Turkey recipe's , smoked or otherwise?

[wyowolf]

Just wondering if any of you care to share how you like to cook your birds? Usually I just put it in the oven, but I have also deep fried them and last year smoked one. I think I will try the smoked one again as it came out really well.

Please share how you cook yours and see what we can learn in this tread!

 

[ehk089]

I’ve smoked, fried, brined and baked...in my opinion the easiest and tastiest is the fryer. Grab a can or two of Cajun seasoning and rub that sucker inside and out the night before, throw it in the fridge overnight and the next day put it in 350 oil. 3.5 min per pound

 

[passedpawn]

Tastiest by far is fryer. It's also the juiciest. but I won't do that again. Massive pain in the arse dealing with all the oil (and the potential fire). But it does cook a bird very fast.

Smoking produces some smoke flavor which is really nice. I always brine the day before. I do one of these every year, mostly for use later in turkey rice soup. I can just barely get a 20# on a Weber 22" kettle grill. Cooks in about 3.5 hrs. Very pretty bird when done just right.

Oven produces the least tasty bird. But my wife insists on this every year. Oven allows you to make stuffing, which I don't ever eat. Blech.

 

[wyowolf]

I agree the fryer was probably juiciest.. but like you said, way too much work...
last year i injected and smoked and it came out really well so I probably am going to do similar... i've not tried brine method yet but I watched this and may try it...

Tastiest by far is fryer. It's also the juiciest. but I won't do that again. Massive pain in the arse dealing with all the oil (and the potential fire). But it does cook a bird very fast.

Smoking produces some smoke flavor which is really nice. I always brine the day before. I do one of these every year, mostly for use later in turkey rice soup. I can just barely get a 20# on a Weber 22" kettle grill. Cooks in about 3.5 hrs. Very pretty bird when done just right.

Oven produces the least tasty bird. But my wife insists on this every year. Oven allows you to make stuffing, which I don't ever eat. Blech.

 

[glenn514]

I usually deep-fry the Thanksgiving turkey, after I inject it with a delicious "beer and butter" marinade. This year, however, I bought a bird on sale, and it is too large to deep-fry. So, I am going to inject it with the marinade, and then cook it on a Weber gas grill with some apple wood chips in the smoker box. I'll post back on this thread how it turned out.

And I'd encourage caution when brining previously frozen birds. All commercially frozen birds are injected with a saline solution so the producer can claim "self-basting." The additional salt from a salt brine may make the meat overly salty. Butcher shop and other never frozen birds have not gone through that injection process, and brining works well on them.

 

[wyowolf]

I usually deep-fry the Thanksgiving turkey, after I inject it with a delicious "beer and butter" marinade. This year, however, I bought a bird on sale, and it is too large to deep-fry. So, I am going to inject it with the marinade, and then cook it on a Weber gas grill with some apple wood chips in the smoker box. I'll post back on this thread how it turned out.

And I'd encourage caution when brining previously frozen birds. All commercially frozen birds are injected with a saline solution so the producer can claim "self-basting." The additional salt from a salt brine may make the meat overly salty. Butcher shop and other never frozen birds have not gone through that injection process, and brining works well on them.

ok, hmmm I did not know that... will go easy on the salt if i brine it! thanks for the info!

 

[passedpawn]

ok, hmmm I did not know that... will go easy on the salt if i brine it! thanks for the info!

1 cup of salt in 3g water should be plenty. I do this in a cooler overnight (add a bag of ice too). I think anything else (vegetable stock, spices, etc) are a waste, but you'll see this all over the webz. I did it once, I don't think it change anything in the flavor of the turkey.

 

[glenn514]

Some years ago, my late wife bought a frozen turkey breast at the grocery store. It was either a Jennie-O or a Butterball, injected with the usual saline solution. We decided to brine it and then deep-fry it. Well, it took us a while to figure out how the meat got so salty! Some folks may enjoy salty turkey, but after looking over the turkey selection at several grocery stores, it was soon obvious. My advice is either DO NOT brine a frozen turkey and/or breast, or use a brine that incorporates less salt. Birds that have not been frozen usually do not have the saline solution injections. On never frozen birds, a salt brine works well.

I am 72 years old, and while my Mother roasted the turkey in the oven, my late wife and I only did that a few times, early in our marriage. I roasted our turkeys on my Weber charcoal kettle for many, many years...until I was introduced to deep-fried turkey. Over the past 20 years, our Thanksgiving bird has always been deep-fried. Until this year! A twenty pound bird just will not fit in my deep-fryer!

 

[glenn514]

1 cup of salt in 3g water should be plenty. I do this in a cooler overnight (add a bag of ice too).

That ratio of salt to water in a brine sounds good for a frozen bird. Some of the recipes specifically state that the salt brine is only for fresh birds, or those few frozen birds NOT injected with the saline solution.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Im doing a deep fried one. Im going to inject it with creole butter and season the outside with Smack Ya Mama cajun seasoning. Let that sit for 2 days in the fridge and then deep fry on Thursday. I haven't done this combo yet but it's what I'm trying this year. My wife and i have a competition every year. She brines a Turkey and i deep fry one. The last 2 years she kicked my butt. This is my attempt to win lol.

 

[Konadog]

Not juicy in the oven.................... you don't know what your doing!

I stuff a 23+ pound bird with lemons, oranges, and fresh spice, cook for about 4.5 hours @325 and let rest about 1.5 hrs and cut. Never a dry bird and it only has a slight citrus flavor.

 

[wyowolf]

I put in some quartered apples and an orange I think last time I smoked it, came out really well... I will probably do that again as well.

 

[TwistedGray]

Ronco Showtime Rotisserie until it finally died on us a few years back...not it's in the oven.

Always brined, for what it's worth

 

[GnenieGone]

Smoking one and having friends deep fry one. I stuff with apples. Do a mustard and Tony's Creole seasoning. Smoke with oak/Mesquite/apple. Pull at 165F. Very juicy! Never had fried..be 1st time.

 

[glenn514]

PianoMan...depending on what injectable marinade is used on the turkey, it can turn out quite delicious, or even a bit hot and spicy. What's great about the injectable marinade is YOU can determine exactly what kind of flavor you want. The one I'll be using tomorrow is this:

BEER AND BUTTER POULTRY MARINADE
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 can [6 ounces] beer
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder

Stir over low heat until the butter is totally melted and the salt has dissolved. Keep warm while injecting it into the bird.

 

[GnenieGone]

Thanks! I've never injected. Screenshot that for future use.

 

[glenn514]

Yesterday's Thanksgiving feast is now in the history books. And our turkey was EXCELLENT!!! The marinade [see above] and the hint of apple wood smoke all combined to an absolutely delicious bird!!! So, I got "gold starts" for cooking the turkey, and I also got some very complimentary words on the six-pack of my Bourbon Barrel Porter I took along to share!!! Unfortunately, the photo I took of our delicious beast is too large, and I can't figure out how to re-size it. But it looked perfect!!!

glenn514

 

[glenn514]

I think I figured out a way to download a photo of our fantastic bird. Here goes...

 

[wyowolf]

Brined using video I posted then smoked with apple wood...best Turkey I've made so far!

 

[glenn514]

Looking really good, Wyowolf. I was talking to a friend of my son-in-law yesterday. She said she ALWAYS brines the Thanksgiving bird...and then she also mentioned that she also buys the bird at a butcher shop!

glenn514

 

[passedpawn]

Grocery store turkey (butterball), smoked over applewood. Wet brined overnight (1c salt into bucket, with water). No, it's not salty. Yes, it tasted great. I don't add anything... no rub, no stuffing of any kind.

 

[wyowolf]

I agree I will do it that way from now on!

 

[Clarke Nicholson]

I brine mine for 2 days and smoke for 8 hrs (18 lb bird) I cook 2 every year for Thanksgiving and never have leftovers.

 

[GPP33]

Everything you need to know about smoking a turkey (and just about anything else) can be found here. Make sure you spatchcock it and put the gravy stock under the bird to catch all the yummy drippings. There’s even a good section on cutting the breast, I have always done it wrong until I read this and my god it was moist and tender.

https://amazingribs.com/tested-reci...recipe-ultimate-turkey-easily-adapted-cooking

 

[applescrap]

Sad I missed the t talk. But it popped up so I'll add some thoughts. I read a cook's illustrated from a ways back. Chris Kimball said they test cooked them every which way and lots of them. I remember upside down worked and perhaps some others, but iirc fried was the most preferred. My experiences when haven eaten fried knew that. Next was high heat. 500 straight through. I don't second guess something like a Chris kimball article too much and made it this way for years. Killer Turkey. But not without some problems.

Alton Brown goes 500 for 30 and then down. This is 5 bones straight through. Cooks in like 2.5 hours. The smoke and difficulty in keeping the drippings from burning are problems. Also the breast needs covered as well as wing tips and leg ends. Have smoked them and I really like that. Makes me wonder if grilling them indirectly at high heat? Makes sense that putting them in the oven for a long time at low temps could dry.

We have always used Giada de Larentis recipe. Don't know why, we just do. I stuff/muddle the inside with sliced oranges, lemon, onion, rosemary sprigs, oregano sprigs and sage sprigs (check recipe for exact). Then I mix butter and evoo with herbs provence. That gets rubbed under skin and outside skin heavily and wrapped and left for the night. The herb sprigs, onion, citrus, oils, and fragrant provence is nice. Now we do that and smoke it. The gravy is killer.

 

[passedpawn]

I smoke in my weber kettle (not in my smoker) for 3-4 hrs, until it hits temp. 350F, indirect. I use foil to make sure the radiant heat from the coals are scorching the side of the bird, but some parts (breast, legs) do get dark faster, and after a couple of hours I add some foil there.

 

[applescrap]

I smoke in my weber kettle (not in my smoker) for 3-4 hrs, until it hits temp. 350F, indirect. I use foil to make sure the radiant heat from the coals are scorching the side of the bird, but some parts (breast, legs) do get dark faster, and after a couple of hours I add some foil there.

Doh, I saw that. Don't know why I didn't connect that. That's what I am looking for and it sounds good to me. Drip pan under it I assume. Will try it for sure. I have an old kingsford and some lump hiding somewhere. I love the taste of charcoal smokers.

 

[applescrap]

Here's that recipe, it's also got ingredients for gravy, I use plenty of butter and evoo, its 2 sprigs each in.