I get a asked every year, right before thanksgiving:
How big of a turkey can I cook on my grill's rotisserie?
Now, I usually cook two 12 to 14 pound turkeys, one in my charcoal grill, one in my gas grill. I think the meat in the smaller bird is a little more tender, and it cooks quicker and more evenly. It doesn't hurt that I'm an obsessed cook. I want to do two different styles of bird, instead of just one. Cooking two birds lets me do a "regular" bird for the purists, and an exotic bird for my own satisfaction.
Most people aren't grilling fanatics. They don't own two rotisseries. But they want to serve a crowd with a rotisserie turkey. The rule of thumb is one pound of turkey per person, so they want to cook a monster bird.
*I love turkey leftovers, so I always wind up cooking lots more than a pound a person. Two pounds, maybe. But, like I said, I'm crazy.
So, to help out my readers, it was time for a test. I bought the biggest bird I could find at my local grocery store. It was the turkey off-season, so the biggest bird was just shy of 23 pounds. It was huge, about twice the size of the birds I usually cook.
*Thanksgiving turkey sales started this weekend, so I went back and checked. The largest bird I found was 25 ½ pounds. I've heard of 30 pound turkeys. My goodness, those must be enormous.
Did it fit in the kettle grill?
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Easily. There was plenty of room to spare in a Weber kettle with a rotisserie ring. I'll bet I could fit a giant 30 pound turkey in the kettle. Score one for charcoal!
Did it fit in the Weber Summit gas grill?
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It was a tight fit in my Weber summit. I had to change my usual trussing approach to get the bird to fit. Normally I tuck the wings underneath the bird, but this forces the knobs of the wings stick out. There wasn't enough clearance in the grill - the turkey caught on the top of the grill instead of rotating. So, after trussing the bird, I untucked the wings, and slid the wingtip under the trussing string that runs along the edge of the breast. This trusses the wing against the breast and leaves enough room for the turkey to spin.
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| Trussed on the left, tucked on the right. |
Also, I had to remove the burner covers to have enough clearance at the bottom of the grill. I set my drip pan directly on the burners, so it's a good thing I am cooking with indirect heat and leave those burners off.
So, how big a bird could I have fit? The top of the grill was my problem - I had two inches, maybe, between the drumsticks and the top of the lid in my Weber Summit. I could have squeezed in a slightly larger turkey, maybe as much as 25 pounds. I don't think anything bigger would fit.
What about a Weber Genesis?
I cooked a couple of turkeys in the 12 to 14 pound rage in my old Weber Genesis Silver. It was a tight fit, and I had to remove the burner covers and wedge the drip pan in on top of the middle burner, but it worked. I don't think a larger bird would fit...but I never tried, and the Weber Genesis now lives at my sister-in-law's house.
TL;DR Version
The 23 pound turkey fit in both the Weber kettle and the Weber Summit grills. The Weber Kettle had lots of clearance, and I'd guess I could go as large as 30 pounds. The Weber Summit was a close fit. I would guess I could go to 24, maybe 25 pounds, but no larger. For a Weber Genesis, anything larger than 14 pounds would worry me.
How about you?
How big of a bird have you cooked on your grill's rotisserie? I would especially like to hear from you if you use the rotisserie in a Weber Genesis. I may visiting my old Genesis Silver at my sister-in-law's house this year, and I would like to do a larger bird. If you've tried a bird larger than 12 pounds in the Weber Genesis, or on any other grill, let me know in the comments below.
Related Posts
Rotisserie Turkey Wrapped with Bacon
Rotisserie Turkey, Dry Brined with Orange and Spices
Rotisserie Turkey with Cajun Dry Brine
Basic Rotisserie Turkey
Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Basic Dry Brine
Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Honey Bourbon Glaze
 Check out my cookbook, Rotisserie Grilling. |
Everything you could ask about the rotisserie,
plus 50 (mostly) new recipes to get you cooking.
It's a Kindle e-book, so you can download it and start reading immediately!
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Richer Bernard says
Hello,
I have a weber summit kamado.
What is the brand of the rotesserie motor and shaft that you use?
Mike Vrobel says
I use the Weber rotisserie that came with my gas grill, and the Weber 22-inch rotisserie accessory with my charcoal grills.
Tim says
I did a 20 lbs turkey this Thanksgiving on a weber Genesis. Plenty of space
Jim D says
Mike,
I'm looking at your reply to the 20# brined rotisserie on the Webber 470. I have a Firemagic 32" with IR burner. My grill has 3 burners: left, center, right + IR in back. Brining a 21# turkey and adding smoke when I cook it tomorrow. My grill doesn't have a special place for a smoker but I have an after-market smoker box that I can put on top of one of the burners. Should I use the same recipe you posted above? Position the bird to the left side with the legs pointed to the heat from the right burner (this is the only burner that would be on throughout the cooking process and it would have the smoker on top of it for the 1st hour). Have the IR burner on for the 1st hour until brown?
Thanks!
Mike V says
Sounds like you've got it - that's how I would set it up.
Garry says
Hello Mike,
I will be doing a 20lb brined rotisserie turkey on a Weber 470 Summit. Planning on using the smoker box with apple wood. Can you suggest the temperature I should maintain on the gas grill and which burners (rotisserie and bottom) I should have on. Also what's your estimate on the cooking time.
THANKS for your help!
Mike V says
Spit the turkey so the legs are facing the smoker box. Set the grill with all the heat on the leg side - the smoker burner and the burner next to it on high - you want 300 to 350°F internal temp. Turn the IR burner on for the first half hour or so of cooking, until the turkey is browning well, then shut it off. Will take 2 hrs 45 minutes, roughly, but go by internal temp - 160°F deep in the breast - and start checking temp at the 2 hour mark.
See this post for details:
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/rotisserie-turkey-wrapped-with-bacon/
Garry says
Should the IR burner be set on high or a lower setting? Also should I use the ice bag on the breast portion of the turkey to cool that portion of the turkey as suggested in the link?
Garry says
One more question for you..... for the smoker box on the Weber, whould you smoke the whole cooking time?
Mike V says
I use 2 cups of wood chips in the smoker box, added at the beginning of cooking. More is too much smoke for me.
Mike V says
IR Burner on high. Yes on the ice bag.
Marty B says
I am going to try this next week. I have a 38" High Delta. Do you know if my grill will handle a 13# bird? I know it will fit if I grill it but I want to try the rotisserie.
Thanks
Mike V says
It can handle a 13 pound turkey. According to the grill's manual, it's rated for 40 pounds, so 13 pounds should be a breeze:
http://www.deltaheat.com/pdf/18774B_DHBQ-C_USE-AND-CARE-MANUAL.pdf
Garry says
I have a Weber Summit S470 and hope to do a rotisserie turkey for Thanksgiving this year. Any idea of the largest turkey that I could do on the rotisserie using the Weber motor and spit rod that came with the S470?
Also have you used the smoker box on the Weber to smoke your rotisserie turkey? If you have how did it turn out?
Mike V says
Summits are the same size, height wise, so I would say roughly 24 pounds is the biggest - that's what you see in the pictures above. I do use the smoker box, and while gas grills won't give you the deep smoky flavor you can get with a charcoal grill - too much air escapes - it does add a nice wood smoke touch to the bird.
Garry says
For the Summit Grill did you use the Weber Motor that came with the unit? If not what is the max weight that your motor will handle?
Mike V says
Yes, I used the Weber motor. It's rated for 20 pounds, but it handled the larger bird just fine.
bill klinke says
I have done a 19 lb turkey on the weber kettle rotisserie - the weber folks claimed the max the spit will take is 18 lbs.
I have done 30+ thanksgiving turkeys on a kettle, indirect, usually 20-22 lbs, but did a 30 lb on a 28 inch kettle once.
Mike V says
Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Rob, thanks for the update!
Robb Kruger says
Mike, have enjoyed your blog for some time and have "borrowed" your recipes with great results...
To truly tempt fate this T-day, I threw a 25# fresh bird (using your dry brined orange recipe) on the 22.5 kettle rotisserie. The first attempt at spinning stalled the roto, but by re-positioning the spit so the rod actually went above the drumsticks, lowering the back of the bird, the forks were able to take purchase on the legs and balance the bird. 4 hours @325-350 produced a wonderful juicy bird. Even better than the Guinness-brined beauty from last year.
But I agree, cooking two smaller birds is the way to go. Doesn't have the wow factor of Mongo hanging out in the kitchen, but certainly would alleviate many of the other issues.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Thank you for the Fire Magic update!
Angela says
I did remove the cooking grates and placed the drip pan directly on top of the flavorizing grids that are on top of the burner. Burner directly under the drip pan is off
Angela says
I have cooked a 23 lb turkey on my rotisserie. I have a Fire Magic grill with a strong rotisserie motor and heavy spit rod. You have to balance it well on the spit rod and make sure it doesn't flop around or you will damage the rotisserie motor. I wouldn't attempt this on a smaller grill. It turned out the best turkey ever, very moist. I cooked it with the outside burners on Medium and the backburner on Low. I used a drip pan with a little water and
wine placed just behind the bird a little bit so it catches the drippings. Check often as sometimes the ties become loose and it starts flopping around.
Chuck says
How long did it take? I have a fire magic and 22 lb turkey I want to try this year!
That
Mike Vrobel says
About 3 hours - but go by temperature in the deepest part of the breast. Recipe: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/rotisserie-turkey-wrapped-with-bacon/
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Please do report back. Good luck!