What's the best way to cook turkeys outdoors?
There are plenty of awesome ways to cook your Thanksgiving turkey outside. We tried smoking in a Big Green Egg, roasting in a Traeger pellet grill, using a trusty Weber Kettlle and even deep frying to find out which method is best.

Turkey cooked outside four ways
We cooked four turkeys four different ways to find out which outdoor cooking method yielded the best results.
Spatchcock those birds
To help their dark meat and white meat cook and finish in unison, I butterflied three of our four test turkeys.
No wing tips please
I also removed our turkey's wing tips as they're not particularly appetizing, and tend to burn.
Apply the herb rub
Another step in prepping our turkeys was to coat them a little olive oil and hit them with a heavy dose of an herb rub. The olive oil helps the dry rub stick. The main components of the rub were parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. I also sprinkled them with a light amount of salt.
Start coals with a chimney starter
A charcoal chimney starter was also key to have on hand. I used it to have a supply of lit briquettes ready to go for the Weber Classic grill.
Grill temperature HQ
I monitored temperatures inside two of the three grills we used (the Weber and the Big Green Egg) using thermocouple sensors linked to data logging software. For the third, I relied on the included pit and meat sensors the Traeger Timberline 850 comes with.
A turkey for an Egg
Once the Big Green Egg hit roasting temperature, in went the turkey.
The ConvEggtor is a go
I also used the ConvEggtor heat deflector accessory on the Big Green Egg.
Wood pellet turkey
Once the turkey was in the Traeger Timberline 850, I activated the "super smoke mode" for 30 minutes.
Weber, briquettes and applewood
In addition to the charcoal briquettes, I placed a chunk of applewood directly on the coals inside the Weber Classic.
On goes the bird
With the Weber Classic ready to go, I added the turkey on the indirect heat side of the grill.
The smokers are rollin'
Now that three grills were all set, it was time to get the deep fryer set up.
Safety gear is a must
Don't even think about deep-frying a turkey without the proper safety gear. You'll need heat-resistant gloves, some sort of eye protection and other clothing to insulate against oil splatter.
Have fire suppression on hand
Hot oil, fuel and fire demand that you have some form of grease-rated fire extinguisher device at the ready.
Use the turkey hook
Our turkey fryer kit came with a hook that attaches to a metal stand. We used it to lower the bird into the frying vat.
Hook up the turkey
We put the turkey headfirst on the stand, then attached the hook.
Down it goes
After the oil reached 350 degrees F, we slowly lowered the turkey into the pot.
Don't rush
We took our time lowering the turkey into the hot oil. Bad things can happen if you go too fast.
Fire suppression at the ready
We weren't taking any chances, and had our extinguisher ready.
Fry that bird
Once in the pot of oil, our turkey stayed there for 50 minutes.
Check the temp
We confirmed the that the turkey's breast had reached 160 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer.
Turkey that's GBD
Our fried turkey certainly came out looking golden brown and delicious.
Traeger Turkey's time is up
After 3 hours, the turkey in the Traeger was done.
Crack open the Egg
It took 3 hours for the Big Green Egg to finish cooking its turkey as well.
A grilled turkey to remember
The roasted turkey that came out of the Weber Classic was incredibly good. Its skin was magnificently crisp and crunchy and boasted a smoked barbecue barklike texture.