This recipe produces a succulent turkey with crisp, dark brown skin, and flavorful but not overpowering smoke flavor. Be sure to use the left over scraps to make turkey broth! Begin preparations 1 day in advance. Family rating: 4/5, David's rating: 4/5.

12-14 Pound Turkey, Fresh	1½ Gallons Water
1½ Cups Kosher Salt	½ Cup Olive Oil

One day before serving: make brining solution by mixing salt and water in a large stock pot. Remove giblets and rinse the turkey. Submerge bird in the brining solution, and store in refrigerator 12-18 hours. Discard soft tissued giblets (e.g. liver), and refrigerate firm tissued giblets (neck, gizzard, heart) in a sealed container.

On serving day: begin cooking preparations 3-1/2 hours prior to serving time. Soak chunks of apple and alder wood in water for at least 1 hour. Remove turkey from brine, rinsing well inside & out. Place bird, breast side up, on a cutting board to truss it. Tie legs securely together with several wraps from the center of a 6 foot length of kitchen twine (or if the turkey comes with a metal hook for this purpose, secure legs under the hook , and tie string to the hook). Take the free ends of twine, and wrap them in opposite directions around the turkey, securing the wing against the body, crossing the neck cavity, crossing the other wing, and returning to the legs. Pull the two ends of twine tight, and secure with a knot beneath leg ends. Note: if you are going to hang the turkey from the Kamado meat hook (preferred method), make certain that the truss is tight--it will keep the turkey from drooping into the drip pan.

Start a fire in the Kamado using oak or maple lump charcoal and stabilize the temperature at 375 degrees F. Throw a few chunks of apple and alder wood on the fire, in equal proportion. On the lower rack of the Kamado, place a drip pan on ceramic spacers (e.g. tile scraps) over a heat deflector (pizza stone or quarry tiles). Add reserved giblets and wing tips to the drip pan. Hang turkey by the legs from meat hanger, using a stainless steel S-hook. If you don't have a meat hanger for the Kamado, place turkey, breast side up, on main rack over drip pan. Brush outside of turkey with olive oil. Close the Kamado lid and maintain temerature at approximately 350-375 degrees F. Brush the bird with olive oil approximately every 30 minutes. After one hour of cooking, throw some more wood chunks on the fire, and remove giblets & wing tips from the drip pan; these may be reserved for gravy, eaten as snacks, or reserved for making turkey stock. Cook turkey to an internal temperature of 170 degrees F at the thickest part of the thigh (but not against the bone)--approximately 1 additional hour (2 hours total). Transfer meat to a platter and allow to rest 15 minutes before carving.

While turkey is resting, remove the drip pan, deglaze with water or stock, and make gravy.