Day 3 of our Christmas Turkey on the Grill series. Today we are visiting the South with this recipe for a North Carolina style grilled turkey. As a special treat, we have two recipes for North Carolina Barbecue Turkey that we are going to feature today. The first is from the grill masters at the National Turkey Foundation. This recipe mixes in some bacon and red pepper along with the ingredient that make Carolina BBQ what it is, cider vinegar. That cider vinegar is really going to make the red pepper stand out in this recipe.
The second recipe comes from a grill master at entwine. With a brine that includes brown sugar, coriander, bay leaves, and ginger and a BBQ sauce with cider vinegar, sugar, honey, and red pepper, this recipe is going to give you a delicious tangy sweet heat straight from the South.
North Carolina Barbecue Turkey
Ingredients for the NTF recipe:
- 1 10-12 pound WHOLE TURKEY, fresh or thawed
- As needed cooking oil
- 1-1/2 Pounds TURKEY BACON
- To taste salt
- To taste pepper
- 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes, crushed
- 1 Pint apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 Pint cold water
The rest of the recipe can be found at NTF’s eatturkey.com.
INGREDIENTS for the entwine recipe:
brine:
- Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup coriander seeds
- 1 piece fresh ginger (2-inch), sliced (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 gallon ice
- 1 turkey (16-18 pounds)
BBQ sauce:
- 3 cups cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup honey
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper freshly ground
turkey:
- Kosher salt
- 2 celery stalks quartered
- 1 lemon quartered
- 1 onion quartered
- 4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 4 cups wood chips such as hickory or mesquite, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained
The rest of the recipe can be found at entwine.
What Grill Masters are saying.