I’ve done many Beer Can Turkeys over the past few years with great success. They were moist tasty and perfectly cooked. I experiment every year with different setups and method in order to achieve butter results. I brine ALL may Turkeys, and totally believe it makes a big difference.
Lately been working on how the turkey skin looks and how crispy I can get it.
Here is where I started few years ago
Got better looking bird using WSM and higher temp and No rub on the skin. I noticed that the rub on the skin just burns and taste bitter, and caused the bird to get darker. It also didn’t add any flavor to the meat. Since the turkey was brined and I use a lot of spices in my brine, the flavor of the spices permeates the meat through the brining process. I also season both the neck and internal cavity with spices, which is near the meat.
A couple of years ago I got this turkey cannon to save on space inside the grill
And placed the coals on one side of the bird opposed a pile on each side
Rotated the bird during cooking and kept the temp around 360
The final product looked awesome and tasted just as good as previous turkeys. I also noticed that if I use dry wood chunks opposed pre-soaked, the skin does not get as dark either.
I also let the Turkey dry out in the Fridge for at least 2 days post brining for crispier skin and never use water in the grill/smoker.
This year I will Rotisserie the turkey on the Kettle