This herb-infused, aromatic smoked turkey grills up golden and juicy in about ½ the time of oven roasted turkey. Our secret? There are two secrets, actually: Charcoal grill and smoking over hickory wood chips!

Our Asian Spice Marinade increases meat’s moisture and flavor-absorption capacity.  Grilling over hickory wood chips adds a smoky dimension, from the crisp golden skin to the moist, tender turkey meat.

Ingredients:
16lb                       whole turkey (thawed)
45 g                       wood chips—hickory

Asian Spice Marinade
1 ½ tsp                 chili powder
½ tsp                    crushed red pepper flakes
6 Tbsp                   fish sauce
4 Tbsp                   sugar
1 ½ tsp                 five spice powder
1 tsp                      black pepper
2 ½ tsp                 garlic powder
5 Tbsp                   soy sauce
5 Tbsp                   salt
½ cup                   rice wine or white wine
1 ½ cup                water

Basting Sauce
¼ cup                   honey
¼ cup                   wine vinegar
¼ cup                   water

Instructions:

Prepare Marinade:
1.     Place all marinade ingredients into a food processor, adding 1 ½ cup of water slowly as the ingredients blend.
2.     Place marinade inside a glass jar and soak overnight.

Prepare Basting Sauce:
1.    Mix water, honey and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside for later use.

Prepare Turkey:
1.     If you are using a frozen turkey, thaw turkey safely (see instructions below).
2.     Clean out turkey cavity. Remove the giblets from their bag (stuck in the neck cavity) and the neck bone from the body cavity.*
3.     Rinse the turkey with cool water inside and out. Pat dry.
4.     Place thawed, rinsed whole turkey into a clean plastic bag.
5.     Pour marinade into the bag, turning bag as needed to cover turkey skin with marinade.
6.     Marinate the turkey for 24-30 hours, turning the turkey once to evenly distribute marinade.
7.     Remove the turkey from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking (no more than that) to bring the bird to room temperature.
8.     Remove turkey from marinade and blot away all the herbs/spices from the turkey surface using a paper towel.
9.     Wrap the turkey legs with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.

Prepare Grill:
1.     Prepare your grill with indirect heat.
2.     Place an aluminum roasting pan filled with chicken stock in between the charcoals.
3.     Soak hickory wood chips for 20 minutes in the chicken stock.
4.     Wrapped the moistened wood chips in an aluminum foil sheet poked with air holes.

Grill Turkey:
1.     Grill turkey for 2 hours at 350-400° F.
2.     Make sure the grill temperature doesn’t exceed 425° F.
3.     After 2 hours, brush the turkey with basting sauce.
4.     Grill for 30 more minutes.
5.     Allow cooked turkey to rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Thawing in the Refrigerator (Recommended)
Leave the bird in its original wrapping and place it on a tray in the refrigerator. Allow 5 hours per pound or 3-4 days for a 14-19 pound turkey to defrost.

“Quick” Thawing
Place turkey in its original wrapping in sink and cover with COLD water. Change the water every 1/2 hour to maintain the temperature. Allow 1/2 hour per pound to defrost the turkey. Most turkeys will take from 5 to 10 hours to thaw.

*If desired, rinse the giblet pieces (heart, gizzard, liver) and neck bone under cool running water to remove bacteria. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside for use in making turkey stock.