Rotisserie, grilled turkey slices cooking time

With Thanksgiving only weeks away some cooks have started having bad dreams about the turkey.

While Norman Rockwell made mother’s presentation of a large oven roasted turkey great art the reality of taking on a big bird is different.

Think 1½ pounds per guest (enough for healthy eaters and leftovers), cook 15 minutes per pound at 325 degrees.

Serving a dozen guests? That’s 4½ hours of oven time for an 18-pound turkey while juggling side dishes.

And who has the carving skill to slice off what everybody wants, light and dark meat? Drumsticks, good for little kid photos are seldom eaten. Then there’s the mess that ensues.

Smaller, younger families may have second thoughts.

Perhaps it’s time to discover the perfect partnership of grilling and hands-off cooking. Adding a rotisserie kit to a grill is well worth the money.

Dry rub to season. Try a skin-on boneless turkey breast (often they come with a gravy packet). Add skin-on, bone-in turkey thighs for dark meat and there you have it. For the dressing buy a 32-ounce box of turkey or chicken stock.

As for the hole in cooked turkey breast or thighs, think of it as a gravy well.

Want to break with tradition and skip the turkey or get another use of out the rotisserie? Pork loin and eye-of-round roast are cost friendly, easy to carve and only need baked sweet potatoes or baked Russet potatoes and salad.

ROTISSERIE TURKEY BREAST

1 6-7 pound boneless turkey breast

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients. Rub 1 tablespoon inside the turkey breast cavity. Gently work the skin loose and carefully rub 1 tablespoon of the rub under the skin and replace it. Sprinkle the remaining rub over the entire breast.

2. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 48 hours. Remove from fridge 2 hours before cooking.

3. Preheat grill to medium heat, about 350 degrees. Trim any loose skin off the turkey breast. Place on the rotisserie skewer; place prongs under the breast; avoid piercing the breast. Distribute the weight as evenly as possible.

4. Set up the breast over the grill burners. Place a greased aluminum drip pan under the breast and start the rotisserie motor. Close the lid, cook 1 hour, check temperature with an instant read thermometer. At thickest part of the breast it should be 150 to 155 degrees.

5. Remove turkey from the grill and let rest 15 minutes before removing the spit and prongs. Slice and serve. Makes 10 servings.

ROTISSERIE TURKEY THIGHS

2 1-pound bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

½ cup turkey or chicken broth

Directions

1. Rinse turkey thighs and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl mix together butter, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.

2. Loosen skin from the thighs and rub some of the butter mixture onto the meat of each. Smooth the skin then run remaining butter over the thighs.

3. Preheat grill to medium heat, about 350 degrees. Skewer the thighs on the rotisserie spit positioned at the middle of the bone, distributing weight evenly as possible. Add a second thigh then secure both ends with the prongs.

4. Place a greased aluminum drip pan under the thighs and start the motor. Close the lid, cook 1 hour and check temperature with an instant read thermometer at the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone. It should be 170-175 degrees.

5. Remove from grill and let sit 15 minutes before removing spit and prongs. Makes 10 servings.

BRINED ROTISSERIE PORK LOIN

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup light brown sugar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 3-pound boneless pork loin

Dry rub

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons dry mustard

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon cumin

Directions

1. In a large saucepan combine salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and 2 cups water. Cook over medium heat until salt and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add 4 cups water and cool to room temperature.

2. Place roast in a large container; pour in brine to submerge adding more water if needed to cover. Cover container and refrigerate 8 hours to overnight. Combine dry rub ingredients.

3. Remove roast from brine; dispose of brine. Pat roast dry with paper towels and coat evenly with dry rub. Preheat grill to medium heat, about 350 degrees.

4. Skewer roast onto rotisserie spit; secure with spit prongs. Connect to rotisserie motor, place a greased drip pan under the roast and turn on the motor. Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour basting with pan juices. The roast is done at 145 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

5. Let rest it 15 minutes before removing the spit. Makes 10 servings

ROTISSERIE EYE OF ROUND ROAST

1 3-pound beef eye of round roast

1½ cups Allegro marinade

Directions

1. Trim fat from roast. Place in a large container or zip storage bag. Pour in marinade, turning to coat. Refrigerate, turning occasionally 6 hours to overnight.

2. Preheat grill to 325 degrees.

3. Remove roast from marinade; dispose of marinade. Pat dry with paper towels.

4. Skewer roast onto rotisserie spit; secure with spit prongs. Connect to rotisserie motor, place a greased drip pan under the roast and turn on the motor.

5. Cover the grill and cook 1½ to 2 hours or until temperature reaches 110 degrees for medium rare.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Rotisserie, grilled turkey slices cooking time