Description
Recipe by Chris Lilly, Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 whole turkey (12 pounds)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Coarse ground black pepper
Fresh Herb Butter
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- ⅓ cup chopped Italian parsley
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion tops
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1½ teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Gravy
- 2 cups turkey stock (as directed)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Place the whole turkey breast side down on a cutting board.
- Remove the neck and giblets and set aside to make the turkey stock.
- With a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears, cut the turkey down each side of the backbone, removing it completely. Open the turkey and press it flat on the cutting board.
- Using a sharp knife, loosen the breast bone from between the turkey breasts and remove it with your fingers. This will enable the turkey to open completely flat.
- Apply a light coat of olive oil to the turkey skin and liberally season the skin with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Build a charcoal fire for direct grilling. The heat over the coals should be hot, (approximately 450º to 500℉).
- Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the remaining fresh herb butter ingredients, mix well, and keep warm until needed.
To make turkey stock
- Add 3½ cups water, 1 ¾ teaspoons salt, turkey neck and giblets to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 1½ hours.
- Place the butterflied turkey directly over the coals, skin side down, and baste with the fresh herb butter.
- Grill the turkey for 5 to 7 minutes or until the skin starts to turn golden brown and begins to crisp.
- Transfer the turkey to a 10”x10” baking dish skin side up, place it back on the grill, and baste with fresh herb butter.
- Cover the grill and close the air dampers reducing the cooking temperature to 350℉.
- Cook for 2½ hours basting every hour with the remaining fresh herb butter. The internal temperature of turkey thigh should reach 175-180℉ while the breast meat should reach 160 to 165℉.
- Remove the turkey from the grill, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes prior to carving.
To make the gravy
- Scrape all of the drippings and liquid from the bottom of the roasting pan into a small bowl.
- Skim the grease from the top of the liquid. Pour the seasoned liquid, about ¾ cup, into a small sauce pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk the two tablespoons water with the cornstarch until smooth.
- Add the cornstarch slurry and two cups of the pre-made turkey broth to the sauce pan and heat.
- Serve drizzled over the turkey or on the side as table gravy.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes