The Turkey Thread

[Baboontyme 2840]

I appreciate the big breast energy up in here. My bird was juicy as all hell but I've got to tell you guys I think my taste buds have changed since I lost weight. I'm not sure I love smoked turkey anymore. I didn't eat that much and I was good with that. Everyone said it was the best one yet, though so shrug. I will see what I think of the oven roasted breast tomorrow if my mother in law doesn't cook it to 200 degrees (she will). 

 

[mchookem 16554]

so who has a good turkey gumbo recipe? 😁

dry brine worked great! only slight faux pas...i proceeded to make my gravy with the liquid from the pan. like, a lot of it 😂 tasted it before i started seasoning and was like 'holy crap that's salty!' then i was like...oh, yeah, brine. 😊 luckily i still had chicken stock to try again. 

anyway...i wanna do an actual gumbo and not just a soup. will research but figured someone here probably has a good one they've perfected 🤘

hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Edited November 25, 2022 by mchookem

[Dry Elbows 142]

Smoked a brisket and a couple of turkey boobies.  Did the Chud method for the turkey boobies, but also slathered with Duke’s mayo before applying the rub.  Everything turned out great.

[TexasHooch 5152]

Prepped with under skin herb butter, thrown on the Weber 26in, and kissed with apple wood.

[baboso 6057]

Smoked two turkey breasts using the Franklin method and John Lewis' all purpose rub.  Turned out great.  Biggest hit was the gravy from the Franklin video.  I thought my girlfriend's kids were just going to get a glass and drink it straight.

[tigol 2421]

1 hour ago, Dry Elbows said:

Smoked a brisket and a couple of turkey boobies.  Did the Chud method for the turkey boobies, but also slathered with Duke’s mayo before applying the rub.  Everything turned out great.

Looks awesome!  Will you please explain the Chud method?  I tried watching the video but the guy is obnoxious.

[TexasHooch 5152]

2 minutes ago, tigol said:

Looks awesome!  Will you please explain the Chud method?  I tried watching the video but the guy is obnoxious.

The method is to pretend it's a ham and honey smoke it.

[Dry Elbows 142]

1 hour ago, tigol said:

Looks awesome!  Will you please explain the Chud method?  I tried watching the video but the guy is obnoxious.

When the turkey breast reaches 140* internal temp put it in a pan of clarified butter (I used ghee) and cook in that until it reaches 155*. Then wrap in foil with top down to rest. Pour some of the clarified butter in the foil  

Edited November 25, 2022 by Dry Elbows

[dcbc 14570]

so who has a good turkey gumbo recipe?
dry brine worked great! only slight faux pas...i proceeded to make my gravy with the liquid from the pan. like, a lot of it tasted it before i started seasoning and was like 'holy crap that's salty!' then i was like...oh, yeah, brine. luckily i still had chicken stock to try again. 
anyway...i wanna do an actual gumbo and not just a soup. will research but figured someone here probably has a good one they've perfected
hope everyone had a nice holiday!

See gumbo thread. But make a roux with a cup of flour and a cup of oil. Get it the color of dark chocolate. Add a diced onion, green bell pepper, and a few stalks of celery diced. Stir until they soften up (about 8 minutes). Add a pound or more of sausage sliced into rounds. Stir. Top with stock, preferably homemade from the turkey carcass. Add cajun gumbo seasoning of your choice. Simmer for one hour. Add leftover turkey. Simmer another 2 hours. Add diced green onion, a bit of chopped, fresh parsley, and a tablespoon of fíle. Serve over rice.

There are nuances and unmentioned tips in the gumbo thread.

['stache 21919]

First time doing spatchcock in an oven with convection. Recipe said to cook at 450 and I think it was way too hot, will probably try 375 next time. She’s not pretty but taste was good, lots of butter and herbs. 

[Etexhorn13 3054]

I smoked a 12 lb and my dad roasted a 22 lb. His might be the prettiest turkey I’ve ever seen, but my smoked turkey seemed to get the most compliments. I think that may have more to do with the folks eating it not usually getting smoked turkey, though. 

[HouTex 1902]

My Masterbuild XL electric fryer would not turn on so we had to roast the turkey instead.  The damned fryer didn’t even last 3 holiday seasons.  Turkey turned out great.  450 for about a half hour and then covered it with foil and reduced temp to 425 for another 2 hours until breast reached 165 degrees.  In anticipation of frying it, I injected it with Chachere’s Cajun Butter and coated it with Chachere’s seasoning the morning of the cook.  The flavor was perfect and it was very moist.  It was a frozen 20 lb HEB All Natural Young Turkey thawed in the fridge for 5 days.  Sorry, no pics.

i used a MEATER Bluetooth temperature probe and it worked very well.  The estimated time to being done function worked surprisingly well.  

[BearCountry11 1234]

Had a smaller crowd this year so fried a 14lb bird. Complete with rolls, au gratin taters, stuffing, gravy, and asparagus. Bird was solid and will make for some excellent turkey pot pie with the stock I made.

[mchookem 16554]

ohhhh turkey pot pie... that's a new idea 🤔🤘

[HouTex 1902]

1 hour ago, mchookem said:

ohhhh turkey pot pie... that's a new idea 🤔🤘

It’s awesome.  Been doing it for years. I had it last night.  I use puff pastry but regular pie crust works well too.

[BearCountry11 1234]

3 hours ago, mchookem said:

ohhhh turkey pot pie... that's a new idea 🤔🤘

Gotta do it.  Especially if you have the stock.  I use Babish’s recipe:

I just add the cooked, leftover turkey when you add the peas and cream.   

[Baboontyme 2840]

I made 2 giant stock pots of turkey stock tonight. Seems excessive. I am frankly exhausted after spending the past ~ 2 hours picking meat out of the bones. What is this life. 

[Baboontyme 2840]

It tastes so good when it hits your lips

[dcbc 14570]

3 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

It tastes so good when it hits your lips

[Damor 1237]

Anybody roasted a goose?  I decided that if somehow HEB was open and had one, I'd take it as a sign from The Universe that I should try it.  So, unlikely as 'twas, here we are.

I'm a dry brine spatchcock turkey guy, so feeling a little like a memorable disaster of epic proportion is on the horizon.  There's not much online about spatchcocking geeses, but I'm guessing since the breast is darker meat there's less of a risk of drying it out vs. a turkey.  There's a Serious Eats page that includes dry brining following blanching (another common theme), though it's not the usual Kenji level of nerd vetting.

I've read a few different approaches online as well as Nigella Lawson's recipe.  I'll probably piece something together by Christmas Morn that involves blanching, dry brining, Lawson's stuffing, and setting the kitchen on fire with a deluge of goose fat.  And roasted potatoes, natch.

The fortunate thing is that neither I or my family has had goose before, so if it's awful I can just tell them they are Philistines with no appreciation for the finer things whilst feeding the dog under the table.

Links to some things I have found:
Serious Eats
NPR
Somebody else who sounds like they know what they've at least learned the hard way

[Anastasis 23514]

Never cooked a goose.  Interested to see how that plays out. If it turns out good, don't forget to save the carcass and try a stock. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Anastasis

[dcbc 14570]

If, when you plate it and carry it to the table, it's smiling at your family, you know what to do.

 

[Texzilla58 4745]

If you get enough goose fat you could make Yorkshire puddings with it.

[dcbc 14570]

Thanks for the Pot Pie inspiration.  I did my first chicken pot pie tonight.  Did not disappoint.

[SuckitKevin 970]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:08 PM, Damor said:

Anybody roasted a goose?  I decided that if somehow HEB was open and had one, I'd take it as a sign from The Universe that I should try it.  So, unlikely as 'twas, here we are.

I'm a dry brine spatchcock turkey guy, so feeling a little like a memorable disaster of epic proportion is on the horizon.  There's not much online about spatchcocking geeses, but I'm guessing since the breast is darker meat there's less of a risk of drying it out vs. a turkey.  There's a Serious Eats page that includes dry brining following blanching (another common theme), though it's not the usual Kenji level of nerd vetting.

I've read a few different approaches online as well as Nigella Lawson's recipe.  I'll probably piece something together by Christmas Morn that involves blanching, dry brining, Lawson's stuffing, and setting the kitchen on fire with a deluge of goose fat.  And roasted potatoes, natch.

The fortunate thing is that neither I or my family has had goose before, so if it's awful I can just tell them they are Philistines with no appreciation for the finer things whilst feeding the dog under the table.

Links to some things I have found:
Serious Eats
NPR
Somebody else who sounds like they know what they've at least learned the hard way

Intrigued, please post pics.

[HouTex 1902]

20 hours ago, dcbc said:

Thanks for the Pot Pie inspiration.  I did my first chicken pot pie tonight.  Did not disappoint.

Good job. 

[Damor 1237]

On 12/23/2022 at 6:48 AM, SuckitKevin said:

Intrigued, please post pics.

Whew, been a long, fun day.  But I think I've recovered just enough after a few fingers of Lagavulin on the back porch with Nick Offerman to post some pics.

I'll spoiler the longcat version and put the rest of dinner in the Christmas Menu thread later, though that one is highly intimidating.  Buncha gifted culinary assholes around here.

The short version is that goose is fucking awesome.  Just do it.  Follow the Serious Eats instructions and you'll be good to go (though the gravy got mixed reviews).  Turkey is great, especially for the larger crowd we have at Thanksgiving, but I'm going to indulge in goose at Christmas as much as possible from now on.  And if I can do it, anyone can.

Longcat version:

Spoiler

Two days prior to Christmas, goose is thawed and ready for prep:

If I wasn't already intimidated, I'm even more so now:

Ewww.  There's a @South Austin's mom joke in there somewhere, but I can't reach it.

Removed all the excess cavity fat possible, like contestants on The Bachelor:  @Vic Mackey Edition:

Gave the skin as many pricks as possible to let the fat drain.  I don't even know what to do with that one.

Then the blanching, AKA James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Poultry Party:  

Then the standard Kenji/Serious Eats dry brine of salt and baking powder:

The guide suggested a 12-24h uncovered dry brine, but I usually do my turkeys longer and covered with cheesecloth, so I extrapolated that to goose and it turned out great.

I took advantage of that time window to make a stock with the wingtips, neck, and giblets.  Ashamed to say I'd never made stock before, but yeah, it's good stuff:

 

On the day of, got the bird out and let it come to room temperature:

Stuffed it with Nigella Lawson's verrrry English recipe, which involved pears, cranberries, onion, and other stuff.  The likelihood that anyone would have tried it was <1%, but I never got it up to a temperature comfortable enough to serve it anyway.  Next time I'll just stuff with aromatics.

 

And into the oven per instructions, breast side down first.

At the flip:

Finishing out to internal temp at 400' convection, I was worried I let it go a little too long:

Nope.  My older son fought tooth and nail for every bit of that dark, crispy skin.  It was glorious.  Note copious amounts of fat in the background pan.

I made the gravy per the Serious Eats recipe, but it was polarizing as the sherry deglaze added a lot of sweetness.  Or it could be that since I have a mental hangup that I suck at making gravy, it was just crappy.  I dunno, might try something different next time.

Since my wife is a Miss State grad and my older son is thinking about going there, it was served Crossbones Style in memory of Cap'n Mike Leach:

And it was fanfuckingtastic.  I don't consider myself much of a cook and don't toot my own horn much, so I'll give all the credit to Serious Eats and the goose here.  It was rich, indulgent, meaty goodness.  Even though there's less meat than a turkey, it's really more filling and satisfying.  Even those who are resistant to dark turkey meat thought it was great, and the skin was basically fried from all the insane amount of goose fat.

So if you're thinking about it, try it.  It's not cheap unless you're comparing it to a heritage turkey (which I have not tried yet), but it's no more effort and was a big hit.  I didn't run into any significant doneness discrepancy in the breast/thighs, so I don't think spatchcocking would make a big difference.

Most of all, I had a great time prepping and cooking it with my son, and enjoying it with family.  And also, I have leftover goose fat.

God bless us, every one.

/fin

 

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Damor
muledick

[SuckitKevin 970]

15 minutes ago, Damor said:

Whew, been a long, fun day.  But I think I've recovered just enough after a few fingers of Lagavulin on the back porch with Nick Offerman to post some pics.

I'll spoiler the longcat version and put the rest of dinner in the Christmas Menu thread later, though that one is highly intimidating.  Buncha gifted culinary assholes around here.

The short version is that goose is fucking awesome.  Just do it.  Follow the Serious Eats instructions and you'll be good to go (though the gravy got mixed reviews).  Turkey is great, especially for the larger crowd we have at Thanksgiving, but I'm going to indulge in goose at Christmas as much as possible from now on.  And if I can do it, anyone can.

Longcat version:

  Reveal hidden contents

Two days prior to Christmas, goose is thawed and ready for prep:

If I wasn't already intimidated, I'm even more so now:

Ewww.  There's a @South Austin's mom joke in there somewhere, but I can't reach it.

Removed all the excess cavity fat possible, like contestants on The Bachelor:  @Vic Mackey Edition:

Gave the skin as many pricks as possible to let the fat drain.  I don't even know what to do with that one.

Then the blanching, AKA James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Poultry Party:  

Then the standard Kenji/Serious Eats dry brine of salt and baking powder:

The guide suggested a 12-24h uncovered dry brine, but I usually do my turkeys longer and covered with cheesecloth, so I extrapolated that to goose and it turned out great.

I took advantage of that time window to make a stock with the wingtips, neck, and giblets.  Ashamed to say I'd never made stock before, but yeah, it's good stuff:

 

On the day of, got the bird out and let it come to room temperature:

Stuffed it with Nigella Lawson's verrrry English recipe, which involved pears, cranberries, onion, and other stuff.  The likelihood that anyone would have tried it was <1%, but I never got it up to a temperature comfortable enough to serve it anyway.  Next time I'll just stuff with aromatics.

 

And into the oven per instructions, breast side down first.

At the flip:

Finishing out to internal temp at 400' convection, I was worried I let it go a little too long:

Nope.  My older son fought tooth and nail for every bit of that dark, crispy skin.  It was glorious.  Note copious amounts of fat in the background pan.

I made the gravy per the Serious Eats recipe, but it was polarizing as the sherry deglaze added a lot of sweetness.  Or it could be that since I have a mental hangup that I suck at making gravy, it was just crappy.  I dunno, might try something different next time.

Since my wife is a Miss State grad and my older son is thinking about going there, it was served Crossbones Style in memory of Cap'n Mike Leach:

And it was fanfuckingtastic.  I don't consider myself much of a cook and don't toot my own horn much, so I'll give all the credit to Serious Eats and the goose here.  It was rich, indulgent, meaty goodness.  Even though there's less meat than a turkey, it's really more filling and satisfying.  Even those who are resistant to dark turkey meat thought it was great, and the skin was basically fried from all the insane amount of goose fat.

So if you're thinking about it, try it.  It's not cheap unless you're comparing it to a heritage turkey (which I have not tried yet), but it's no more effort and was a big hit.  I didn't run into any significant doneness discrepancy in the breast/thighs, so I don't think spatchcocking would make a big difference.

Most of all, I had a great time prepping and cooking it with my son, and enjoying it with family.  And also, I have leftover goose fat.

God bless us, every one.

/fin

 

 

One of the reasons I love cooking is the experience and sharing with others. That gives me the greatest satisfaction. It sounds like you accomplished that. Thanks for sharing, I definitely want to try.

[Baboontyme 2840]

Annual bump. No kitchen so I don't get to do my bird and brine this year. Hopefully someone can spatchcock their bird with a reciprocating saw this year in my stead.

[Underdog 28880]

Came across this on X, anyone ever try this? 

 

[TexasHooch 5152]

It's chicken fried turkey- I'm sure it's delicious. 

Presentation is important to me, so I doubt I'd do it for an actual Thanksgiving meal, but I might just buy a discounted turkey or two the day after and do this for big family meals.  

[TonyTexas 10572]

15 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

Annual bump. No kitchen so I don't get to do my bird and brine this year. Hopefully someone can spatchcock their bird with a reciprocating saw this year in my stead.

No kitchen? Do you live in a jungle?

[Baboontyme 2840]

Remodel. Told my mom last night I was punting on the turkey so she ordered one. Tonight she started asking me questions about how to cook it since it's been my job for the past decade plus... And I temporarily lost my mind and said I'm going to come over early and cook it. I'm thinking Big Easy fryer. Just ordered one for curbside at Lowe's. 

[kevwun 15944]

Did a 25 lbs turkey yesterday on my recteq.  Took 4 hours and 45 minutes at 300 degrees.  It was so big that I didn't have anything to brine it in that would fit in any of my fridges, so I injected with Tony's cajun butter and seasoned it with Tony's the day before and left it in the fridge overnight.  When the breast hit 145, I put it in a pan and poured 3 sticks of melted butter over it and covered it with foil and cooked it to 165.  It turned out damn good.  I think the flavor from brining is slightly better, but this way was still excellent and it's less of a hassle.

[NoName 16645]

ill never cook an entire turkey again. smoked a handful of breasts and trying to source a fried turkey locally - that's the way to go in my book

[pearlandhorn 3332]

34 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Did a 25 lbs turkey yesterday on my recteq.  Took 4 hours and 45 minutes at 300 degrees.  It was so big that I didn't have anything to brine it in that would fit in any of my fridges, so I injected with Tony's cajun butter and seasoned it with Tony's the day before and left it in the fridge overnight.  When the breast hit 145, I put it in a pan and poured 3 sticks of melted butter over it and covered it with foil and cooked it to 165.  It turned out damn good.  I think the flavor from brining is slightly better, but this way was still excellent and it's less of a hassle.

Did you spatch cock it?

[kevwun 15944]

Nope kept it whole.  If you brine or inject, I think it just turns out better this way and it looks nicer.

[DalTxHornFan 3123]

I'm mostly on team spatchcock for chickens and turkeys when I'm doing regular barbecue, or smoking something to use in gumbo. 

However, the Franklin approach to whole skinless turkey breasts is the way to go when doing more civilized smoked turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.  That mahogany color and bathing it in butter makes for a nice presentation and great eats.  Very easy, too.

[kevwun 15944]

Yeah I agree.  I combined Franklin's recipe and the recteq recipe for cajun turkey since I couldn't brine this one.

[DallasSooner 280]

I don’t know where this topic goes but here goes. On Wednesday night a bunch of us get together and fry our turkeys and whatever else we want. Usual things are fried pickles/jalapeños, bacon wrapped hot dogs, chickens wings, Oreos, etc.

 

i think this year I’m gonna fry some boudin balls. Looking for maybe some other ideas (not too labor intensive). What you got?

[TonyTexas 10572]

11 minutes ago, DallasSooner said:

i think this year I’m gonna fry some boudin balls. Looking for maybe some other ideas (not too labor intensive). What you got?

Boudin balls are great. Fried fish, shrimp and/or oysters are good options. If possible, fry the seafood either in a dedicated pot or at the end so everything else you cook doesn’t taste like a fried seafood platter. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by TonyTexas

[Rip76 4987]

Fried turkey question.

So basically, I'm cooking everything this year.

I got a fried turkey from a friend of mine, and I had to refrigerate it until tomorrow.  What is the best way to reheat it before dinner tomorrow?  (Temp and time?)

I was thinking to save oven space i would reheat it on my Traeger.  

TIA

[TonyTexas 10572]

4 minutes ago, Rip76 said:

Fried turkey question.

So basically, I'm cooking everything this year.

I got a fried turkey from a friend of mine, and I had to refrigerate it until tomorrow.  What is the best way to reheat it before dinner tomorrow?  (Temp and time?)

I was thinking to save oven space i would reheat it on my Traeger.  

TIA

Cover room temperature bird in foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. 

[dcbc 14570]

Happy Thanksgiving, turkeys.

[RMac5 1551]

Fried turkey help please. Is the time to cook 3 minutes per pound plus 5 minutes at 350°?  We have fried several but cannot remember the times.

Thanks for the help.  Happy Turkey Day amigos.

[Lurch 5941]

We always did 3.5 min per lb at 375*

[RMac5 1551]

Perfect! Thank you.

[dcbc 14570]

The bird decided to stall after I put it in a foiled pan with butter.  I had some great bird bark though and finished it off in the oven at 425.  Best flavor I've had from a turkey.
 

 

[RMac5 1551]

That looks great. 

[Brew 3049]

Did a 12 pounder on the BGE. Brined all day yesterday in a Cajun brine mix, air dried overnight, attempted to smoke it this morning but temps got away from me so it cooked faster than planned. Don’t know if it was the brining or the BGE, but it far and away exceeded expectations.