Turkey Tune-Up

[pignit]

Shweeeeeet!

That blender is goin on my Christmas list. Great smoke!

 

[brower]

engineer, how do you de-fat the broth? might be a stupid question but i'm stuck on that part.

 

[bbq engineer]

Not a stupid question by any means. The fat will rise to the top and I just skim it off with a spoon. Some people will use a gravy separator that looks like this: http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=218161

I just use a spoon or ladle and gently spoon it off. If you are going to thicken the gravy with flour, use some of the fat with some flour to make a roux, and then add the broth to that. This will ensure a smooth and lump free gravy. Make sure to bring it to a full boil, as flour doesn't reach it's full thickening potential until it reaches a boil.

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[matt1124]

I made the gravy like that and it turned out amazing! Thanks!

 

[72lemanscvbl]

FYI I did an MES on Christmas day. It was 9 degrees outside, windy and snowing. I eventually put a blanket behind the back of the unit and propped it up against the deck railing so it would stay up. I turned on the MES about 6:30 am, and put in the veggies/broth at that time in effort to keep the temp when I oppened it again to place the Turkey (about 12 lbs). I punctured a beer can and put that in the turkey (the beer on its side). Put the turkey in about 7:30, turned it about 11a, and checked it at 1 and pulled it about 2:15. The highest temp the smoker would get to was 255 with the cold weather. I had stuck a thermometer into the breast and leg at the 1pm and they read 172 and 180 but was afraid it wasn't accurate with the fact that the temp hadn't gotten up that hot in the unit, so I did let the turkey go longer. It took 2 hours to get to the 250 from cold start and would take an hour to get back to temp when the door was opened. It came out looking amazing and not dry. My gravy was pretty good. I used about 25 percent drippings/vegetables to 75 percent chicken stock and still ended up with good and smokey gravey. Blended it similar as to what was shown earlier in the post. I had brined the turkey the night before. All in all a very great success for a first turkey and working such a cold day. I actually had to shovel a place on the deck to make a place for the MES.

 

[stl-srt8]

Thanksgiving Day bump for Dana (BBQ Engineer).  This is the way I am doing our 20lb bird today.  I did it last year, and it was amazing!

 

[sbv32]

looking for Thanksgiving Turkey ideas and think I found one.!!!!

 

[jrod62]

On the "to do " list

 

[billfromhavana]

Blender where can we get one?.......  I'm using Apple chucks again this year.

 

[ewyatt3233]

What is your ratio of seasonings?

 

[eman]

If you are using an MES to smoke a bird, bring your internal to 160 then put it under a hot broiler to crisp up the skin. Works for me.

 

[hoity toit]

I'm still cracking up at the tach on the blender....!! hahaha   where in the world did the Ms. engineer find that thing ??  Bet it would do good margaritas too.!

Food looks wonderful. Outstanding.

 

[eppo]

I'm going to bump this for anyone that is still looking to smoke a turkey tomorrow.

This is the way i'll be doing it, it looks AMAZING! i think i'm going to add a little rub to it also.
 

 

[hoity toit]

HOLY MoLY ! WOW that looks GREAT ! ! ! !

Job well done .

 

 

[bhawks35]

Hey guys-

I know this is a very old thread but I was searching how to smoke turkeys, saw this, and it looked so good I decided to follow it. I have a few questions if you guys dont mind helping me out:

- I see the OP used sage and thyme under the skin, but what did he do to the outside of the skin? 

- Can you do the herbs under the skin and a Rub on the outside or will that be too many flavors competing with one another?

- Should you baste at all during the smoke?

- Can you do this exact recipe and method with whole chickens? 

I have whole chickens fronzen I was going to use this with. My plan was to also use bacon fat on the outer skin, possibly with a rub, and then do everything else the OP said. Too much or is that okay? I was also planning on basting the chickens in the bacon fat maybe an hr or so into the smoke.

Any answers or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much everyone!

cheers

 

[mdboatbum]

I'd say you'd be fine using this method for chickens. As for the bacon fat and rub, it wouldn't hurt anything but it might get a little busy flavor wise. I've basted turkeys with butter if they were looking a little pale, but if you coat it well with fat at the start you shouldn't need to baste.