day after Thanksgiving snacks.
Since we are starting with a frozen bird we need to thaw that thing. A frozen turkey can remain safe indefinitely.
As soon as the turkey begins to thaw, any bacteria that may have been present before freezing will begin to grow. There are a few recommended ways to thaw your frozen turkey. The two we’re going to cover are refrigerator thawing and cold water thawing.
The USDA considers refrigerator thawing to be the safest way to thaw your turkey. This is because the turkey will thaw at a consistently safe temperature.
Its pretty simple. Place your turkey in the fridge on a rimmed sheet pan, or similar, to catch any leaks that there may be in the turkeys packaging and let it sit.
It will take about 24 hours per every 4-5 pounds of turkey. A 16-pound turkey will take about 4 days to thaw in the fridge.
For this method place your bird in the original packaging in a sink full of cold. Change this water every 30 min. The turkey will defrost at about a rate of one pound every 30 min.
YOU MUST COOK THIS TURKEY ONCE THAWED. No going back in the fridge overnight. It must go right on the Big Green Egg to remain safe.
I’d also like to touch on another thing. You can, in a bind, cook a fully frozen turkey. Its going take about 50% longer to get done but you can do it. For more info on how to safely thaw a turkey head over to foodsafe.gov
So the bird is thawed and we need to get it on the fire. Before we do that lets touch base on the cook times.
While we always cook to the internal temperature of the meat, it’s good to have some idea of just how long that’s going to take.
- 425°F for 3 to 3 1/4 hours
- 400°F for 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 hours
- 350°F for 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 hours
- 325°F for 3 3/4 to 4 hours
Remember, you always need to cook your turkey to a minimum internal temperature of 165°f in all parts of the bird, no matter how long its been cooking. The temperature of the bird should be checked with a digital instant-read thermometer like a Thermapen or Thermpop from Thermoworks.
It’s time to start planning that perfect turkey on your Big Green Egg for Thanksgiving.
When we talk BGE turkey recipes there are indeed a lot of things to cover. But at the end of the day, it comes down to this — its really simple and fun to cook turkey on a Big Green Egg.
There are many ways that you can prepare a turkey.
Wet brine, dry brine. Injected. Cut up, spatchcocked, or whole. To stuff or not to stuff? These are the questions.
Turkey is something that most of the US agrees we should be having on the fourth Thursdays of each November. In fact 88% of Americans have turkey on Thanksgiving each year. With so many types of turkeys and methods to prepare, its easy to see why.
How to Cook a Perfect Turkey in a Big Green Egg | Thanksgiving Dinner in the Big Green Egg
FAQ
How long do you cook a turkey on the Green EGG?
Cook for 12 minutes per pound until the turkey has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F/74°C throughout the bird. Reserve the drippings from the drip pan to make gravy.
Will 20 lb turkey fit on large Big Green EGG?
The Large EGG can cook:
One 20-pound turkey.
Should you roast a turkey at 325 or 350?
It’s better to cook a turkey at 350°F after preheating the oven to 450°F. This makes the skin crispier and ensures the turkey will get cooked evenly.Nov 3, 2023
Is it better to smoke a turkey at 225 or 250?
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Cooking time:At 250°F, a turkey will cook faster than at 225°F, which can be beneficial if you want a quicker cook time.
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Skin crispness:Higher temperatures like 250°F may help achieve crispier turkey skin compared to a lower temperature like 225°F.
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Smoke flavor:While both temperatures can infuse smoke flavor, a lower temperature like 225°F may result in a more intensely smoky turkey.
How do you cook a Turkey in a big green egg?
For the turkey: Prepare your Big Green Egg for indirect cooking at 350° to 375°. Place a drip pan with the 6 cups of water, giblets and neck in between the convEGGtor and the cooking grate. Remove the turkey from the wrapper. Remove all giblets, the neck and anything else in the cavity of the bird.
What is the best way to cook eggs?
The best way to prepare eggs are shorter and lower-heat cooking methods, as they cause less cholesterol oxidation and help retain most of the egg’s nutrients. For this reason, poached and boiled (either hard or soft) eggs may be the healthiest to eat. Also, these cooking methods, don’t add any unnecessary calories, like oil.
What is the best Turkey to cook on a green egg?
The best turkeys for cooking on the Green Egg are young, fresh turkeys. Young turkeys are more tender and juicy than older turkeys. When choosing a turkey, look for one that is plump and has a smooth, yellow skin. The turkey should also smell fresh.
What temperature should a Turkey be cooked on a green egg?
The safe internal temperature for turkey is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re having any trouble cooking turkey on the Green Egg, don’t hesitate to ask for help from a qualified griller or cook. Cooking turkey on the Green Egg is a great way to enjoy a delicious and festive meal.
How long do you cook a turkey breast in a green egg?
Preheat the Green Egg to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub the turkey with a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, and your favorite herbs and spices. Place the turkey breast-side up on the cooking grate. Cook the turkey for 2-3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
How big should a green egg be for a Turkey?
The general rule of thumb is to use a Green Egg that is at least twice the size of your turkey. For example, if you are cooking a 10-pound turkey, you will need a Green Egg that is at least 20 inches in diameter. If you are cooking a larger turkey, you may need to use a larger Green Egg or cook the turkey in two batches.