Well the birds I smoked last year for Thanksgiving went over so well that it was requested that I smoke them again. I normally smoke a bird for our family but last year since I had my big smoke shack I decided to offer to a few people at and lets just say it turned into an every year ordeal. I brined them over night with the same brine I used last year (Big Guys Brine) then I hung them in the netting and threw them in the smoke shack at 250 degrees and they took around 6.5 hours to reach 165-170 degrees. I was trying to use my AMNPS for the first time with the "perfect blend" pellets but it appears I am not getting enough air flow for the thing to run. I need to mess with that some more. I ended up putting a mix of hickory chunks and apple chips in my cast iron pan for my smoke. Once the birds were done I put them in a foil pan and wrapped them in foil and let them sit in the garage to cool/freeze. The birds will be warmed on Thanksgiving with the bird being put on a V tray and then putting some chicken stock in the bottom of the pan for moisture. Here are some pictures.
The birds in the cooler thawing.
The brine all mixed up and waiting for the birds.
The birds are in the brine to rest for the night. I put ziplock bags filled with water on top of the birds to weigh them down.
Here are the birds out of the brine and hanging in their nets to drip a bit before they go into the smoker.
Getting the AMNPS going.
Into the smoker.
Now as the birds were in the smoker I fired up my WOK to make some chicken fried rice to show my buddy how the WOK worked.
My helper trying out the WOK.
Me doing my thing.
Now back to the birds.
Here they are all done and hanging in the garage to cool a bit.
A closer shot.
And here they are all packaged up ready for people to pick them up today. I really like the netting and I'm glad Pops turned me onto them. They did stick to the skin in a couple of spots and pull the skin off but only one a few birds and only a small spot was pulled off. I will be using the nets again next year. Sorry I didn't get a shot of the birds removed from the netting so you could see the color on the birds. Great color and great smell. My buddy ripped a pinch off of his and said it tasted great.
I can't wait to see and hear how these taste on Thursday. Thanks for looking and Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
The birds in the cooler thawing.
The brine all mixed up and waiting for the birds.
The birds are in the brine to rest for the night. I put ziplock bags filled with water on top of the birds to weigh them down.
Here are the birds out of the brine and hanging in their nets to drip a bit before they go into the smoker.
Getting the AMNPS going.
Into the smoker.
Now as the birds were in the smoker I fired up my WOK to make some chicken fried rice to show my buddy how the WOK worked.
My helper trying out the WOK.
Me doing my thing.
Now back to the birds.
Here they are all done and hanging in the garage to cool a bit.
A closer shot.
And here they are all packaged up ready for people to pick them up today. I really like the netting and I'm glad Pops turned me onto them. They did stick to the skin in a couple of spots and pull the skin off but only one a few birds and only a small spot was pulled off. I will be using the nets again next year. Sorry I didn't get a shot of the birds removed from the netting so you could see the color on the birds. Great color and great smell. My buddy ripped a pinch off of his and said it tasted great.
I can't wait to see and hear how these taste on Thursday. Thanks for looking and Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
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