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This beauty is a little untraditional, not because it’s smoked, but because it’s stuffed with bacon and bathed in bourbon.
Although this turkey is smoked, it’s actually cooked hot and fast over indirect heat. For the Big Green Egg, you’re able to cook indirectly using the plate setter.
It’s a ceramic disk that sits over the coals. This allows the harshest heat to reflect back down, instead of scorching your meat.
After you stuff the bird with aromatics of jalapenos, onions, apple, garlic and bacon, you’ll lay it on the grill grate over a pan of the same goodies and some apple cider.
As the bird smokes, these flavors will be infused inside and out.
Start this bird at a high temp (vents pretty wide open) with the breasts down. After 30 minutes, give her a flip.
Reduce the heat of the Big Green Egg by closing down the vents a bit. Continue cooking until she reaches an internal temperature of 165 F degrees.
Be sure to check the temperature in different parts of the bird. The thighs usually take the longest to cook.
The color is pretty magical. Don’t you agree?
Bacon Bourbon Smoked Turkey on Big Green Egg
Ingredients
- 1 cup whiskey smoke chips
- 11 lb turkey
- 1/4 cup poultry rub
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 jalapenos, quartered
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 apple, cubed
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp bourbon
- 2 cups apple cider
Instructions
Prep
- Soak the whiskey smoke chips in water.
- Rinse the turkey and pat it dry. Be sure to remove the neck and giblets. Place it in a large pan.
- In a bowl, combine the rub, butter and 2 tablespoons bourbon. Rub it all over the turkey – inside, outside and under the breast skin.
- In a separate bowl, combine the onion, jalapenos, garlic, apple, bacon, olive oil, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon bourbon. Stuff half of the mixture into the cavity of the bird. Place the other half in a shallow aluminum pan. Add the apple cider to the pan.
- Add the platesetter into the Big Green Egg, feet up. Close the lid, and adjust the vents to get the temperature to 450 F degrees.
Smoke
- Place the pan of vegetables and cider on the platesetter. Add the grill rack. Add the turkey, breast side down. Close the lid. Smoke for 30 minutes at 450 F degrees.
- Open the lid and drop soaked smoke chips down the sides of the egg through the gaps in the platesetter. Flip the turkey over. Close the lid, and reduce the temperature to 350-400 F degrees. Continue cooking until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165 F degrees.
- Remove the turkey to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest 30-60 minutes before carving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I wanted to try this recipe on my Weber Smokefire pellet grill would I just follow the recipe steps as is or would I have to modify them?
I haven’t tried it on a pellet, but yes. You should get the same results. For the second stage, reduce the smoker to 350, if you want more smoke.
Notes so far:
Love the stuffing, but it falls out when starting the bird breast-down, even with legs tied. Then, more falls out when flipping back upright. Beyond lacing the opening closed, not sure the upside down start is worth it.
Put the foil drip pan on when the bird goes on, not before, otherwise it’s super hot when adding the rest of the stuffing and apple juice.
Should remove the bird AND grate to add wood chips, otherwise they get stuck in the grate and it’s hard to aim them into the narrow opening.
Also, will do something different next time for compound butter under the skin. The volume of seasoning in the butter left a green paste beneath the skin that was fine flavor-wise, but kind of gross looking. The compound butter w/seasoning on the outside was great.
Results- great tasting bird! Learned a few things. Will use this for Thanksgiving this year!