Did a turkey and some rib tips today in the cold

[ciret]

Man it was nice to cook again. . .

I've been working a lot, client in Puerto Rico, only home a couple of weekends a month. SE Wis is cold, Puerto Rico is hot. So cooking in 10 degree weather was a change. Also this was my first attempt with the BSKD in the cold and the first whole turkey.

I brined the turkey overnight and let it air dry for a couple hours. Dry rubbed the rib tips 45 min before cooking. Used Kingsford and applewood. Took about an hour to get up to 100, so threw the meat on. Slowly rising temps. . . By 2:30 I was holding 280-320, outdoors temp had risen to about 20, wind was 8-10. Foiled the rib tips and rotated the turkey at 2:50. All looking good. Unfoiled the rib tips at 4. Pulled the turkey at 4:40, internal temp at 190. Since the turkey is for Christmas Eve I let it rest for about 30 min and put it outside to chill/freeze. The rib tips went back into foil and rested for about 45 min in a cooler.

Served up the rip tips with augratin potatoes and brocoli, mm mmm. . .

It was hard to leave the turkey alone, but the tips came out good, a little dry on the ends.

It was good to cook, even if it was cold.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and the opportunity to do some cookin'

Peace. . .

[Saiko]

I'm smoking a whole turkey on Saturday for the wifey's kinfolk, and of course the forcast is for the coldest day of the year (low in 20's, high low 30's).
Don't think I've ever used the dera in temps that low, so it will be interesting to see how it does. The wind shouldn't be bad since it's behind the house on a deck, and I use wood fires so I can blast away with a big fire, but it could be interesting.
Guess the main thing I should do is give myself about 90 min to get it up to temp instead of my usual 60 min.

Like you, I'm gonna brine with kosher salt and brown sugar. Then, inject with honey, white wine and butter in the morning.

[Bigmista]

Brining and Injecting? Isn't that overkill?

I've only done two turkeys so I don't know. Just seems like it.

[Saiko]

Brining and Injecting? Isn't that overkill?

I've only done two turkeys so I don't know. Just seems like it.

I do both for different reasons. I mainly brine to keep the meat moist during the long smoking process.
I inject to add a little "flavor" to the meat. The injection I use is very mild: 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup sweet white wine, 1/4 cup honey. You can barely notice the taste of the injection, you just get a little bit of extra "sweetness" to the meat. It's not overwhelming like a fried turkey injection.