Yes, it’s November. Yes, it may be cold. Yes, it may be rainy. BUT—You can be a star this Thanksgiving by preparing that bird for Thanksgiving on your Big Green Egg. So, man up and do it! It’s not that hard. Here’s the lowdown on a great Thanksgiving turkey done on the Egg. It’s really as easy as BGE:

B—Brine it

G—Get it on the Egg

E—Everyone enjoy!

Brine it

•  1 gallon water
•  ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
•  Rind of a navel orange
•  3 sprigs fresh rosemary
•  1 cup kosher salt
•  1 ½ onions, quartered
•  ½ head of garlic

Combine the water, brown sugar and salt together and stir till the salt & sugar are dissolved. Add the orange rind, rosemary, quartered onions and the halved garlic head. Remove the giblets, rinse the turkey well & place in a container large enough for the turkey and brine liquid. Pour the brine over the turkey, making sure it’s completely covered, and refrigerate for 12 hours. Turn the turkey every four hours in the brine mix.

Get it on the Egg

Ignite the Egg and get it up to 350 degrees. Add soaked wood chips to the coals and put the plate setter legs up on the Egg. Fill a drip pan with apple cider and place it on the plate setter. Put it on the cooking grid and put the V-Rack on top of the cooking grid.

Make an herb butter to rub on the turkey:

• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 tsp chopped rosemary
• 2 tsp chopped sage
• 2 tsp chopped thyme

Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the turkey thoroughly with the herb butter and place the turkey breast side up on the V-Rack and close the Egg. Be sure the temp of the Egg (after being opened) is back up to 325-350 degrees. Close the bottom vent till it’s closed halfway, and adjust the daisy wheel so it’s barely open.

Turkey should cook on the Egg at this setting at the rate of about 15-20 minutes per lb. a 12 pound turkey should take around 4 hours to cook. Add roughly 20 minutes to this for each additional pound.

When the internal temperature of the turkey is at least 165 degrees, you can remove the turkey from the Egg and place a tent of aluminum foil over the turkey, letting it rest and allowing the juices to settle. After about a half hour, your turkey should be ready for the feast.

Everyone enjoy!

Get ready to sink your teeth into that juicy bird, along with all the other Thanksgiving fixin’s that have been prepared for the dinner. Be gracious and humble as everyone tells you what a fantastic job you did with the turkey. Then, get ready to take a nap after that tryptophan kicks in!

Have a terrific holiday from all of us at Oregon Hot Tub!