How Not to Barbecue a Turkey

I am sure readers of blogs assume bloggers are all perfect and that disaster never strikes, but there isn't much point putting a disaster on a blog unless it is spectacular, funny and worthwhile, and this one is!

Yep, I am going back in time here because I have never been brave enough to put this on the blog. The scenario is Christmas morning 2009 - my turkey was buttered, baconed and stuffed to within an inch of its life.

We had a power cut, my husband said ok let's cook it on our newly acquired gas barbeque, which unfortunately neither of us had much experience in using.

He heated up the barbeque to the required temperature, ah yes, the power has come back on again. I heated up the kitchen oven, the power went off yet again. Only one thing for it now, put the turkey on the barbeque.

The turkey was placed on the barbeque and because of all of the butter, bacon and stuffing it immediately went up in flames. Not to be deterred my husband said very calmly, it's only a flare-up it will be ok in a minute. He then put the lid down and the amount of smoke coming from the barbeque had to be seen to be believed.

Panic, panic, panic (that's me, not my husband). He still insisted the turkey was ok, I was now not at all happy, after all you only get one go at cooking the turkey and mine was about to be incinerated before my very eyes. By now I am shouting, take it off, take it off..............At last he did, but still insisted the flare-up would subside.

What was I to do, no electricity and a turkey about to be cremated..............at last our electricity was restored and the partly incinerated turkey put into the oven to continue cooking. My turkey had already had it's initial blast of high heat on the barbeque and now only required some short cooking time.

The good news, the turkey was delicious and had a very distinct barbeque flavour. Funny thing is, my daughter said it was the best turkey she had ever eaten!

Hopefully, this Christmas everything will be ok...................but you never know, do you?