The Turkey Thread

[utee94 15732]

11 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

I just put on some kosher salt and coarse grind black pepper, the same as I would do to a brisket.

Yup, I use my standard brisket rub, which for me is salt n peppa but also includes paprika for color and as a carrier.  I do use less salt than normal after brining.

 

[kevwun 15570]

Nah, it will be fine and help it thaw out quicker.

[Dr Fear 1264]

17 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

I just put on some kosher salt and coarse grind black pepper, the same as I would do to a brisket.

I personally would not cook it 225 though, 250-275 IMHO.

[elfenix 34161]

On 11/19/2019 at 12:45 AM, Gil Bang said:

Bumping this as I see y'all have "Firehouse Subs" out there too.   They sell their 5 gal pickle buckets with lids for a couple of bucks.   Food-safe plastic. 

 

On 11/19/2019 at 6:28 AM, utee94 said:

You can probably go around almost any BBQ place and ask them for 5 gallon pickle buckets and get them for free. We always had a dozen lying around our restaurant waiting to be taken out.

i'm buying my own 5 gallon bucket of pickles and proceeding to eat them. 

[utee94 15732]

9 minutes ago, elfenix said:

 

i'm buying my own 5 gallon bucket of pickles and proceeding to eat them. 

You monster.  Have I ever mentioned around here, how much I loathe pickles?

[Chewbacca 7665]

7 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

I have a turkey that is not completely thawed which I'll be brining prior to smoking on Thursday.  Any reason not to start the brining tonight as opposed to waiting until tomorrow when the bird is completely thawed?

As long as you're doing a wet brine, it will finish the thaw for you.  Brine for as long as you ordinarily would.  If you brine too long it can get salty.

[elfenix 34161]

43 minutes ago, utee94 said:

You monster.  Have I ever mentioned around here, how much I loathe pickles?

and then brining the turkey in the pickle juice

[Jerry Callo 8646]

As long as you're doing a wet brine, it will finish the thaw for you.  Brine for as long as you ordinarily would.  If you brine too long it can get salty.

Good point on brining too long. Last year I only brined over night and the turkey turned out great.

[utee94 15732]

5 hours ago, elfenix said:

and then brining the turkey in the pickle juice

I wake up every morning, thanking the Dear Lord above, that I'm not invited to your Thanksgiving Day Massacre.

Good day, sir.

[Assman 1830]

I'm a turkey noob.  I did my first one last year using some random recipe I found online.  I don't have a smoker, so I'll be roasting it in the oven like I did last year.  Can anyone give me a recipe or tips to take it to the next level?  What the hell should I be doing tonight, tomorrow, etc?

[spystud13 2371]

Go buy this tomorrow at Academy for $4. Damn good start. 

On 11/21/2019 at 11:59 PM, spystud13 said:

Posted this last year, but the link is dead now. Stand by it. 

 

[Wiler77 1551]

My brine is made and cooling.  Turkey will go in the bath tomorrow morning.  Free-range heritage bird.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I spare no expense.

[Baboontyme 2806]

He's 18.5 lbs now.  

[Jerry Callo 8646]

10 hours ago, Assman said:

I'm a turkey noob.  I did my first one last year using some random recipe I found online.  I don't have a smoker, so I'll be roasting it in the oven like I did last year.  Can anyone give me a recipe or tips to take it to the next level?  What the hell should I be doing tonight, tomorrow, etc?

Make a mixture of fresh herbs and butter and apply liberally underneath the skin.  Place some onions, carrots, celery, and herbs in the cavity.  Reynolds oven bags work great for roasting turkeys.

[kevwun 15570]

I am not a fan of the bags because of what they do to the skin.  It doesn't get crispy when you use them.

Edited November 27, 2019 by kevwun

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

14 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

16 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

As long as you're doing a wet brine, it will finish the thaw for you.  Brine for as long as you ordinarily would.  If you brine too long it can get salty.

Good point on brining too long. Last year I only brined over night and the turkey turned out great.

12 hours seems to be the right amount of time for brining.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 hours ago, Assman said:

I'm a turkey noob.  I did my first one last year using some random recipe I found online.  I don't have a smoker, so I'll be roasting it in the oven like I did last year.  Can anyone give me a recipe or tips to take it to the next level?  What the hell should I be doing tonight, tomorrow, etc?

Brine now (12 hours or so) to make it moist/keep moisture. Then season with whatever herbs suit your fancy before roasting/smoking/ frying.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 hours ago, utee94 said:

I wake up every morning, thanking the Dear Lord above, that I'm not invited to your Thanksgiving Day Massacre.

Good day, sir.

I'm betting it's fucking fantastic.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Cooked the pumpkin pies last night, one straight forward traditional, and the other 2 with crushed walnuts in the mix.

 

Gonna roast a 22 lb bird early tomorrow morning for the 1:00 feeding, and fry a 15 lb bird.

What's my seasoning for both ?  

Brining the roaster now, Thinking a Scarsburough fair traditional mix for the roaster : parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, with cracked pepper, olive oil on, under the skin, and in the cavity

Wanna do something different for the fryer. What's the way to go there ??  Do I still wanna brine that one ?  They never seem to have moisture issues when fried.

[utee94 15732]

 

40 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Cooked the pumpkin pies last night, one straight forward traditional, and the other 2 with crushed walnuts in the mix.

 

Gonna roast a 22 lb bird early tomorrow morning for the 1:00 feeding, and fry a 15 lb bird.

What's my seasoning for both ?  

Brining the roaster now, Thinking a Scarsburough fair traditional mix for the roaster : parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, with cracked pepper, olive oil on, under the skin, and in the cavity

Wanna do something different for the fryer. What's the way to go there ??  Do I still wanna brine that one ?  They never seem to have moisture issues when fried.

Don't brine the fryer, instead inject it. The Zatarain's injector with creole better shown above, works well.  

[utee94 15732]

1 hour ago, Baboontyme said:

He's 18.5 lbs now.  

Used the kitchen shears with great success once again, but now I kinda wanna do it with the reciprocating saw, just because.  Maybe next time.

Also, that's the exact same Ziploc bag I use, so much easier than a bucket or ice chest and since it's already spatchcocked, it can fold and squeeze into any space in the fridge that you have.

 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

34 minutes ago, utee94 said:

 

Don't brine the fryer, instead inject it. The Zatarain's injector with creole better shown above, works well.  

Thanks, been thinking that's the better way to go.

[Fudbelty 2784]

Returning later.

[Baboontyme 2806]

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

Used the kitchen shears with great success once again, but now I kinda wanna do it with the reciprocating saw, just because.  Maybe next time.

Also, that's the exact same Ziploc bag I use, so much easier than a bucket or ice chest and since it's already spatchcocked, it can fold and squeeze into any space in the fridge that you have.

 

 

Overkill is always the best medicine in my book. 

I could not get that ziploc bag shut due to the size of the bird and amount of brine. I actually have a large brining bag inside of that one that is about 80% shut. So far no leaks and no stinkage. 

[kevwun 15570]

Speaking of ziploc bags, they changed something in the ziploc branded ones.  They close so tightly now that you almost can't open them back up without ripping them.  I think it's on purpose to make sure people reuse them as little as possible.

[Jameslaw121 4440]

Would a rub of Rosemary, sage and salt & Pepper be good on a smoked turkey or would it just burn?

going to inject with the Zatararians butter shown upthread

Edited November 27, 2019 by Jameslaw121

[utee94 15732]

Just now, Jameslaw121 said:

Would a rub of Rosemary, sage and salt & Pepper be good on a smoked turkey or would it just burn?

Not sure if it would burn, but I'm also not sure the relatively delicate flavors associated with rosemary and sage are going to make it through the smoke.  The salt and pepper obviously will.

[Jameslaw121 4440]

Just now, utee94 said:

Not sure if it would burn, but I'm also not sure the relatively delicate flavors associated with rosemary and sage are going to make it through the smoke.  The salt and pepper obviously will.

Then, I'll probably just stick to S&P and Paprika. with the injection and a stick of butter and an apple and oragne in the cavity

 

[Baboontyme 2806]

I've done Rosemary and butter under the skin and you can definitely taste the flavor. Get that butter to room temp so you can spread it in there by hand. I use gloves.

[Bolero88 254]

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

Not sure if it would burn, but I'm also not sure the relatively delicate flavors associated with rosemary and sage are going to make it through the smoke.  The salt and pepper obviously will.

Rosemary is an extremely strong flavor. 

[Jameslaw121 4440]

 
Don't brine the fryer, instead inject it. The Zatarain's injector with creole better shown above, works well.  

On the butter injection. Do I do I now while I'm doing the rub or just before I put it in the smoker (around 12 hours from now)

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[kevwun 15570]

Just before you cook it.

Edited November 28, 2019 by kevwun

[Chewbacca 7665]

I've done Rosemary and butter under the skin and you can definitely taste the flavor. Get that butter to room temp so you can spread it in there by hand. I use gloves.

Gloves, condoms, whatever works.

[RollLeft 5039]

Made an 8 lb tonight.

Spices: Salt, pepper and Tony C's to taste also a little brown sugar (inside and out of bird and under skin of breast)

Inside the Bird:  carrots, celery, apples, squeezed orange and some aromatics of choice (all seasoned with above)

I cut a stick of butter long ways and put one on each breast under the skin.  and throw half a stick inside the bird.

Put it in a bag and cooked it at 325 until 150

then covered top with foil pumped it up to 355 until 162.

I prefer fresh Turkey, non frozen.  Also taste is my number one concern.  I don't care about appearance or crispy skin.  Dry turkey sucks.    

Another year of not only tender but juicy.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

7 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

16 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

I've done Rosemary and butter under the skin and you can definitely taste the flavor. Get that butter to room temp so you can spread it in there by hand. I use gloves.

Gloves, condoms, whatever works.

But the condoms keep the "butter" from getting inside the cavity.  Wait..... what are we talking about ?

[WhatTheBuck 28696]

16 hours ago, Bolero88 said:

Rosemary is an extremely strong flavor. 

And sage even more so. They'd be fine for smoked turkey. 

Edited November 28, 2019 by WhatTheBuck

[squib 1119]

Just slid my turkey in to the Big Easy oilers fryer basket. Should be done at 12:15 p.m.

[Baboontyme 2806]

I got my bird out of the brine for tomorrow. This guy is super asymmetrical. I didn't really think much of it when I was cutting the back out and flattening it. The breast plate is kind of crooked. 

['stache 21729]

Trader Joe’s turkey not prebrined. I brined it myself using a great recipe I’ve had. Cooked on the gas grill with wood chip pack. Much smokier than I thought it’d be (which is a good thing), probably should have used a slightly higher temp, but pretty good overall. Best skin I’ve rendered. Learned the cheesecloth method.

[squib 1119]

looks excellent. and I dig the platter.

[Baboontyme 2806]

Asymmetrical. And I'm not counting the full sticks of butter I shoved under the skin on each tit. I mean look at that sternum, it's fuckin crooked.  It turned out pretty amazing. I need to upload some pics.

[Jerry Callo 8646]

Yesterday I picked up fresh turkey at Costco for about $8, then my wife showed up with another fresh turkey from Central Market.  Brined one overnight and will brine the other throughout the day.  I'll have plenty of smoked turkey for a while.

[Baboontyme 2806]

I wound up separating it during the cook. I had the wings at 180 so I snipped them off. Then I had the thighs right at 165 and the lopsided breasts were still in the 140 range. Pulled the breasts about 45 minutes later. Had plenty of time for everything to rest. I think it was the best one I've ever done. Maybe I didn't use enough salt in my brine in the past. This year I made sure I used 1.25-1.5 cups per gallon and I brined for about 48 hours. 

 

[Jerry Callo 8646]

Nice job!

[dcbc 14367]

Cross-posted.  Smoked a 20 lb bird on Sunday.  Vacuum sealed it with some butter in the bag.  Refrigerated.  Took it to Houston.  Warmed it up in a sous vide at 140, opened the bag, and served.  Absolutely delicious. 

[Sbbruin 21690]

Put a turkey on the smoker an hour ago.  Looking forward to the feast.  The best part was nearly cutting the tip of my finger off slicing oranges to stuff in the cavity.  Been bleeding profusely since.  Probably stitch worthy but no way am I going to an ER right now.  I'll amputate first.

[Baboontyme 2806]

Don't bleed out sb. 

Also save the carcass and the giblets and make yourself some soup when you feel like it. I had a frozen neck as well. I busted them out last week because #bored and made a big ass pot of soup for the 4 of us. It lasted a week and it was damn good. 

[Sbbruin 21690]

Don't bleed out sb. 
Also save the carcass and the giblets and make yourself some soup when you feel like it. I had a frozen neck as well. I busted them out last week because #bored and made a big ass pot of soup for the 4 of us. It lasted a week and it was damn good. 

Ha, made the soup out of the carcass starting right after dinner.
Bird (or the half that was left over after I forgot the pre-carve pic


And the soup, which was freaking delicious. Just had some for dinner.

[DalTxHornFan 3074]

The bride just scored a 17 lb turkey at the grocery store as there were no chickens and only 2 smaller turkeys.  My normal drill is to spatchcock and wet brine a turkey for a couple of days before smoking it.  I want to try something different, aside from frying.  Ideas?  Thanks.

[PantsTent 2002]

9 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

The bride just scored a 17 lb turkey at the grocery store as there were no chickens and only 2 smaller turkeys.  My normal drill is to spatchcock and wet brine a turkey for a couple of days before smoking it.  I want to try something different, aside from frying.  Ideas?  Thanks.

Spatchcock, dry brine, and smoke!