The oven is usually the tool of choice when preparing the turkey for Christmas dinner. There is, however, a far more unusual method of preparing the meal: Christmas dinner on a barbecue with, according to expert Ben Forte, more people cooking over a charcoal fire. Even if the marketing manager of the grill manufacturer Kamado Joe naturally wants to promote this type of cooking, the idea of adding the BBQ to the Christmas festivities could be pretty appealing, and over the last few months, the UK experienced a boom in BBQ sales.
But is it safe to BBQ-ing a turkey? Yes, says Forte, and the expert offers some advice on how to do it:
- Cook to temperature, not time: 75C.
- Add a bacon weave; this helps the breast meat stay moist and you get crispy bacon.
- Get your turkey out of the fridge half an hour before you start cooking. This prevents shrinkage.
- Cook your vegetables below the turkey, so they catch all those juices as it cooks.
- If you like a bit of smoke, try adding a chunk of fruit wood such as apple or cherry.
