Thanksgiving Day, 8 a.m.

In The Barbecue Bible, Steve Raichlen suggests from 15 to 20 minutes for a grilled turkey. In my experience, the actual range is anywhere from 12 to 25 minutes. The key factor appears to be cloud cover, with prevailing winds and temperature also strong contributors. This year's turkey weighs in at 21 pounds, and as it will have to be transported to an off-site dining location, I've decided to work with a conservative cooking time of five hours.

I grill the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan which rests on the Weber's charcoal grate; a turkey is too big to sit on the regular grilling grate and still fit under the lid. I pile the hot coals along the side of the roasting pan, in which I maintain about an inch of water to keep the heat from bending the thin metal. Turkey drippings in that water, happily enough, create an excellent stock for gravy. (This year, I strengthened the stock by putting the neck and giblets in the pan as well.) After a half-dozen or so turkeys, though, my roasting pan has begun to rust. This year, the turkey rested in a disposable pan liner. With water in both pans, I suppose I achieved a double boiler effect, although I can't imagine what that might have accomplished.

The turkey goes on, and then I wait an hour for the next step.