I know a tremendous amount of time has passed since the last post, but I'm new to this thread and wanted to add a couple of ideas. I've actually done some huge turkeys on my WSM -- up to 30 pounds. The key? Do it vertically using a Spanek or other vertical roaster. You'd need to remove the top grate but anything smaller than an ostrich should fit. In fact, as I love vertical roasting, this is the only way I can do a really big bird. But this now presents another problem: how do you get this sucker off the grill when it's done? With an outside temperture in triple digits and skin that isn't really attached too firmly to the meat, you've basically got a slippery bag of napalm on your hands. So here's what I did: I bought about a three-foot length of very heavy stainless steel chain at my local hardware store, along with a pair of heavy springloaded clips which look like carabiners. I clipped one to each end of the chain and then clipped both to the top of the metal vertical roaster. When mounting the bird on the roaster, slide the chain up through the body cavity and up through the neck. Tuck all the extra chain into the space of the neck cavity, or leave it out, dangling down the back. Pin the neck skin tightly over the backbone for maximum crispness and place in the WSM. When done, just lift by the chain. The roaster supports all the weight of the bird with no chance of anything falling off. For Thanksgiving, when a traditional "Roasted" flavor may be more desirable, I use no wood at all but use huge amounts of charcoal so I can get the WSM up to almost 400 degrees. At this temp a brined bird cooks in an incredible 6 minutes per pound. Of course, I hate dry white meat so I take the bird out as soon as the breast meat reaches 150-155, then let him rest for at least a half-hour. By the time you're ready to carve, the internal temp will have climbed to about 165 so it's beyond safe to eat. And when you remove the whole breast from the carcass (so you can carve against the grain in even slices) you'll be amazed at the amount of juice that has stayed in the bird -- it practically spurts out at you. Everyone I know has told me it's the best bird they've ever had; they're usually dumbfounded because they think turkey is supposed to be dry. For what it's worth... Thanks all, and especially col klink, for this great thread... ag
