Well, after a dismal meal on thanksgiving day at the in lawas, yesterday was my turn to make the feast. T-day is usually at my house with close friends and my family, but this year the wife wanted the cousins(kids) to be together. So we moved our t-day with friends to Friday night. There was 10 of us, made a 14lb bird, 2 butts last weekend and a brisket, stuffed shrooms, homemade cranberry sauce, yams, stuffin.. and a few sides. Well, Eureka!!! a few little tweaks of techniques that i got from you guys and al I got was rolled eyes, "Oh My Gods", moans, groans and in some cases, dead silence as they consumed the BBQ. When the guests arrived, first response was..."your not doing it Italian style"? now sauce? meatballs? sausage? raviolis?? what happened?? Then they entered the living room.. sliced brisket, pulled pork, a bird that looked like a TV commercial. BBQ thanksgiving!! I really meant to take a pic of the spread cause it was a defiantely impressive (IMHO
.
For the Bird, i sauteed garlic, onions, sage, thyme, bay and rosemary in a lb of butter for about 20 minutes, then added a couple cups of apple juice and simmered for another 10. Strained it and injected it into the bird. Cooked it breast down in the (shhhhhhh WSM) for 6+ hours at 220 sprying with aple juice, went breast up after 3 hours. Used Hickory, apple and pear. Brisket got sliced up, the entire thing, and put into a chafing dish with few cups beef stock and onion soup. That sat in a steam table for about an hour or so. That time in the steam table made it fall apart tender and super juicy, even the normally dry parts were like butter.
For the pork butts, I sliced up 5-6 big vidalia onions and carmelized them with some garlic, thyme, nutmeg and cayenne, then put them in a foil pan with a full can of schaffer and set them in the smoker for a couple hours, mixing them occasionally and adding apple cider vinegar a few times too. After a few hours, I shreded the butts and mixed them in with the onions and put the whole tray into the bandera. I took the allready cooked Stuffed mushrooms, covered them with cheese and put them in a hot bandera(300) for a few minutes.
Birds was definately the best I ever did.. so juicy that there was enough drippings in the slicing dish to make gravy. it was ooozing as I sliced it. The dark meat was ALL PINK!! one BIG smoke ring, but wow.. was like pure butter!!! Breast was just oozing... alot of flavor from the herbs.
the brisket and pulled pork was better than any I made all summer, Think the additonal time in the smoker and steam tables made a world of difference.
Today however... I cant move.. think I'm gonna pop. Guests called this morning to say they wont be eating again till next tuesday. Time to take out the foodsaver!!
Hope all had a great T-DAY!!!!

For the Bird, i sauteed garlic, onions, sage, thyme, bay and rosemary in a lb of butter for about 20 minutes, then added a couple cups of apple juice and simmered for another 10. Strained it and injected it into the bird. Cooked it breast down in the (shhhhhhh WSM) for 6+ hours at 220 sprying with aple juice, went breast up after 3 hours. Used Hickory, apple and pear. Brisket got sliced up, the entire thing, and put into a chafing dish with few cups beef stock and onion soup. That sat in a steam table for about an hour or so. That time in the steam table made it fall apart tender and super juicy, even the normally dry parts were like butter.
For the pork butts, I sliced up 5-6 big vidalia onions and carmelized them with some garlic, thyme, nutmeg and cayenne, then put them in a foil pan with a full can of schaffer and set them in the smoker for a couple hours, mixing them occasionally and adding apple cider vinegar a few times too. After a few hours, I shreded the butts and mixed them in with the onions and put the whole tray into the bandera. I took the allready cooked Stuffed mushrooms, covered them with cheese and put them in a hot bandera(300) for a few minutes.
Birds was definately the best I ever did.. so juicy that there was enough drippings in the slicing dish to make gravy. it was ooozing as I sliced it. The dark meat was ALL PINK!! one BIG smoke ring, but wow.. was like pure butter!!! Breast was just oozing... alot of flavor from the herbs.
the brisket and pulled pork was better than any I made all summer, Think the additonal time in the smoker and steam tables made a world of difference.
Today however... I cant move.. think I'm gonna pop. Guests called this morning to say they wont be eating again till next tuesday. Time to take out the foodsaver!!
Hope all had a great T-DAY!!!!