This Christmas I have decided to bring back an old tradition from my childhood. Every year my grandfather would smoke the turkey. To this day it is the moistest and most delicious turkey I have ever had.

My grandfather was the most inventive person I know. He would make things from scraps and his smoker was no exception. The base was a Weber grill. In fact, it may have been the “first” Weber grill. He would put two small piles of charcoal on each side. Next to the charcoal he placed his wood chips. Then he made two shallow boxes out of aluminum foil he placed in the center to catch the drippings. He also used aluminum foil to cover the grill grates and poked several holes in the center so the drippings could fall through. This made cleanup a breeze.

The piece de resistance was his cover. He made a dome out of thin metal rods. And you guessed it, it too was covered in aluminum foil. I wish I had a picture to upload. It was so simple and looked sort of cheesy but like everything else he made it was extremely effective.

The preparation of the turkey was also simple. He would carefully loosen the skin and rub Hawaiian salt in between the skin and flesh. Then he would melt butter and stir in garlic powder which would become the basting liquid.

Once the turkey was placed in the smoker we would check it every hour and add more charcoal and wood chips as needed. Basting would begin after hour 2 or 3. Depending on the size of the turkey, it would be done after 5 or 6 hours. He always did the leg test. I don’t think he even owned a thermometer.

Once the turkey was done it would have a perfectly even, dark, crispy skin, and the most moist breast meat you could ever taste. The drippings would be used to make the best gravy ever.

His make-shift smoker is now long gone, but this year I am attempting to revive his tradition. The methods I use will be the same. Only the equipment will be different. I bought a Brinkmann smoker and can only hope my turkey turns out as good as his did. Time will only tell. Once the presents are unwrapped and the turkey coma’s have passed, I will take a consensus of our guests and post the results.

Until then,
Merry Christmas