Kathy Gunst’s Grill-Roast Turkey and Turkey Carving Tips

Ingredients

1 10–12 pound turkey

Directions

Grilled Turkey:

1. Cleaned and dried. Salt and freshly ground black pepper, seasoned to taste.

2. Heat a fire in the grill (charcoal or gas) and cook a small (10 to 12 pound) whole turkey over indirect heat with a minimum of seasoning. Be sure to place a shallow pan underneath the bird atop the charcoal or burner covers to catch the drippings and reduce flare-ups. Grill for approximately 2 hours (use thermometer to check for doneness).

3. Stuff the bird and/or add an array of vegetables to the grill, like stuffed squash, corn on the cob, or turnips and potatoes for a complete meal. Add your vegetables to the grill

4. 30 minutes or so before the turkey is done. Once the meat is cooked and cooled, the bird is ready for carving. “I can’t overestimate how important it is to have a good, sharp knife for carving the bird. It should be very tender and carve easily, but a well-sharpened favorite carving knife will make things that much easier,” says Gunst.

Turkey Carving Tips: Three Easy Steps

1. If you want the turkey you serve “gobbled up” this holiday, avoid hacking the bird by trying these simple carving tips from Chef’sChoice®:

2. Be sure to use a good, sharp knife. Sharp knives are not only safer, they will help you to smoothly cut thin, even slices without shredding the meat. Fortunately, you don’t have to be an expert to put a razor sharp edge on your knife. Chef ’sChoice M130 sharpener professionally sharpens steels and strops all brands and types of knives. Precision guides eliminate guesswork for sharp, durable edges.

3. After the turkey is cooked (meat thermometer should read 180° F when inserted in the thickest part of the turkey thigh) cool the bird for 15 minutes. Cooling makes the meat firmer and easier to slice. Remove and set aside the turkey legs and the last joint of each wing. Make a long, deep (to the bone) horizontal “base cut” into the breast just above the wing.

4. Slice down vertically through the breast until you meet the original base cut. This will release perfect, even slices.

5. Following these preparation and carving tips can help make your Thanksgiving a meal to remember.

A tasty twist on turkey adapted from cookbook author Kathy Gunst’s “Notes from a Maine Kitchen.”

If you want a traditional, perfectly carved, Thanksgiving turkey but would like to bring a delicious twist to the meal, then look to chef, cookbook author and James Beard–award nominee Kathy Gunst. She has discovered a way to bring the tradition of the Thanksgiving turkey to the holiday table in an unconventional way. Every Thanksgiving, Kathy Gunst roasts a turkey in the oven, but one year she had a larger crowd than usual and needed to cook two turkeys. “So, on a colder-than-normal November day, I decided to grill-roast a second turkey,” says Gunst. “The recipe, it turns out, couldn’t be simpler.” Grilling the bird resulted in a picture-perfect glazed turkey with juicy meat and a subtle smokey flavor. “This recipe is nothing short of a revelation. You will not believe how a plain old turkey, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, placed on a hot grill, can have this much flavor with so little fuss,” says Gunst.