Rotisserie Holiday Turkey

By Tom Jackson
Oct 23, 2018

Recipe Items

Looking for a new technique for cooking your holiday turkey? This Rotisserie Holiday Turkey, cooked over a charcoal fire in the Kamado Joe, has fantastic flavor and is incredibly juicy!

Rotisserie Holiday Turkey Recipe

Ingredients

2 (10 lb) whole turkeys
1 bottle Sweetwater Spice Lemon Thyme Turkey Bath
1/2 cup kosher salt
Cattleman’s Grill Ranchero Seasoning
1/2 oz fresh thyme, divided
1/2 oz fresh rosemary, divided
1/2 oz fresh sage, divided

Instructions

Mix the Sweetwater Spice Lemon Thyme Turkey Bath with one gallon of water. Rinse the bottle out and add the additional brine. Add the kosher salt and whisk to dissolve. Place the turkeys in a 22 quart Briner Bucket. Cover with the brine. Lock the plate in place to keep the birds submerged. Transfer to the refrigerator and soak for 1 hour per pound.

Remove the turkeys from the brine. Dab excess moisture from the surface with a paper towel. Pull back the skin from the edges of the breasts. Season just under the edges of the skin, inside the cavity and on top of the skin with the Cattleman’s Grill Ranchero Seasoning.

Put together bundles of the fresh sage, rosemary and thyme. Place inside the cavity, and under the skin, between the legs and breasts.

Truss the turkeys with kitchen twine, tying the legs together, pulling them into the cavity and around the wings, to hold them close to the breasts.

Build a small hot fire in the back half of the Kamado Joe Big Joe II Ceramic Grill. Stabilize the temperature at 300ºF. Set up the JoeTisserie attachment. Place a couple of fish sized chunks of Cattleman’s Grill Apple Chunks on the hot coals, to add additional smoke.

Slide the turkeys on the spit rod. Secure with the forks. Transfer the spit to the Big Joe and slide into place on the JoeTisserie.

You might also enjoy: Barbecue Smoked Turkey

Smoke/roast the turkeys, checking on them once they’ve settled on the spit rod, and adjust the forks as necessary to keep the weight evenly distributed. Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF in the breasts, 170ºF in the thighs, about 3 hours.

Remove the turkeys from the grill, and rest about 20-30 minutes. Remove the fresh herb bundles before carving.