Tired of dry, oven-roasted turkey? This Thanksgiving, try something different and impress your guests with a deep-pit barbecue turkey. This method produces perfectly cooked moist, and flavorful turkey that will have everyone asking for seconds.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A large turkey (15-20 lbs)
- A deep pit (3-4 ft deep, 3-4 ft wide)
- Bricks (heat-resistant)
- Wood (hardwood, avoid pine with resin)
- Disposable turkey roasting pan
- Aluminum foil
- Wire
- Wet burlap sacks
- Seasonings of your choice
Step 1: Dig the Pit
Create a pit big enough to hold your turkey, some rocks, briquettes, and a 3-inch layer of dirt on top. Our pit measured slightly less than three feet in width and three feet in depth. The turkey we cooked was about 15 pounds.
Step 2: Line the Pit with Bricks
Line the bottom and sides of the pit with heat-resistant bricks. Angle them for stability. Stones can explode, so only use them if you are certain they haven’t been in contact with water lately.
Step 3: Prepare the Wood
Choose hardwood that won’t impart an overwhelming flavor. Avoid pine with resin. Good choices include oak, fruit tree woods, mesquite, hickory, alder, birch, and maple. You’ll need enough wood to continuously feed your fire for 2-4 hours.
Step 4: Season and Wrap the Turkey
Season your turkey with your favorite seasonings. We used Cajun seasonings for a delicious kick. Place the seasoned turkey in a disposable turkey roasting pan. Cover the turkey and pan tightly with aluminum foil (3-4 layers). Next, cover the turkey with foil, wrap it in wet burlap sacks, and fasten it with wire.
Step 5: Build the Fire
Build a fire in the pit using your chosen wood. Let the fire burn down to red coals at least a foot deep for smaller pits or two feet deep for larger ones.
Step 6: Lower the Turkey into the Pit
Carefully lower the wrapped turkey into the pit using the wire handles. Cover the pit with a metal lid and seal the edges with dirt to prevent smoke from escaping.
Step 7: Cook and Enjoy!
Cook the turkey for 10-11 hours for a 20-pound turkey. For larger turkeys, cook for 16 hours. The beauty of this method is that the low, constant heat won’t dry out the turkey, even if you leave it in a bit longer.
Unwrap the turkey and prepare to be amazed by its perfect texture and incredible flavor!
Tips:
- Take lots of photos of the process to share with your friends and family.
- Start a new Thanksgiving tradition by gathering around the fire pit while the coals burn down.
- This method works well with any seasonings, so feel free to experiment and find your favorite flavor combinations.
With a little effort, you can create a Thanksgiving feast that will be remembered for years to come. So grab your shovel, dig a pit, and get ready to barbecue your way to a delicious and unforgettable Thanksgiving turkey!
Pit Cooking – Bean Hole Cooking – Turkey Recipe
Outdoor Turkey Pit Cooking Recipe that is a great variation on cooking your holiday turkey.
Serve this rustic dinner by cooking a whole turkey, pit style, for your family’s holiday meal or while camping or river rafting in the wilderness. This style of pit cooking is also know as “Bean Hole Cooking. ” If you have the time and place to cook your holiday turkey in an outdoor pit. This Outdoor Turkey Pit Cooking recipe would make a great Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner.
A pit barbecue involves converting a ground-level opening into an oven by heating it with hot coals. It is possible to regulate the oxygen content of the coals and produce a slow, even burn that lasts for several hours by covering the top with aluminum foil first, and then dirt.
Recipe and photos by Alan Meeker of Hillsboro, Oregon, an avid outdoors’ man in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
View more delectable cast-iron cooking recipes, brining poultry to create a more flavorful and moister dish, and other poultry recipes.
Check out this very interesting and informative article on Dutch Oven Camp Cooking.
Outdoor Turkey Pit Cooking Recipe – Turkey In The Hole Recipe
*Cooking Time: 20 minutes per pound. Ingredients
- Ten pounds of fresh or thawed turkey, deboned and giblet-free; optional: Turkey Brine and Butter
- * If you decide to brine your turkey, do so a day or two before pit-cooking the whole bird. Check out Guidelines for Brining Poultry.
- Equipment Needed:
- The pictures on the right show an abundance of firewood, a shovel, metal wire, aluminum foil, river rocks or bricks (river rock works best), and a big cast-iron Dutch oven with a lid.
Instructions
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Preparing the Hole/Pit:
- Make a pit or hole big enough to accommodate all of your bricks and rocks in addition to your cast-iron Dutch oven. Generally, you only need two or three times the capacity of your Dutch oven.
- Line the hole with flat river rocks.
- Fill the hole with lots of fire wood. Use hard woods (hardwoods, when burned, hold heat better).
- Light a fire in the pit and allow it to burn rapidly for at least one hour. Make sure the wood burns all the way to a thick layer of coals. The pit should be roughly entirely covered in ashes and coals, and it should be two to three inches deep.
- After preparing the turkey, you can place it inside the Dutch oven.
- Using a shovel or hot coal shovel, remove some of the hot coals from the area around the pot where your Dutch oven will be placed.
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Preparing and Cooking the Whole Turkey:
- Rub the inside and outside of the turkey with butter. If desired, also rub with your favorite seasoning rub.
- Place the prepared turkey in the Dutch Oven. Cover with the lid. Make sure the lid is firmly fastened with heavy wire to keep ash and debris out of your Dutch oven.
- Once the opening is ready, put the turkey inside the Dutch oven.
- Using your shovel, remove some of the hot coals and ashes from the top of the pot. Furthermore, take out a few hot coals so you can cover the aluminum foil over the pot. Make sure there is some air in the area around the pot.
- Place aluminum foil over the entire hole. Finally, fill the hole with dirt and place some hot coals over the foil.
- Cook the turkey for approximately 4 to 5 hours.
- Place your hand about six inches above the coals on the lid of the oven and count from one to three to determine the temperature. Remove your hand from the heat when it becomes uncomfortable (one is hot, two are moderate, and three is low); otherwise, you are just warming the food, not cooking it.
- After excavating the Dutch oven, remove the lid with a lid lifter and brush off any ashes or dirt. Be sure to wear oven mitts or heavy leather gloves because the pot will still be very hot.
- Insert the meat thermometer into the fleshy part of the thigh without touching the bone. Keep in mind that the turkey will continue to cook after it is taken out of the fire; it should be 165 degrees inside. NOTE: The USDA has determined that 165 F is the universal temperature for poultry safety. To ensure safety and doneness, the internal temperature should be checked using a meat thermometer.
- When cooking, I like to use and prefer this specific kind of meat thermometer. Numerous readers have inquired about my preferred meat or cooking thermometer for use in baking and cooking. I personally use the Thermapen thermometer, which is shown in the picture on the right. To learn more about this amazing thermometer and to purchase one, click the highlighted link: Thermapen Thermometer
- If the internal temperature of your turkey is less than 165 degrees Fahrenheit, remove it from the cooking hole, place it in the Dutch oven, and heat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue baking for a few more minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches the appropriate setting. Be careful that you do not lose those wonderful juices.
- Take the turkey out of the oven or pit and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Actually, after the turkey cools down a bit, you can just use your fingers to pull it apart.
Categories:
How to do a Deep Pit Turkey
FAQ
What temperature is a deep pit turkey done?
How do you cook a turkey in a hole in the ground?
How deep should a Turkey pit be?
Be sure to choose a spot that is at least 15 feet away from any tents, trees, or other materials that could be fire hazards. As you dig, make sure your pit is deep and wide enough to comfortably fit your turkey, your briquettes, a few rocks, and a 3-inch top layer of earth to cover your cooking bird.
How to cook a Turkey in a deep pit?
If you’re cooking a turkey in a deep pit, it’s important to remember that the turkey needs to be cooked evenly. The best way to do this is by using an aluminum foil tent. Make sure the space surrounding the pot has some air. Cover the whole opening with aluminum foil. Finally, cover the foil with hot coals and fill the hole with earth.
How do you put a Turkey in a coal pit?
Place the foil-wrapped turkey in the center of the pit on top of the bed of coals, leaving at least 1 foot of space between the turkey and the sides and top of the pit. The wire coat hanger handles should stick straight up from the middle of the pit.
How do you heat up a Turkey pit?
Remove enough dirt to make a round hole 2 feet wider than the turkey and at least 3 feet deep. Line the pit with bricks or large stones to keep the walls stable and evenly distribute heat. Avoid bricks or stones that have come into contact with water because the heat will cause breakage and possible explosions.