The Turkey Thread

[Jerry Callo 8,827]

Two hours on the smoker.

[Jerry Callo 8,827]

Smoking the one 21 pounder today for the family.    Assisted with smoking 150 turkeys yesterday for the community.

[TwiceHorn 31,676]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Welp, it's in the oven now.  Gonna slather the upper regions with butter when it comes out, kind of depending on the thigh/breast temp differential toward the end.

Welp, the differential was not great Bob.  After two hours the breast was at 160 and the lower thigh barely 130.  Took another 40 minutes to get the thigh part up.  But I basted and buttered every 15 minutes and quit taking the temp of the breast.

I think I am fairly adept with the thermapen as far as putting it in, but I seem to get fairly variable readings.

[dcbc 14,568]

I overshot my time-target by about an hour.  Thankfully, everyone is running late.  Moved from the smoker to the oven and am encouraging it at 425F.  Breastesess just hit 160

[Jerry Callo 8,827]

Dinnertime is specifically set for everyone but the cook - flexibility is the cook's perogative.

[Anastasis 23,498]

Soon. 

 

[BearSchlong 8,135]

Mine is on the Recteq at 225 with apple wood pellets after a 24 hr brine. Gonna pull it hopefully at 7 am, rest it in an ice chest and drive over to north of Baton Rouge.

I slept 7.5 hours, and the Recteq temp never varied. When I woke up, I cranked it to 350 for an hour, pulled it, and it was perfect. That brine really seals in the juice.

[TexasHooch 5,152]

1 hour ago, Jerry Callo said:

Dinnertime is specifically set for everyone but the cook - flexibility is the cook's perogative.

That's my general principle when I'm at the smoker/grill, but It's harder to say "it's done when it's done", when there are 4 or 5 side dishes being prepared based according to your timeline.  Traditional BBQ is much easier for me because sides are generally cold, reheatable, or non-existent.  I just had to tap the brakes on my turkey, which is fine.

[immamac 43,552]

2 hours ago, PittsburghTiger said:

So, I sliced it up and the cook was a bit uneven. 85% is perfect and I will gently heat it up and take it with us. Because I was not certain how completely thawed it was, as others have mentioned, I will hold on to the legs to heat up later this weekend. The taste is very good.

Overall, I am pleased but, I do a lot better on the smoker with beef, pork and chicken and veggies.

Next time spatchcock.

Got mine on now 325 for a while then I'll crank it to 450+ and crisp it up. 

Got another one I'm injecting with 2lbs of butter then frying. 

2 12 pounders instead of a gigantic 20+ seems to be much better results IMO

[TwiceHorn 31,676]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Welp, the differential was not great Bob.  After two hours the breast was at 160 and the lower thigh barely 130.  Took another 40 minutes to get the thigh part up.  But I basted and buttered every 15 minutes and quit taking the temp of the breast.

I think I am fairly adept with the thermapen as far as putting it in, but I seem to get fairly variable readings.

Somewhat to my surprise, came out very well. Breast was nice and juicy. For the sheer hell of it I took a last reading of the breast once the thighs got done and it was over 185 without letting the probe run all the way up.   

Thought it would be dry as fuck, but was quite good. I basted and buttered pretty well the last 40 minutes of cooking, which may have dubious effects including making it greasy. But not a problem. 

[Baboontyme 2,835]

2 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Somewhat to my surprise, came out very well. Breast was nice and juicy. For the sheer hell of it I took a last reading of the breast once the thighs got done and it was over 185 without letting the probe run all the way up.   

Thought it would be dry as fuck, but was quite good. I basted and buttered pretty well the last 40 minutes of cooking, which may have dubious effects including making it greasy. But not a problem. 

Separate them mid cook next time. I had the opposite problem. Thighs legs and wings were done an hour before the breast. 

We just finished eating, my God it was good this year. 

[Anastasis 23,498]

Ok let’s go

 

 

 

[Tonesky 1,006]

Headed to in-laws for dinner (with stuffing and a pecan pie), but smoking a boneless breast for the house at wife’s request.  It’s getting close. 

[jimmyjazz 46,469]

6 legs down, 3 breasts down, 6 thighs in the oven.  Two hams marking time.  SOMETHING has to taste good.

[dcbc 14,568]

No pics, but I crushed it this year. WSM always does a great job and I can set the BBQ Guru to hold temp while I spend the morning getting the sides in order. Lots of compliments from guests, including my niece who told me that my turkeys have completely spoiled her, and the Friendsgiving attempts this year were quite inferior. I need to add her to the will.

Edited to add that I really think the orange wedges in the carcass do a great job at evening out the cooking between breast and thighs. It also contributed a nice flavor to the end product.

[luke duke 6,420]

Two hours on the smoker.

Where’s the smoker?

[Dutch 4,497]

Happy Thanksgiving, assholes. 

 

Edited Thursday at 11:42 PM by Dutch

[PittsburghTiger 6,239]

6 hours ago, immamac said:

Next time spatchcock.

Got mine on now 325 for a while then I'll crank it to 450+ and crisp it up. 

Got another one I'm injecting with 2lbs of butter then frying. 

2 12 pounders instead of a gigantic 20+ seems to be much better results IMO

Yeah, I'll definitely do it differently next year, or in between to practice. The 18-pounder was a bit too big for not being sure it was completely thawed.

I thought about cutting it like you suggested here but, the weather this week has been not very great and my deck is not covered. I also had an airport run yesterday early evening and then Poker Night up at a buddy's farm, so I was pressed for time. I looked at some videos for what you said and it looks like it'd be much easier and consistent.

Still, there was no turkey left of what I took up the river today.

Edited Friday at 02:41 AM by PittsburghTiger

[BigDHornfan 6,590]

[That Guy 971]

This guy spent about two hours in the egg. Brined for about 20 hours and smoked with cherry and pecan. 

[dcbc 14,568]

Confession.  My turkey had zero heritage.  It was a 24 lb, solution-injected, Honeysuckle Rose I bought at WalMart for $0.88 per pound.  And I do this every year.  And on the WSM with the Franklin video method posted above (with oranges up its ass and no brine because it came with one), it kills every time.  I always have to remember how to cook it because I only do it once each year.  But those cheap-ass turkeys smoke up just fine (and  many of my relatives are good cooks who wouldn't go this route on if it hadn't proven solid).

Edited Friday at 03:32 AM by dcbc

[immamac 43,552]

Smoked breast missing becsuse its sliced. It was bomb. 

[mdleast 8,388]

Smoked breasts on the WSM for 3 hours then 1 hour with each wrapped in foil with a stick of butter. Easy, breezy and delicious.

[Steamboat1874 4,152]

Smoked turkey is great anytime except for Thanksgiving.

Give me an oven roasted turkey cooked in the oven in a bag all day.

Been doing this for at least thirty years and the turkey is absolutely perfect and juicy plus you get incredible turkey broth in the bottom of that bag. I put chopped celery and onions (large chunks) below the turkey.

I promise you that you will never fuck with brining one again if you try this.

The leftovers are also very moist.

[Underdog 28,868]

19 hours ago, dcbc said:

Confession.  My turkey had zero heritage.  It was a 24 lb, solution-injected, Honeysuckle Rose I bought at WalMart for $0.88 per pound.  And I do this every year.  And on the WSM with the Franklin video method posted above (with oranges up its ass and no brine because it came with one), it kills every time.  I always have to remember how to cook it because I only do it once each year.  But those cheap-ass turkeys smoke up just fine (and  many of my relatives are good cooks who wouldn't go this route on if it hadn't proven solid).

We usually do Shady Brook Farms turkey from Wal-Mart but went with Butterball this year, won't be doing that anymore as it was disappointing. 

[dcbc 14,568]

1 hour ago, Underdog said:

We usually do Shady Brook Farms turkey from Wal-Mart but went with Butterball this year, won't be doing that anymore as it was disappointing. 

Yeah, that Honeysuckle White brand has been solid for us.  Cheap as hell too.

[dcbc 14,568]

2 hours ago, Steamboat1874 said:

Smoked turkey is great anytime except for Thanksgiving.

Give me an oven roasted turkey cooked in the oven in a bag all day.

Been doing this for at least thirty years and the turkey is absolutely perfect and juicy plus you get incredible turkey broth in the bottom of that bag. I put chopped celery and onions (large chunks) below the turkey.

I promise you that you will never fuck with brining one again if you try this.

The leftovers are also very moist.

My mom did this once when I was a kid.  Most of what you describe was spot on, but she got no color or crispness in the skin.  

[Steamboat1874 4,152]

7 minutes ago, dcbc said:

My mom did this once when I was a kid.  Most of what you describe was spot on, but she got no color or crispness in the skin.  

I rub the skin all over with olive oil and then salt, pepper and sage.

It browns just fine.

[dcbc 14,568]

Just now, Steamboat1874 said:

I rub the skin all over with olive oil and then salt, pepper and sage.

It browns just fine.

I'm not saying it wasn't user error on her part.  While I prefer smoked turkey, I make a stunt turkey for stock, dripping, and vegetables two weeks ahead of time.  I roast the stunt turkey.  No bag, but water in the roasting pan and melted butter and a rub.  It turns out well.  

[Steamboat1874 4,152]

4 minutes ago, dcbc said:

I'm not saying it wasn't user error on her part.  While I prefer smoked turkey, I make a stunt turkey for stock, dripping, and vegetables two weeks ahead of time.  I roast the stunt turkey.  No bag, but water in the roasting pan and melted butter and a rub.  It turns out well.  

Good idea.

[dcbc 14,568]

2 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

Good idea.

It saves a lot of time and effort on Thanksgiving Day 

[Underdog 28,868]

Wife jars up and freezes left over gravy to use at a later time if/when we do turkey sometime during the year or to use for today next year. 

[PittsburghTiger 6,239]

On 11/28/2024 at 5:44 PM, dcbc said:

No pics, but I crushed it this year. WSM always does a great job and I can set the BBQ Guru to hold temp while I spend the morning getting the sides in order. Lots of compliments from guests, including my niece who told me that my turkeys have completely spoiled her, and the Friendsgiving attempts this year were quite inferior. I need to add her to the will.

Edited to add that I really think the orange wedges in the carcass do a great job at evening out the cooking between breast and thighs. It also contributed a nice flavor to the end product.
 

 

Ha! Just funnin’

[Baboontyme 2,835]

2 hours ago, dcbc said:

It saves a lot of time and effort on Thanksgiving Day 

The gravy from the parts turkey was amazing. I don't get any drippings on the offset. I cook too hot. But the turkey tasted like ass. It was daf. I thought it was nearing completion by my instant read but then I probed deeper and was seeing 140 and got paranoid. Both sides, I wonder if I poked through the cavity or something. I waited until it came up to 160 in those same spots and the rest of the breast was reading 180. Yuck. Daf is pretty on brand for my wife so she had some and my son took some for his protein snack at school. The rest I'm going to pick apart and put into the stock with some veggies and egg noodles and make some soup. 

[dcbc 14,568]

5 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

The gravy from the parts turkey was amazing. I don't get any drippings on the offset. I cook too hot. But the turkey tasted like ass. It was daf. I thought it was nearing completion by my instant read but then I probed deeper and was seeing 140 and got paranoid. Both sides, I wonder if I poked through the cavity or something. I waited until it came up to 160 in those same spots and the rest of the breast was reading 180. Yuck. Daf is pretty on brand for my wife so she had some and my son took some for his protein snack at school. The rest I'm going to pick apart and put into the stock with some veggies and egg noodles and make some soup. 

I don't get drippings on the WSM either.  But with those oranges in the cavity and using the Franklin method and coating with butter at the end with it wrapped in a pan, you get some buttery turkey goodness in the pan, which I've added to gravy with good results.  I still haven't cooked one on my offset.  I needed to be able to ignore it (like another oven).  Too many sides to tend fire.

Edited Saturday at 04:16 AM by dcbc

[Baboontyme 2,835]

I've been on a bit of a ramen kick lately.

[GenXer 3,120]

[Brisketexan 105,567]

Achiote?

[GenXer 3,120]

Nope. I’m a cook by the numbers guy.

This is meat church’s maple bourbon spatchcock turkey recipe.

Brined it overnight in a poultry mix / maple syrup / bourbon brine.

The rub is meat church’s texas sugar.

Basted it every 45 min with maple syrup/ butter mix

Cooked for about three hours at 275 with a pan of water in the traeger. Turned out really good.

 

[Gatorubet 30,387]

21 hours ago, GenXer said:

This is meat church’s maple bourbon spatchcock turkey recipe.

Brined it overnight in a poultry mix / maple syrup / bourbon brine.

The rub is meat church’s texas sugar.

Basted it every 45 min with maple syrup/ butter mix

(j/k sounds delish)

Here is one of my favorite parts of turkey day (which my sons and I celebrated today) -

throwing the turkey carcass, various root vegetables and whatever seasoning suits you into a stock pot and let it barely simmer until the goodness infuses.   My son, who cooks at one of the nicer up-and-comer New Orleans restaurants, is coming over Tuesday to make gumbo for his pops - and I should have enough stock left to make some kick ass cauliflower soup now that the temperature is dipping a bit at night.

My oldest son* does not cook, but is a manager for one of the Brennan Clan Kingdoms, which helps me get a table when I screw up and forget a reservation.  

(*Neither of my sons are lawyers, which shows that I have a high degree of parenting skills.)

[Gatorubet 30,387]

On 11/29/2024 at 8:03 PM, Underdog said:

Wife jars up and freezes left over gravy to use at a later time if/when we do turkey sometime during the year or to use for today next year.