Monday, June 30, 2008

Summertime Thanksgiving...

We bought a whole turkey at the end of December, and stuck it in the freezer - along with some leftover turkey gravy and cranberry chutney - with the intention of having a summertime Thanksgiving.

And that's EXACTLY what we did. The trusty old Weber charcoal grill was fired up this past Saturday night, and on went the nearly 11 lb. bird.

If you've never grilled a whole turkey on a Weber grill, then you're definitely missing out. It's a foolproof way to roast a turkey (I'll post the simple instructions in case anybody is interested), and it frees up the oven for making other things. In fact, we've only made turkey in an oven one time during the entire time we've been married; every other time has been on the grill. Plus, I think the turkey tastes best when it's prepared on a charcoal grill. I've had deep-fried turkey, and while the results are decent, I don't think it tastes as good as a barbecued turkey. I know people swear by deep-frying turkeys, but I think it's a hassle (and a bit dangerous) dealing with, and disposing of, all that oil.

So, we had the turkey, gravy, cranberry chutney. Some roasted potatoes, corn bread, and classic French bean salad were added into the mix, and VOILA!

Summertime Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed the turkey dinner with Andy, Di, and the kids, and then followed up with some banana splits. Everything was really great!

The next evening (you guessed it), Mrs. TBF and I had leftovers. As much as we tried, we just couldn't finish it all off. Leftover turkey went into the freezer, and today...

...I feel like I have a whole turkey in me belly!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow - that does look yummy! I've heard we are actually having some of the same weather you are having, rather warm..

CanadianSwiss said...

That will certainly mean a double work-out week, for you, TBF ;)

You know, I was just asking myself what kind of (Swiss!) freezer you had that would fit a whole turkey in. One that opens from the top, I suppose?

The Big Finn said...

CS - We have a stand-alone freezer that opens from the front and has three sections. The top section is large enough to hold a small (by North American standards) turkey. I can also fit a turkey in the freezer compartment of our beer refrigerator if I take out the shelf. Also...
No workouts this week. My gym is closed for repairs and renovations until July 14th.

CUPCAKE PRINCESSE said...

OMG!!! You guys ROCK!!!!! Who woulda ever thought of that??? YUMMMM!! Thanksgiving is my fav. No. American holiday, too! By the way, the grilled turkey sounds great.. but WTF (pardon mon français) is a deep-fried turkey and WHOTF (pardon my French, again) would eat it that way??? I bought some stuff in the U.S. last trip for this coming Turkey Day in Nov... here in la France.. Take care, Leesa
P.S. You and Mrs. TBF should come to the picnic I'm throwing this Sat!!!

rswb said...

Oh, this sounds like christmas in July! In Australia there is a growing tendency to have these "christmas in july" things where you get together with whoever you would secretly like to spend christmas with but never really manage to at actual christmas time, and you have a big "traditional" christmas meal (roast turkey and all that stuff that no one in Australia ever bothers with in december because it's far too hot) and no one gives anyone any presents.

Funnily enough, since nothing says "christmas" to me like eating cherries, I'm thinking I should start a christmas in july habit here and eat lots of seafood and salads and stone fruit and cherries just like at home ...

Colon Blow said...

How dare you make disparaging remarks against deep-fried turkey! I challenge you to a turkey throwdown!!! Barbeque v.s. Deep-Fried...LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!!

The Big Finn said...

colon blow - You're more than welcome to post your rebuttal on your own blog...

Oh...

That's right. You haven't blogged in over a year.

I forgot...

My bad.

Michael Lehet said...

Yum!!! How long did that take to cook?

The Big Finn said...

michael - 11 minutes per pound...perfect every single time.
Use the indirect method on a large Weber. Put a drip pan in the middle with about an inch of water in it. Put in your charcoal briquettes on two side (25 on each side) and light. While the coals are getting going, rub olive oil all over your DEFROSTED bird. Mrs. TBF also seasons the cavity, and she throws in some smashed up garlic cloves, a couple of lemon halves, and some herbs. She just read that you shouldn't season the outside of the bird because the seasonings can burn and turn bitter, but we've done it before and it's been fine. When the coals are ready, put the bird on the top grill over the drip pan, and put on the lid.
Every hour, add 8 coals to each side in order to keep the fire going.
The Weber book says 11 - 14 minutes per pound, but we've found that 11 minutes per pound is perfect. When the turkey is finished cooking, take it off the grill and let it rest for about twenty minutes before carving.
EASY!
Oh...also...
It's recommended that you do NOT stuff a bird that you prepare on the grill. AND, you shouldn't really use the drippings to make gravy because there'll be charcoal dust in it.

Colon Blow said...

Deep-Fried turkey take only 3 1/2 minutes per pound! Fast and delicious!!!

The Big Finn said...

cobo - Great! we'll be expecting to have one for dinner one night when we're at your house in a few weeks.