Hi all,, sorry I havent been on much,, work is crazy.
Wife wanted me to try some Cornish hens,, so we picked up (2) 1.2#. I also plan on trying my first smoked turkey so I mixed up 2 gallons of brine. I put them each in seperate containers ofc.
2 gallons of water
2 cups of Kosher salt
1 can of orange juice concentrate
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tbs of majorham
1 tbs of oregano
1 tbs of sage
1 tbs of onion powder
1 tbs of garlic powder
1tbs of red pepper flakes.
I brined the hens for 2.5 hours, let sit out for 30 mins after patting dry, then rubbed with some more savory herbs, no butter or oil used. I preheated the old MES to 225 and used oak n cherry pellets in AMNPS. I bumped it up later to 305 after about an hour or so. I pulled when it hit IT of 172. Smoke ring is there, smoke flavor was awesome,, meat very juicy but skin was rubbery. QView also shows a double baked tater and wifes new recepie for stuffing. It uses Texas Garlic toast,, she baked them to a crisp and made her stuffing,, adding some browned sweet Italian sausage,, plus the normal stuff,, onions, mushrooms and herbs :) Stuffing was a little wet but had some great flavor,, next time she will increase cook time by about 20mins to see if it dries out more.
Now for the Turkey,, I need some advice. I dont want rubbery skin :) Also, just to throw added twist in. Wife is going to put a 12# on the horizontal rotisserie. Do you think I should brine that one too ? My 10.2# Turkey has brined for 30 hours and is now sitting waiting for your inputs, I will put in fridge before I go to work :) How do I fix the skin. I should say that my old MES will hit 350 easily,, it has a huge element in it. I plan on mixing up some herb butter for under skin and over skin,, over skin mix maybe to have a little oil mixed in,, I have to use corn oil,, some relatives dont like the olive oil taste ? I will use 1 part mesquite, 1 part cherry and 2 parts of maple pellets,, I have just enough left to do this bird,, then need to order more :) Maverick is working like a charm so I can get any required temps pretty much on the money and my mods to MES make for some great air flow. Not sure if I will start this cooking Wednesday night or Thursday morning, I have more time on Wednesday and can baby it through cooking process if needed. It will be going in a foil pan,, so hopefully I will get some drippings from it, if it doesnt all boil away. Turkey pan on middle shelf as top shelf doesnt give me enough room. Will put original water/chip tray in bottom shelf and have AMNPS on that. And outside temp is supposed to be around 45f. I should be good to go on cooking process but getting that perfect skin is going to be a challenge.
Thoughts on maybe my turkey turning out better then the wifes on rotisserie ? Hard to beat the crispy skin from that though :)
I hope everyone can enjoy the holiday, and as a vet,, lets be thankful for what we have. Enjoy life to the fullest and always appreciate your family. Thank you all for the help you have given and I am sure,, for the future help you will give in my new found hobby.
Wife wanted me to try some Cornish hens,, so we picked up (2) 1.2#. I also plan on trying my first smoked turkey so I mixed up 2 gallons of brine. I put them each in seperate containers ofc.
2 gallons of water
2 cups of Kosher salt
1 can of orange juice concentrate
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tbs of majorham
1 tbs of oregano
1 tbs of sage
1 tbs of onion powder
1 tbs of garlic powder
1tbs of red pepper flakes.
I brined the hens for 2.5 hours, let sit out for 30 mins after patting dry, then rubbed with some more savory herbs, no butter or oil used. I preheated the old MES to 225 and used oak n cherry pellets in AMNPS. I bumped it up later to 305 after about an hour or so. I pulled when it hit IT of 172. Smoke ring is there, smoke flavor was awesome,, meat very juicy but skin was rubbery. QView also shows a double baked tater and wifes new recepie for stuffing. It uses Texas Garlic toast,, she baked them to a crisp and made her stuffing,, adding some browned sweet Italian sausage,, plus the normal stuff,, onions, mushrooms and herbs :) Stuffing was a little wet but had some great flavor,, next time she will increase cook time by about 20mins to see if it dries out more.
Now for the Turkey,, I need some advice. I dont want rubbery skin :) Also, just to throw added twist in. Wife is going to put a 12# on the horizontal rotisserie. Do you think I should brine that one too ? My 10.2# Turkey has brined for 30 hours and is now sitting waiting for your inputs, I will put in fridge before I go to work :) How do I fix the skin. I should say that my old MES will hit 350 easily,, it has a huge element in it. I plan on mixing up some herb butter for under skin and over skin,, over skin mix maybe to have a little oil mixed in,, I have to use corn oil,, some relatives dont like the olive oil taste ? I will use 1 part mesquite, 1 part cherry and 2 parts of maple pellets,, I have just enough left to do this bird,, then need to order more :) Maverick is working like a charm so I can get any required temps pretty much on the money and my mods to MES make for some great air flow. Not sure if I will start this cooking Wednesday night or Thursday morning, I have more time on Wednesday and can baby it through cooking process if needed. It will be going in a foil pan,, so hopefully I will get some drippings from it, if it doesnt all boil away. Turkey pan on middle shelf as top shelf doesnt give me enough room. Will put original water/chip tray in bottom shelf and have AMNPS on that. And outside temp is supposed to be around 45f. I should be good to go on cooking process but getting that perfect skin is going to be a challenge.
Thoughts on maybe my turkey turning out better then the wifes on rotisserie ? Hard to beat the crispy skin from that though :)
I hope everyone can enjoy the holiday, and as a vet,, lets be thankful for what we have. Enjoy life to the fullest and always appreciate your family. Thank you all for the help you have given and I am sure,, for the future help you will give in my new found hobby.
