Perfect Rotisserie Turkey

[johnnymnemonic]

I almost got cold feet when I started reading online, but I'm definitely going to try to rotisserie this massive bird.  I'm not worried about the equipment as much as people saying the bird will fall into the fire.  Is that because the rotisserie forks start to come out of the meat?  If I screw the forks down real tight it should hold, right?  Also - How does a turkey that has a rod through the center get into the fire?  Does the rod just work its way through the bottom of the turkey after a while if it comes off the forks?  Anyway - I'm going to get it on there as securely as I can after I truss it well but also add twine around the body.  For better or for worse.  And I will take pictures.  This is probably a ridiculous way to proceed and I should just spatchcock it.  But I'm livin on the edge.

I have many vacuum sealed bags of pulled pork BBQ from my cook the other night if it goes south.

Anyway - those who have had their turkey fall into the fire - tell me the story - I want to understand how this happens so I can both set the turkey in the forks as securely as possible and monitor it properly.

 

[CaptMorg82]

I had success with a much smaller turkey of 14 lbs. Even with the forks cinched tight, and some butcher twine tying up legs and wings, there was still some movement while turning. This got a lot better once it cooked a bit and the skin tightened up. It wasn't that the forks weren't doing there job. It is just that there is a lot of mass beyond the radius of the forks around the spit. And it's soft tissue mass so gravity makes it sag as it rotates around. This effect will likely be enhanced on your massive bird. I would guess that you can mitigate it though if you use a lot of butcher twine and tie things up very snugly. But even then I believe you will see shifting/sagging. I don't think you should have a problem with the turkey falling into the fire though. One thing to really make sure is that your spit is set for the right length so it doesn't pop out of the hole. I actually had that happen and had to lengthen the spring loaded end to fit more snugly. Then no issues after that.

[tony b]

I am speculating here, but I think the concern is that with this heavy a bird, the rod will flex enough that it comes out of the mount in the side of the KK and the whole assembly drops into the fire. Hence, the advice to shift the bird more towards the motor end, rather than the center of the rod. 

I had this happen to me in my 23" KK, but it wasn't because of the weight of the food. My first spit rod was a tad long and was very difficult to insert in the KK mounts. (Back in the day, there was a lot of variations of rod shapes & sizes before Dennis standardized things.) So, I shortened it a bit, but went a tad too far. The rod would sometimes work its way out of the mount. If I was "lucky" it would just wobble around in the air as it rotated, but if I wasn't, it would fall out completely into the fire basket. I have subsequently replaced the spit rod with the newer design, which fits without modification.

[johnnymnemonic]

starting to feel like a spatchcock.  don't want to risk it.

[johnnymnemonic]

I didn't spatchcock it.  This massive of a turkey spatchcocked wouldn't fit on any pan I have so I just cooked it whole.  I decided not to brine it: reason - 30lb turkey wouldn't fit in a 5 gal bucket - also wouldn't fit well in my yeti.  Could have used a different cooler, but - I decided since the bird was injected not to do anything to it prior and just use an old recipe.  This recipe (attached PDF) is how my grandparents always grill roasted their turkey back in the day.  Just salt, pepper, parsley, oil, vinegar.  I used a bit of lowrys with the salt for a little extra flavor.  Worked well - great flavor.  At the grate I had my billows at 340.  Dome temp around 400.  The skin on top actually broke - almost like the cap of a pork butt.  I found that interesting.  30lb turkey cooked in about 3 hours.  I wrapped it in foil and put it in a cooler when it was done (until I carved it to serve lunch).

It wasn't the best turkey I have ever had - this large of a turkey - some of the bird just wasn't perfectly moist - but - it certainly wasn't dry.  Flavor was awesome.  Dark meat was awesome.  Really really good for a frozen turkey that I got for only $15.

 

 

 

granny_grilled_smoked_turkey_onepage.pdf

Edited December 12, 2022 by johnnymnemonic

[tony b]

So you didn't spin it either. Probably a smart move with a bird that large. Agree, no need to brine a bird that's pre-injected with "solution." As you said, for $15, can't go too wrong!

[DennisLinkletter]

On 11/29/2022 at 2:56 AM, johnnymnemonic said:

What do you reckon the rotisserie capacity is on my KK42?  After thanksgiving there was a massive 30 pound turkey and they were practically giving it away at the grocery store.  Frozen.  But I have a bunch of people coming over in a couple of weekends.  Do you think the roti on a KK can handle 30 lbs?

I had my staff make up a 30 lb bundle. The wrapped bricks were not centered so it wobbled a bit (a turkey will be uniform and balanced) and a low-quality Chinese motor still spun it easily.

  

[Tyrus]

It must have been bothering you Dennis and you had to know. Were the extra forks an addition to stiffen the ends, it appears their placement adds strength to the rod to eliminate the bounce 

[jonj]

It seems to me Dennis would want to know what the rotisserie weight limitation is on the 42, since it has three sets of forks. Both single point load and distributed (two and three items on the spit). 

[johnnymnemonic]

On 12/14/2022 at 4:28 PM, DennisLinkletter said:

I had my staff make up a 30 lb bundle. 

That's customer obsession right there.  Thank you so much for doing that @DennisLinkletter.   For the record, as I was about to to set it up, I bailed on the rotisserie because of the large circumference.  I probably could have used a bunch of twine to make sure it stayed together, but I thought maybe as tender as the KK cooks things pieces of a bird that big might come off.  I may try it next time.  I didn't take pictures the last time I did chickens but I'm really starting to get rotisserie chicken dialed in on the 42.  The last batch had crispy skin and was so incredibly juicy.  Best dang chicken I ever ate.

[Tyrus]

Using a four prong on a substantial piece of meat is better replaced with 6 or 8 if they make them as one consideration. A raw piece of meat doesn't hold well while spinning because the flesh gives until it cooks and firms. That's quite a while, anyhow my stepson raised two turkeys this past year and tonite asked me if I would cook them for him.  Their weights are 41 & 38lbs, big birds uh, a little large for my 23, I can't cook them unless I see them, but I'll try.  To tell the truth it's pretty hard to screw up a poultry cook in a KK, it's the best. However, having a number of cookers versatile in their own avenue makes the challenge that more interesting. Like you, we never cook to fail....only success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Tyrus