How to cook Thanksgiving meal tailgate style

A home Green Bay Packers game on Thanksgiving Day has culinary worlds colliding in Packerland.

Tailgating vs. turkey dinner.

Less dedicated fans might drop one in favor of the other, but not here in a part of the country where time is measured in Lombardi trophies and pride centers on an uncanny ability to keep the grill coals fired under the most adverse conditions.

The good news is that we don’t have to compromise: An entire Thanksgiving meal can be prepared on a Weber kettle grill.

With some sage advice from Chef Jeff Igel, chair of the culinary arts and hospitality department at Fox Valley Technical College, I made a few tweaks to my grilling game plan and held a Thanksgiving Day pre-season cookout practice in the backyard.

Here’s the game plan:

THE GRILL

Prep: Because of the long cook time, a hinged grate is essential for replenishing coals with fresh briquettes. Smoky flavors are part of the joy of cooking a turkey on the grill. If you plan to use wood chips, begin soaking them in water 2 hours before grill time. Stick with cherry or apple wood.

Game plan: Setup grill for indirect heat with 12 lit briquettes piled on either side of a drip pan. Fill the drip pan with liquid. This is a good time to use that skunky beer a well-meaning, but misguided, friend gave you. If your friend sees you pouring his beer into the drip pan, tell him you saved this beer specially for the "honor" of keeping the turkey moist.

Audible: I use wood chunks instead of chips, because I'm as lazy as the next guy and like to skip the soaking chips in water step.

Coach's clicker: The drip pan will need to be replenished with liquid throughout the cooking process or it will dry up, advises Igel.

THE TURKEY

About 90 percent of my turkey grilling technique comes from Steven Raichlen's book " How To Grill ." Raichlen himself may have improved this method, but I haven't had a complaint about the turkey in nearly a decade of hosting my family Thanksgiving dinner. Ain't broke, don't fix it.

Prep: Thaw turkey, remove gravy packet, neck, etc … If you're going to brine, plan for an overnight soak, for up to 24 hours. If you don't brine, you'll want to inject the turkey with a sauce or marinade. I've done both, each ha s its merits .

Game plan: Either remove the turkey from the brine or inject with sauce. Pat dry, rub with seasonings and brush with olive oil. Tuck the wings under the bird. Place over the drip pan on the grill. Throw a handful of wood chips or chunks on the coals. Cover the grill and open the top vents. After an hour, add 12 briquettes to each side, wood chips or chunks and brush the turkey with olive oil. Repeat steps after another hour. Check for doneness at 2½ hours, my 11-pound turkey was done at this point having reached 165 F on my instant read thermometer. Getting the turkey off the grill at the right temperature is critical if you want to avoid a "Christmas Vacation" dinner scene . Tent turkey loosely with tinfoil and allow to rest at least 20 minutes.

Time Of Possession: 2½ to 4 hours grilling, 20-30 minutes resting.

Audible: I like to cover my turkey with tin foil while grilling to keep the skin from getting too dark.

Coach's clicker: Igel includes a brine recipe in the cookbook "Grilling, Smoking & BBQ" he co-authored with BBQ Hall of Famer chef Paul Kirk. Chef Paul's Smoked Turkey Brine: 1 gallon distilled water, 1 cup Kosher salt, ½ cup sugar, 6 leaves fresh tarragon or ¼ cup dried tarragon, 1 teaspoon black pepper. Mix ingredients in unchlorinated water. Place turkey in large non-metallic dish and cover completely with brine. Let sit in refrigerator overnight up to 24 hours. Remove turkey from brine, pat dry, coat with olive oil and put in smoker or grill.

YAMS

You're going to cook these directly on the coals. Literally, on the coals.

Prep: Choose four medium-sized sweet potatoes that are roughly the same size. Scrub, poke holes with a fork.

Game plan: Put them on the coals. Rotate yams occasionally to achieve an even, black charred crust. When they look burnt and inedible, they're done.

T.O.P.: 40 minutes to an hour.

Audible: Put out marshmallows, butter, maple syrup and brown sugar to allow guests to customize.

Coach's clicker: Yam selection is critical, too big and they could rob the grill of heat. However, Igel says to make sure they are large enough to endure the inevitable loss charring produces.

SIDE DISHES

Two 8-inch disposable aluminum pans fit nicely on a standard kettle grill. I tested a green bean casserole and dressing, but most side dishes made in the oven can be done on the grill. Things got dicey here for me. The green bean casserole came out better than typical. The dressing was dry in spots while mushy in others, something I chalk this up to rushing the stove top preparation.

Prep: When choosing a side dish, make sure cook time is less than 30 minutes. Do as much prep work as possible the night before.

Game plan: Add 12 briquettes per side, take turkey off the grill and tent (see above), place side dish pan(s) in the middle of the grate and put on the grill lid. Cook until heated through.

T.O.P.: 20-30 minutes.

Audible: The added hit of smoky flavors has me convinced to forever make green bean casseroles on the grill.

Coach's clicker: Stubbornly, I did everything on one grill to test the plan, but as my first attempt with the dressing somewhat flopped (it wasn't completely inedible), Igel's words rang in my head: "It sounds like you have too much food to prepare on one grill. I would focus on the turkey and the sweet potatoes on one grill and consider a second grill for the green beans and the mashed potatoes.*"

*Originally I planned to do stuffing inside the turkey and pan of mashed potatoes. But I heeded Igel's advice: "Not sure mashed potatoes are necessary in addition to sweet potatoes." Plus making stuffing in a grilled or smoked turkey is a USDA no-no .

PIE

What about the pie you ask? Nobody should ever make their pie on Thanksgiving Day.

Coach's clicker: "Agreed. Pumpkin pie (actually a custard) should be prepared in advance and served chilled," Igel said.

Daniel Higgins writes about food and drink for Gannett Wisconsin Media,

daniel.higgins@gannettwisconsin.com, Twitter and Instagram @HigginsEats, facebook.com/gwmdanhiggins.