Cook a Turkey in a Trash Can

Roasted turkey takes forever and monopolizes valuable oven space. Fried turkey is, well, fried. But trash-can turkey frees up Thanksgiving kitchen real estate, cooks quickly, and tastes incredible. Seriously.

What You'll Need:
Aluminum foil (two rolls of extra-wide) 
New steel trash can (20-gallon size) 
Newspaper 
Charcoal briquettes (three 10-pound bags) 
Lighter fluid 
Matches 
Broom handle or sturdy stick (2 feet long) 
Hammer 
1 turkey (about a 12-pounder), thawed, giblets packet removed, and rinsed 
Large metal shovel 
Heatproof gloves 
Bucket of water 
Fire extinguisher 
Rub turkey with olive oil and 4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary; season all over with salt and pepper.

Secure Your Site

Clear a fire pit of any rocks, twigs, or other debris, and line it with foil.

Clean the Can

Using a clean scrub brush and hot soapy water, thoroughly clean and rinse the inside of the can.

Light the Coals

Mold a few sheets of foil so they form a bowl large enough to hold about 1 1/2 bags of charcoal. Place the bowl in the fire pit, off to the side. Line the bowl with several sheets of newspaper, fill it with charcoal, add lighter fluid, and light the paper. The coals are ready when they're covered with ash, after about 20 minutes.

Make the Oven

While the coals are heating, hammer the stick securely into dirt in the center of the fire pit. Then shove a wad of foil into the turkey's cavity and balance the bird on the stick. Gently place the can over the bird.

Turn on the Heat

Shovel a ring of coals against the trash can's base, and the remaining coals on top of the can. Let the turkey cook until the charcoal turns to ash, about 2 hours. If the coals turn to ash and start to cool before 2 hours, shovel on a fresh layer of coals. The heat from the smoldering briquettes will light the new ones. Important: Do not lift the can to check on the turkey. Valuable heat will escape from the trash can and the turkey will require much more time to cook.

Remove and Eat

Using heatproof gloves, lift the hot can off the cooked bird. Stick the turkey with a meat thermometer--if it reads 165°F at the thigh, it's safe to eat. Douse the coals with water, being cautious of the resulting smoke or ash.

Posted via email from WellCare