While I like all poultry headed for the smoker, gas grill, or oven to be brined at least for a few hours, for a more emphatic flavoring, a brine cum marinade works wonderfully. It's also useful when you don't want to cook your bird for a couple of days. This turkey was left in its marinade in a large covered canner (on the floor of a near-freezing garage colder than my refrigerator) for three days. Carved in thin, small slices this 15-pounder goes a long, long way for a buffet or cocktail party fare.
1 fresh turkey, about 15 lbs
Marinade:
3 Tbsp. duck or goose fat or vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
Some celery tops
1 bay leaf
4 whole cloves
1 Tbsp. black peppercorns, cracked
Half bottle dry white wine
6 Tbsp. kosher salt
Cold water to cover
Wash the turkey thoroughly inside and out with cold water. Reserve the giblets for gravy.
Melt the fat or heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the onion, garlic, and celery until limp but not browned. Add the celery tops, bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns, wine, and salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cold water or ice cubes to cool it quickly. Mix with cold water to come halfway up in a large container. Add the turkey and turn it around in the marinade. Add cold water to cover the turkey by an inch or so and stir well to distribute flavorings and salt. Cover and place in a cold (below 40 degrees) place for two or three days. Stir it up twice a day. If time is short you can make do with an overnight brine/marinade bath.
Rinse the turkey well in cold running water and pat it dry. Place on a rack in front of an electric fan running at high speed for about an hour. Turn the bird frequently to dry evenly. This forms the pellicle that makes the bird shiny when finished. After drying, rub the turkey with oil or softened butter.
Build a fire using natural wood charcoal chunks if possible and soak some wood chips (pecan or fruit woods are good for poultry) for half an hour. In the Big Green Egg the turkey is forced down over a vertical frame with a round base (available in housewares and hardware stores) before drying. However, measure your grill to be sure it will accommodate the upright turkey; otherwise, place it on a V-shaped basket. Either style requires a heavy underpan to catch the drippings. Put about half an inch of water in the pan under the turkey on its rack and place it on the grill when it reaches about 300 degrees F. Toss the wet chips on the charcoal embers just before putting the turkey in.
An unstuffed 15-pound turkey, wings tied close to the body but legs akimbo, should reach 180 degrees in the thickest part of the breast in 2 to 2 1/2 hours if the temperature is kept at 300. Add more charcoal after about one hour, and if the temperature drops down to 250 occasionally, no harm is done - the smoke-cooking will just take a bit longer. However, open the grill as infrequently as possible and close it quickly so as to lose as little heat as you must. Let the turkey rest on its rack for at least half an hour before carving with a very sharp, thin knife.
The pan drippings make a delicious dark brown gravy. If you don't need it at the meal the turkey will be served at, use it to make a sauce for turkey meatballs made from pre-ground raw turkey, a rather insipid though healthful low-fat meat.