Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. You just get together with the people you love on the last Thursday in November, and thank them for what you have. It is not overly commercial, nor is it affiliated with a particular religion or group. My only gripe with vacation is that it's usually held indoors, rather than at the desert rivers, ocean beaches, and wooded campsites where I'd rather spend quality time with family and friends.
For years, I've accepted that a traditional Thanksgiving feast doesn't translate well outdoors. That's what everyone said and that's what I believe. Until I tried it myself.
The first time was a little scary. Cooking turkey is the culinary pinnacle of most people's year, and it's naturally fraught with anxiety. What if the bird comes out dry, burnt, or undercooked? What if every bite fell like a dry cotton ball, doused with cranberry sauce, lumpy gravy and disappointment?
Now you want to add the complexity of doing it in the woods, over an open fire?
Some say that this cannot be done. An aspiring celebrity chef was recently asked by Outdoors Magazine how to roast a turkey over a fire. He told them so Subchuk The birds are then cut into morsels in layers while they are being cooked. Forget about full service Norman RockwellHe said, like a bird, because it can not be done.
"If you have plenty of wine on hand," Article It states, "Snacking on bird pieces every time feels festive and connected, and you won't regret not eating a finished meal and sit down."
Wrong - wronged - wronged. You will regret it. You will regret it in the moment, and you will regret it in the hanging morning haze. You will regret it on your deathbed, when your children will laugh at you, for the last time.
It saddens me that the handsome cookbook author in that article will never taste a perfectly roasted whole turkey, slow-cooked over a hardwood fire. Because the best turkey you've ever cooked or tasted is done this way. The secret - making sure it's a time-tested technique - is spit roasting. Outdoor cooking enthusiasts Cree country music icon Kenny Rogers I have long recognized the superior comfort and flavor of chicken slowly turned over over the fire.
This battery-powered rotisserie can be had for under $50, and delivered to your door in plenty of time for this year's festivities. Although I only used electric spindles, others have done well with a length of green wood and a couple of Forked sticks.
The techniques and tricks below are used to examine The rotisserie, which I discovered years ago on a hot August day at an outdoor retail show in Salt Lake City. There was a man stuck in front of the convention center playing didgeridoo wearing nothing but a leather loincloth. Calling himself Jonny Rotisserie, he was the individual CEO and Chief Missionary of Auspit USA. Beside him was Auspit himself, the "little Australian wonder", slowly rolling a piece of meat over a plate of briquettes.
I prefer wood because I love the smoky flavor it gives and I really like having campfires. Pecans, walnuts, and apples are good choices.
Johnny cut me a juicy, delicious smoked steak, and I promptly arranged to review the rotisserie for a magazine that no longer existed. However, Auspit is still going strong a decade later. After a string of successes with less meat, my friends recommended me to roast turkey for Thanksgiving at San Onofre State Beach. This first bird was nerve-wracking. I tried getting nuggets of fancy garlic butter under the skin and wrapping a 12-pounder in tin foil. The idea was to make a kind of steam tent that would allow the bird to cook more evenly, but all it did was keep the heat out. When I moved the bird near the fire, I dripped garlic butter onto the aluminum foil and it caught fire.
I rip the tin and hope for the best. And that's exactly what happened. After a little over two hours, the turkey was nicely browned and a meat thermometer registered 165 degrees. My friend Jane, the best chef I know, put a slice in her mouth and said it was perfect. The point is that this error is difficult to solve. Let me say it again: Roasting a turkey outside is easy, and incredibly delicious.
How to roast a turkey outside
First, get spit out
Johnny Rotisserie's Auspit USA no longer ships the product, but you can still order the original spit from below ($220 AU, about $150 AU) or purchase a similar spit for under $50. this Will do, or just Google 'battery-powered rotisserie', and shop around a bit. The thing to look for is that the height of the spit can be easily adjusted.
the bird
Most sources give about a 14-pound max for a roast bird, although I once did an 18-pounder with no problem. The key is to choose a large enough turkey. You are out in the woods. You don't want leftovers.
fire
You can use charcoal, hardwood, or a combination of the two. I prefer wood because I love the smoky flavor it gives and I really like having campfires. Pecans, walnuts, and apples are good choices. Whatever you choose, never place the bird directly over a flame. Ace Johnny Put itIndirect heat is your friend. Whether you're cooking over a wood or charcoal fire, try making a ring of fire around the turkey or on one side. Make sure your "heat property" extends well beyond that of the bird to ensure You get enough heat up to the ends of the bird. A 14-pound turkey will take about 2.5 hours, so whether you're using wood or briquettes, you'll want to feed fresh fuel into the other side of the fire, directing the coals toward the bird.
and create
Where you build your fire depends on the setting you've chosen for your outdoor Thanksgiving. Campground fire pits will work, but it's nice to have the flexibility of a bomb-proof steel fire pit, or even a makeshift stove. For this first bird In Saint-Honover, I scooped molds into a foil baking tin and placed them under a turkey on the edge of a large concrete pit. Simple, easy and cheap. These days I use a pair of NRS firepans- A 20 year old rusty copy that lives in the back of my garage and is a shiny replacement - and set it up about 18' apart with the jumper in the middle. This places indirect heat on both sides of the turkey.
Weber grills work turkey magic, too. The company has good Recipes and instructions on their website, and although the Weber rotisserie attachment uses a corded motor, the D-Cell Alibaba drives It fits perfectly. So if you can bring your own Weber kettle to your camping site, it's a good option.
Prepare the bird
Wash and dry the bird well, rub it with your favorite spices. but, Don't stuff the turkey. A quartered apple or two lemons and a few herbs in the cavity are a nice touch, but no fillers. You need to allow this heat to circulate.
Johnny advises eating the turkey overnight before roasting it. This is fine if you're car camping or zipping around the house on a Wednesday night. But if you're a little further away, say on a 21-day Grand Canyon trek, you can skip the hassle. One advantage of the rotisserie method is that it keeps the juices in the bird, rather than dripping into an oven roasting pan. Either way, the turkey will be delicious.
Balance is everything
Now it's time to put the bird on a spit and secure it with the metal forks that come with the rotisserie kit. The key here is balance. You want to keep the weight distributed as evenly around the spit as possible. This is especially important with large birds, because any malfunction can strain the little D-cell motor.
Once the turkey is centered, line its legs and wings with butcher's twine. There is probably a method for this (actually exist) But if you never made it to cooking school, make sure the wings and legs are wrapped well and tight.
Prepare a list
You will need a lot of things that you don't usually bring camping. Leather work gloves, butcher's twine, spare D-Cell batteries, meat thermometer. Don't forget the meat thermometer. Get a pair of pliers to torque the screws on the metal prongs that hold the bird in place, so it doesn't slip when it gets greasy. Leave the hammer at home. A split piece of firewood works great for hitting the steel grill supports into the ground without chipping away at the tops.
Cook until done
All of my grandmother's recipes ended with the same three words: "Cook until tender." I assumed everyone had some level of culinary knowledge, or at least common sense, and I'm not holding your hand here either. If you're ready to commit to an outdoor Thanksgiving feast, you already know how to take care of a cooking fire, and you can probably figure out how to skewer. You probably even know the "run the juices clear" test to see when your turkey is ready. I don't trust myself to do this, so I rely on a watch and a meat thermometer.
A 12-pound turkey should take about two hours, or a little more. It took an 18-pounder three. If the skin starts to burn, the fire is too hot. If it's not brown, it's not hot enough. When the thermometer inserted into the drumstick reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit, it's time to remove the turkey from the heat. Let it rest for 15 minutes and then cut off.
What's left of it
It's not Thanksgiving without the sides, right? The key here is preparation, commissioning, and dutch ovens. First, as our friends Megan and Michael at Fresh Off the Grid remind us of their franchise Thanksgiving tip sheet Prepare everything you can at home. Next, don't try to host a Thanksgiving in your country. It is a collaborative relationship. Let everyone take charge of their favorite dish, and remember that almost anything you do on your home range can be done on the Coleman Two-Burner Camp Stove. Mashed potatoes: Use Coleman's. Gravy: Same thing, just don't depend on any pan. Cranberry sauce: Put a can opener on the packing list.
You can make acceptable stuffing on the stovetop (hello, Stovetop) but it's normal for a Dutch oven. The folks at Good-to-Go have a great Dutch recipe for sausage and sage stuffing that's part of a full dish. Thanksgiving camp menu Includes green bean casserole and sweet potato recipes adapted for the stovetop or grill. But if you have enough dutch ovens in your network (and space to move them to your chosen location), save one for sweet potato and another for Megan and Michael Apple cobbler.
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