TALKIN' TURKEY!! (The official/unofficial turkey thread)

[Clay-b-que]

I would smoke for an hour then cook to finish. Mine is going on the UDS soon! Merry Christmas!

[BackFixer]

Anyone ever inject bacon grease into a turkey as a way to add flavor and maintain moisture? Just an idea I'm throwing around.

[Colonel Slow N Low]

Anyone ever inject bacon grease into a turkey as a way to add flavor and maintain moisture? Just an idea I'm throwing around.

[Colonel Slow N Low]

Anyone ever inject bacon grease into a turkey as a way to add flavor and maintain moisture? Just an idea I'm throwing around.

Whoops! I'm a newbie.

I have injected many turkeys over the years. Never have I used bacon grease, but I bet it would be great. Usually, I inject homemade jerk sauce or homemade bbq sauce. Or, a combo of melted butter and bbq sauce. Injecting a turkey is a wonderful way to add another layer of flavor, and provides extra moisture in the turkey. Tip: it is worth ~$20 to invest in a Made in USA injector if you plan to do injecting on a regular basis.

[Wampus]

Originally Posted by Colonel Slow N Low

Anyone ever inject bacon grease into a turkey as a way to add flavor and maintain moisture? Just an idea I'm throwing around.

I haven't, but I'd sure be curious to know how it turns out!

I inject with melted butter all the time. Fat is fat I suppose and bacon grease is GREAT TASTING FAT so I don't know why it wouldn't work!

[rparker]

I have done a few breasts @ 275 on my MES and they are outstanding.
everyone that has tried it loves it

[TXBronco]

My next cook is going to be a Turkey Breast. We have a great Thanksgiving Turkey we do every year. I'm going to try to simplify it for an everyday Turkey. I like the bacon grease idea.

[Nellym]

I cannot wait to try this...my mouth is watering! Thanks for the heads up on the cannon I have never seen anything like it.

Great post

Originally Posted by Wampus

SO.....Thanksgiving is right around the corner, followed by Christmas.
I know that there's always a KOZILLION turkey threads that pop up this time of year, so I thought I'd chime in with what I've learned.

Everyone feel free to post your favorite smoked/roasted/fried turkey recipe on here and I'll bookmark it and be able to just throw it up when the holidays roll around next year!


BRINING!!!

If I had one single tip for how to improve your holiday bird cook.....it would be summed up in one single word....BRINE!




A quick search on your favorite internet search engine will yield a plethera of brine recipes. Over the years, I've ended up with a pretty simple brine recipe. I have found that the salt is the real secret to a brine. All the other stuff helps a little, but to keep it easy, I like a nice and simple brine:

• 1 gallon of water
• 1 cup salt (I usually just do Morton's table salt, but I've also done kosher)
• 1/2 cup sugar (sometimes white, sometimes brown.....depending on my mood)
• About a palmful (I'd guess a TBS or more) of whole peppercorns
• Sometimes if I feel the spirit, I'll add a squeeze of honey or maple syrup or squeeze a fresh orange or lemon

Just whip up the brine, place the completely thawed turkey SLOWLY into the brine and if necessary, top off with water to completely submerge. I've used a 5 gallon bucket before, but a 16 qt stockpot works well too. You want to make sure not to use an enhanced bird (injected) as it won't take the brine as easily and may already have salt in it. I brine my turkeys for 18-24 hours.....usually 24 hours, if I've not pushed the time limit!

One big tip that I can offer regarding brining is this.....PLAN FOR ENOUGH TIME FOR THE BIRD TO REST!!! The skin on a brined bird will also take on some moisture with the process. Pur right on the smoker, this will make more of a "rubbery" skin when finished. If, on the other hand, you take the bird out of the brine the night before the big cook and place it back in the fridge on a rack (or upside down plate in a pan....just to keep it out off the bottom and out of the water), the refer will "dehydrate" the skin a bit and allow it to tighten back up and go back to "normal". This will yield a better finish texture to the skin in the long run.


THE TURKEY CANNON:

For me, I love smoked turkey. I also love gadgets. Brother Norcoredneck turned me on to the TURKEY CANNON a couple of years ago. It' a great way to do something very similar to a "beer can turkey", but it allows the turkey to lay down so it will more easily fit on the smoker/grill.

Here's a link to a thread I posted this past spring where I utilized the cannon:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=104719

Here's more info on this awesome tool and one place where the Turkey Cannon can be found, but you can find it cheaper.....just do a quick search:
http://www.campchef.com/infusion-roa...ey-cannon.html



HERE'S THE RUB ON TURKEY RUB:

For the holidays, I don't usually do the BBQ rub thing. I prefer to make a herb/butter paste and rub it all over and under the skin. I like to use the following recipe as a base, but have tweaked it to my liking more than a few times:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/herb-tu...ub/detail.aspx

There's a TON of turkey recipes out there. I think the herbs are a great compliment to turkey. Rosemary, basil, thyme and parsley are always classic pairings with poultry in general. BUTTER is a turkey's friend too. The only caution is that adding oil, butter or any fat to the skin (especially with a higher temp cook) will surely make it darker.....which is not a BAD thing, just something to be aware of.



TRUSSING A TURKEY:

When I don't have the room on the smoker or the turkey is a bit too big for the CANNON, I'll just cut an orange, an onion and a lemon in half, stuff the cavity of the turkey with the goodies and truss it up. Trussing helps the bird cook at a more even pace and keeps the "limbs" (wings & legs) from overcooking. Here's a great video on trussing a turkey by THE MAN (IMHO):
How to Truss a Turkey-Food Network - YouTube



GET YOUR SMOKE ON!!!!

So.....I mean, it IS a BBQ/Smoking forum, right? Oh, sure you COULD plop that bad boy in the oven like Grandma used to do, but......if you've not tried or had a true smoked turkey......well......you don't know what you're missing!!!

If you've done smoked chicken, you already know that poultry doesn't need a heavy dose of smoke. In my opinion, turkey and chicken also do better with a hot & fast cook time/temp. This is not to say that smoking a turkey at 225 does NOT yield fine results, but most people like the skin on a turkey a little more crispy and less rubbery. THUS.....higher temps!

I get my smoker to at LEAST 325 before putting the bird on. I usually fire the smoker before I start any of the prep for the turkey, that way (and this is nothing new to most of you) the smoker has time to get up to temp and burn nice and clean and hot and get to the "sweet blue" smoke that we know to be the best! Place the bird on a roast rack, on the CANNON or right on the cooking grate and let it go! If using a weber kettle grill or similar device, I like to use a drip pan and heat shield (foil wrapped bricks work well) to prevent the direct heat from the coals.

I usually let my smoker go, exhaust wide open and intakes tweaked to let the smoker temp go anywhere from 325-400. YES....400! This spring, I "screwed up" and by the time I checked the smoker, it was roaring along at 450! I thought surely I'd ruined it, but it ended up being the best turkey we'd ever had! PLUS...it was done in 2 hours!

I prefer apple, pecan or cherry for my birds. Fruitwood, or any other mild smokewood, IMHO yields the more subtle results. Also, I don't use a lot. 1-2 good chunks is all that's needed for me. I like the meat to JUST have a hint of smoke. Overpowered smoke flavor is just too much for turkey for me.




WELL.....that's what I've learned over the past few years of learning how to properly smoke/fire roast turkeys!




Hope it helps someone else out there!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING BBQ-BRETHREN!!!!

[MadMaxDallas]

Wanted to share my turkey picture from Christmas, jest some regular dry rub spices, out it in a pan. I have a dyi heatmeter controller and set to 275 and closed it up. Did not open the grill till done.

I am going to try a brined one as described in this thread for thanksgiving this year.

[landonsdad]

New here but not to brining, although all I brine are turkeys and pork chops.

I brine 48 hrs for turkeys and have not noticed a problem, but if 24 hrs is good, I'll try it.
I use canning salt since it will dissolve in cold water easier. I also add 2 tbs Zatarain's creole seasoning. Since it also has salt, I reduce my usual 1 cup per gallon on water a little. I also use brown sugar and honey 1 cup total.

I then use my Weber kettle with rotisserie. This allows me to let a little oil roll around the outside as it turn. I use peanut oil here. I also sprinkle a little Zatarain's near the end. Cook to temp.

Use to deep fry, but family likes this much better. It is less expensive also.

Fried pork chops after a brine will allow for crispy chop with moisture instead of dried out. 4 hr brine here for thin ... 5-6 for thick cut.Make sure to let settle for juices to settle in.

[toymaster]

I cook turkey year round. I brine my turkey for 48 hours also (it's a lot of meat). 24 hours is not long enough. Mine have never come out mushy or salty.

[Bob Ivey]

I generally do turkey once a year for Thanksgiving. I brine for 24 hours and that works perfectly. I cook it indirect on a Weber kettle using the directions on the Weber website and use apple wood chips soaked in water. Cook to temp never time and it always comes out perfect and gets rave reviews from the family. If the skin starts to get to dark, I will tent with aluminum foil to protect it. One year I did the turkey on my WSM and was just not happy with the results so went back to the Performer (kettle). Good luck with your holiday birds no matter how you cook them.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I've smoked a couple turkeys and they both turned out fantastic.
Nothing more than:
- Thaw
- Stuff cavity with herbals
- Rub herbed butter under the skin
- Cook to safe temp
- Cut and serve.

I've never brined.
Y'all are talking about brining for a couple days.
My question is; How long can you keep a bird at "temp", and not have a problem?
----AND----
What temp are you brining at? Room temp, Fridge temp?

[toymaster]

Originally Posted by Bob in St. Louis

What temp are you brining at? Room temp, Fridge temp?

I brine my turkey for 48 hours minimum in the fridge. I use 15 pound turkeys cut in half and brine them in a 2 1/2 gallon bag. I use half the brine I used before when it was whole and I can get more than 1 in the fridge.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Cool, thank you.