Recently on ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA), celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse said the #1 problem for cooks at Thanksgiving time is “not enough oven space.”

Not at our house.

For the last 15 years, we’ve been making our turkey on a Weber gas grill.

It’s a lot easier than you think. And it comes out juicier than any turkey made indoors.

Turkey comes out juicier when made in an “outdoor oven”

The reason why, according to Mike Kempster, Weber Executive VP and CMO, is unlike an indoor oven which simply recirculates dry air, your turkey in an outdoor oven (a.k.a. Weber or other top-quality gas grill) is surrounded by a fresh stream of moist outdoor air.

I confess the first time Mike told me this, I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. But with more than a decade of grilled birds under my belt (figuratively and literally), I know it to be true.

© Linda Kelen

Now you may be thinking “hey Dave, that’s all well and good but I’m afraid to try something new because I might screw it up.”

Permit me to make a suggestion: Do what I did the first time.

Grill your first turkey the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when supermarkets slash the price of their remaining birds.

If you screw up at the grill, you’re only out a few bucks.

But trust me, you won’t screw up. Because as I said, it’s a lot easier than you think. And it comes out juicier than any turkey made indoors.

In fact, I’d venture to guess you’ll become a grilled turkey convert, too.

And on Thanksgiving Day 2017, you’ll inaugurate a new family tradition.

FURTHER READING (IF YOU’RE SO INCLINED):
“How to grill your turkey on a gas grill” by the Reluctant Gourmet
“BIRD ON A FIRE” by Sandra S. McRae