First go at a turkey

[carolow]

I still can't ge it right EVERY time. I am still in the playin around stage. Though I learned from my granddad and my dad, we always had smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving, and I use the same recipe. Have tried injecting, but I didnt like the texture it gave the meat.

Our old-Mississippi recipe goes like this, real simple: wash and cover with olive oil, then cover with lemon pepper (inside & out), then stuff the cavity and neck flap with celery, onions and apples. Smoke using hickory in a water smoker. Be sure to use a disposable drip pan stuck in the grill underneath the bird to catch juices for a killer, no KILLER smokey gravey. I'm up right now tending to the bird, drinking beer and smoking cigars. I really dont want to go to bed, as I am in the perfect situation. But its 2:45 here, and I just added some more coals to the pan to keep the temp right. Happy thanksgiving, and poo to anyone stooping to a deep-fried bird this holiday. (can we extinguish this stupid fad right now?).

Smokem' if you gotem'

 

[rbrinton2373]

Well My turkey turned out pretty good yesterday. Everyone who ate it seemed to really enjoy it, especially my little nephew. I think I got a little too smokey but other than that it wsa pretty good. Being as it was pretty much my first smoke ever I think it went well but lots of room for improvement. Anyway, here is a pic of my bird.

Attachment 6446 Thanks for everyones help.

 

[deejaydebi]

Don't forget it'll cook another 5 degrees or so after you pull it!

D88de sent me the link for cooking an bird on it's breast. Makes sense I guess but I've never had a dry bird laying on it's back so I'm stickin to it!

 

[meowey]

Great color on that bird!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

 

[rbrinton2373]

Oh and this is what I did, Brine = 1/4 cup table salt, 2/3 cup pure maple syrup, 3/4 tsp garlic powder, 3/4 tsp onion powder, few twists of fresh ground rainbow pepper. Didn't use a rub but seasoned with Morton's Natural seasons. Injected a mixture of maple syrup, butter, minced garlic, and parsley. Basted with butter about every hr. Started out with a temp of about 325 and finished holding it at 270. Used Hickory for the most part with a little Cherry. Used smoke for the first 3 hrs then nothing. overall cook tim was about 4 1/2 to 5 hrs. What I want to know is I think I started to get a little creosote even though I never got thick white smoke, My blue smoke got a lttle heavier at times but Not bad I didnt think, but the skin on the turkey was a little bitter? well thanks again for all the help.

 

[caveman27]

Hey Ryan, you are not alone. I decided my wife couldn't get all of the glory but she wouldn't let me risk the main attraction for tonight's dinner since I have never smoked a bird. So last night I ran out and got a 14# bird and brined it over night. It went on about 9:00AM (PST). Despite outside temps around 32, the gas smoker is puffin' away at around 300. I will let everyone know how it turns out. By the way, the wife (who is one hell of a cook) is doing a 20 pounder the the old fashion way. We have about 14 people coming over - lets see whose is left in the end!

 

[new to smoke]

I've always stuffed my turkey's with a grapefruit. It helps keep the bird moist. I not a fan of dry turkey.

 

[deejaydebi]

That's a real pretty bird Ryan!

Good job!

 

[pescadero]

It's the day after and doubt if any of us are smoking Turkey today. So, this is a day late and a dollar short. But, wanted to add a comment or two.
I have seen several posts about cooking birds breast down. I don't know if it produces better results, or not. I understand their reasoning and am not challenging that. But I got started doing all of my birds, breast up, many years ago. Guess I saw too many pictures of the classic bird pose, on the cover of various magazines. (Come to think of it, I have never seen a magazine showing a breast down, back up bird.) This goes for chicken, duck, goose, chucker or turkey. It has always worked for me. Doesn't matter if I'm cooking in the oven, an enamel roasting pan, in an electric roaster, on the Grill or in the smoker. Just the habit I have gotten into. Like Debi, I have never had a dry bird. Now, that's not to say they couldn't have been just as good, or maybe even better, breast down. For me, it is just a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. I know I should give it a shot one day, and probably will. I just have never gotten around to it.

One more thing, and this is probably more esthetics or vanity than anything. But, with respect to cooking, there is nothing I like better than the grill marks on a nice New York. I sometimes even lay them in a certain way to make sure I get those beautiful, classic marks, right where I want them. But, I hate to see those same sort of markings across an otherwise wonderful, golden bird breast. I just can't bear to lay the breast on the rack and I don't like to use a pan, so I continue to go on bare rack, breast up.

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