Lunch: Smoked Turkey with Hot Pepper Jelly Glaze

Recipe by Elizabeth Karmel Smoking a whole turkey is little more work than roasting a bird, but it infuses the meat with a rich, woodsy flavor. All it requires is setting up a grill. Once that's done, the turkey's good to go—all it needs is a simple glaz

Ingredients

1 14- to 16-pound turkey, neck and giblets reserved for another use, turkey brined if desired
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Using wood chips in a gas grill is very easy but takes a little planning. If your grill has a smoker attachment, follow the manufacturer's instructions and fill it with wood chips that have been soaked in water or other non-flammable liquid for 30 minutes. If you don't have a smoker box, follow these simple instructions: Fill a small disposable aluminum pan with soaked wood chips, remove the cooking grate, and place the pan in the upper left corner of the grill, or at the spot where all the burners come together. The pan of wood chips will be resting directly on the ceramic briquettes, flavorizerbars, or lava rocks.
Preheat the grill with all the burners on high until smoke begins to appear around the edges of the grill. At this time, set the grill for indirect cooking (turn the burners that will be directly under the food off) and turn the other burners down to medium-low heat. Immediately place the food in the center of the cooking grate and close the lid of the grill to retain the heat and the smoke. You won't need to add more chips, as one panful is enough to impart a nice smoky flavor to the food.
Note: It is essential that you put the soaked wood chips in a gas grill during the preheat stage. Once you set the burners for indirect heat, there won't be enough heat to smolder the chips. Likewise, if you don't soak the chips, they will ignite and burn, not smoke.

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