First Whole TurKey Test Q .. Traeger 075 ... Wow !!

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Q_Egg

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20# Foster Farms 'fresh' Young Turkey from Costco. Brined last night per recent turkey breast post ... rinsed early this morning, injected, seasoned, into Traeger at Smoke setting ... 60/40 pellet mix ( Oak/Apple). Had some early concerns as Traeger cycled up and down, got some reassurance from George @ Cust Serv. Smoked 5 hours (sometimes turning up one setting to 225*F) ... then up to High ( 450*F) setting for only 1 more hour. Pulled when drummy hit 180*F __ breast 170*F. I'm pleased so far .... now in hold mode for at least 2 hours. I sure hopes it tastes as good as it looks and smells.

Many past and current threads/posts here really made this cook very comfortable. Now ready for Turkey Day !

Regards,
 

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Man - that bird's got some wild colors! I can't wait to hear how it tastes.
 
Isn't digital photography wonderful ??

Actually, I tried to be very careful and turned out all other lights to avoid color issues. Here is one on platter, over by window, fast lens, Nikon DSLR instead of darn good Fuji digicam. Big difference !

Actually, brine had lots of Cranberry-Apple Cider mix, but could not see any stain on turkey brining overnight ... heh_heh.

Sorry men !
 

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Now I've become a genuine cynic when it comes to trusting 'almost' anything. The turkey was not properly cooked. I checked my Maverick remote temp probe and gauge in boiling water and it read a bit low ... better than high, right ?? The wings and drumsticks were difficult to remove and the fluid had a distinct pink color. No big deal ... we will cook them some more.

The breast was pretty good .... moist, cooked enough, no hint of the Tony Cacheres Cajun injection spices. Skin looked great, had almost no taste and was tough. Bottom line ..... drumsticks at 180*F and breast at 170*F is not credible criteria for me. I don't have a clue what to do except what I HATE !! ...... go back to what home cooks have done for generations ..... 30 minutes per pound = 10 hours for this bird !!! The temps read correctly in 6 hours. Chiiiiiiiiiiiiit !!!

Bottom line: .... I will brine again for Thanksgiving. I will inject, but likely just some of the flavor brine. I will use lots more seasoning/rub. I will cook the S.O.B. for 30 mintues per pound = 10 hours. If its crispy .... what do I care?? I'm going to have another shot and ask myself why I try to ignore what has worked for so many ... for so long .... in favor of some web recipe .............................

Tomorrow morning I'll be a 'recovered' Q'er ready for another experiment.
 
Man, I know what you mean. I am only getting on my whole bird
67346f1c.gif
for a minute. White meat and dark meat are two separate things that just happen to be on the same critter. Their finish times are separated by 20°. I have given up the whole bird scene and I butcher them into two pieces and cook each one the way I like it. Okay I'm done. Hey, three sentences ain't bad.

So Tom, your thighs were a hair underdone and your breast was at 170°, which is borderline dry. Before you go back to that Betty Crocker formula for cooking a turkey, try offsetting the temperatures before the cook. Take the bird out of the fridge and set it breast down on a zipper bag full of crushed ice for 45 minutes. This will chill the breast 15° to 20° more than the thighs. See where I'm headed?? Once on the pit, the thighs get a head start. If you are lucky, when the thigh gets to 175°, the breast is 155°. Pull off and rest and the bird might just creep up on the perfect serving temperature.

PS, I still think brining or injecting is a good deal, especially for the breast.
 
thirdeye said:
..... White meat and dark meat are two separate things that just happen to be on the same critter. Their finish times are separated by 20°. I have given up the whole bird scene and I butcher them into two pieces and cook each one the way I like it. ..............So Tom, your thighs were a hair underdone and your breast was at 170°, which is borderline dry.

PS, I still think brining or injecting is a good deal, especially for the breast.
Click to expand...

Man .... it's hard to keep all these issues in my mind at the same time .. I tend to hear them ... assign some level of credibility .... but some get spaced out until a problem arises ... like today. I do recall the white/dark meat 'artificial' temp differential deal, but sure as hell spaced it out for this cook. I also must get a Thermapen, or something like it, to use as a temp standard. I thought my Maverick remote was darn close at these temps, but I can also state strongly, that the breast was not close to dry inspite of the 170*F measurement. Obviously something is amiss.

I have never been a huge fan of turkey legs or thighs so it would be very easy to bail out and just go back to cooking turkey breasts. Your idea of doing cut-up turkeys is something I have to think about in terms of net benefit ... for me. Thanks for a serious and helpful comment. We have a really good family get together planned, for a week surrounding Thanksgiving Day, and I want this next turkey cook to be 'spot on'.

Regards,
 
thirdeye said:
Take the bird out of the fridge and set it breast down on a zipper bag full of crushed ice for 45 minutes. This will chill the breast 15° to 20° more than the thighs. See where I'm headed?? Once on the pit, the thighs get a head start. If you are lucky, when the thigh gets to 175°, the breast is 155°.
Click to expand...
Just so I understand the issues ..... is it also a possibility to foil the breast at some point ( maybe afer it reaches 150"F ) to 'slow it down' while the dark meat 'catches up' ?? No problem with the ice idea, just wondering .....
 
Nice job, Tom. I think I'll be doing a Hurricane Bird on my 075 either for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Wife is checking with the mo-in-law to see what she has planned for Thanksgiving.

BTW, got your PM today. I'm in NYC on business, so I'll address it when I get back.

Later my 075 Brotha!!!
 
Cooking a turkey at 225 for 5 hours melts the fat layer between the skin and meat and gives the skin it's tough texture. Turn the Trager up to 325 and cook for aprox 15 min a pound. I normaly will add butter under the skin also.
The new temps to hit on turkey as published FDA is 175 in the thigh. Because you have brined the breast meat should still be moist an the skin crispy rather than tough.
This is my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
jminion said:
Cooking a turkey at 225 for 5 hours melts the fat layer between the skin and meat and gives the skin it's tough texture. Turn the Trager up to 325 and cook for aprox 15 min a pound. I normaly will add butter under the skin also.
The new temps to hit on turkey as published FDA is 175 in the thigh. Because you have brined the breast meat should still be moist an the skin crispy rather than tough.
This is my story and I'm sticking to it.
Click to expand...
Wifey beats me up regularly becasue I won't make the effort to place butter or a butter/seasoning paste under the skin. I had already decided to give it a try and your post adds some extra push.

325*F is a good temp for the 075 to hit and hold and I like the overall cooking time. I felt good about this brine, but am always open to different ideas (that work),

The brine I used was:
2/3 C. kosher salt
2/3 C. sugar
6 slices fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
6 wholr cloves
1 t. crushed black peppercorns
2 t. whole allspice berries crushed
8 cups apple cider (I used a cranberry/apple cider combo)

It took 2 batches (plus a little water) to cover the 20lb bird in a large food-safe bucket.

Next cook I will try a butter paste with Spicewine Hen-N-Hog Dust.

Thanks for some 'Traeger' help.
 
Arlin_MacRae said:
Thanks for sharing, Tom. Good thing you practiced one first, and best of luck next week!
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That's no kidding. Someone much wiser than I said something along the lines of "When cooking for a big family gathering or the preacher and his wife, don't try out something new."
 
... about beat this one to death .... but decided to check Maverick digital probe in boiling water this morning and it read a solid 210*F. That still leaves me puzzled over 'obviously' undercooked drumstick reading 180*F (deep inside portion) and barely acceptable breast doneness yet reading was 170*F. Times and cooking temp be damned .... I'm frustrated that internal temp was not a reliable indicator of doneness. You men taught me thoroughly how to check ribs for doneness .... now I'm wondering if I should be trying to pull a drummie or wing off the turkey to 'ensure' that it is cooked !!!!
 
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jminion said:
Cooking a turkey at 225 for 5 hours melts the fat layer between the skin and meat and gives the skin it's tough texture. Turn the Trager up to 325 and cook for aprox 15 min a pound. I normaly will add butter under the skin also.
The new temps to hit on turkey as published FDA is 175 in the thigh. Because you have brined the breast meat should still be moist an the skin crispy rather than tough.
This is my story and I'm sticking to it.
Click to expand...

Would Olive Oil work as well as butter?
 
Bigmister
It should work but I have not tried it so I can't say if it will work as well.
 
Q_Egg said:
... about beat this one to death .... but decided to check Maverick digital probe in boiling water this morning and it read a solid 210*F. That still leaves me puzzled over 'obviously' undercooked drumstick reading 180*F (deep inside portion) and barely acceptable breast doneness yet reading was 170*F. Times and cooking temp be damned .... I'm frustrated that internal temp was not a reliable indicator of doneness. You men taught me thoroughly how to check ribs for doneness .... now I'm wondering if I should be trying to pull a drummie or wing off the turkey to 'ensure' that it is cooked !!!!
Click to expand...

210°? I thought St. George was higher in evevation than that. Water boils at 202° at my house (5300'). Also how long did the bird rest before carving?
 
Elevation is 2500 ft at my site. Turkey rested on counter for 2 hours after temp measurement and removal from Traeger. I would consider my drumstick measurement suspect except for then doing the breast temp, reading 166*F, and continuing ( Traeger set to 425* for previous hour ) until it rose to 170*F.
Put all back in Traeger today at 325*F for 1 hour .... brushed on some Rocky Mountain Apricot Sauce .... uncovered pieces .... in last 15 minutes. We are hoping for decent eats tonight.
 
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