Better Late Than Never Thanksgiving!!!

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civilsmoker

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Jan 27, 2015
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Ok, so do to our kitchen remodel (doing it our selves) and the fact that the kitchen wasn’t fully functional till late Thursday night our big turkey feast got a little pushed back...... and it was well worth the wait!!!

The first coarse started of with a slice of pecan streusel pumpkin pie that my wife made last night.....the pie was also joined by a piece baklava that my daughter made (both of them when nuts having two ovens.....
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Now this is a proper breakfast for a thanksgiving day (late) feast!
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Next just a shot of my wife making homemade croutons from her focaccia bread she made yesterday. Man you could make a feast out of this little rosemary, thyme, and oregano season little jewels!
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So the BIG star of the show would be the fresh 20 lber......the plan was to do the cook at 325 on the pellet. The initial thought was it would take about 4-4.5 hours.....on it went....
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The only problem is an hour in I’m like snap this thing is going to be done in 3 hours tops.....agh.....so why you may ask would a full turkey get done so quick.....well I experimented with my partial backbone removal for the cook....
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This allows for real healthy air flow through the bird cavity.......so after hearing that my wife needed 3 hours for rolls I promptly jumped up and dropped the smoker temp to 235 to stall the cook!!

I let it roll there for about 2 plus hours then bumped it back up to 325 for the last 45 min....pulled IT breast 160 legs/thigh 180, and wings at 185.....and to my surprise it turned out the bomb!
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I think I’ve discovered a new way to do the turkey! Total cook time 4 hours with 30 min untented rest time.
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And finally the better late than never feast!
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All is good now and nothing but happy memories!
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Looks great!! Glad you got Thanksgiving dinner done!! Kitchen was shaping up to look awesome.
 
Great looking meal there! Better late than never! Glad you're getting to use some of your new kitchen and enjoy it.

Ryan
 
That looks great! The wife and daughter did a fine job with the sweets! The bird looks fantastic and that plate is in my opinion a perfect Thanksgiving meal.
 
Oh man! Y'all gonna make me do a turkey and force the wife to make dressing! that plate is gorgeous!
Jim
 
Looks great!! Glad you got Thanksgiving dinner done!! Kitchen was shaping up to look awesome.
Thanks on both jcam! Even thought kitchen still has a was to go it was nice to have appliances again!

Yum! A good looking bird.
Thanks Chiler!

Great looking meal there! Better late than never! Glad you're getting to use some of your new kitchen and enjoy it.

Ryan
Thanks Ryan! It was a dream cook day, had 5 burners, both ovens, and the pellet all going at the same time!!! Man that was fun!

Great day! Nice adaptation. Beautiful birdy.
Thanks no “b”! Much appreciated!

That looks great! The wife and daughter did a fine job with the sweets! The bird looks fantastic and that plate is in my opinion a perfect Thanksgiving meal.
The wife and daughter were just going like crazy, making our dough and all kinds of yummies! I don’t think the ovens even turned of once all day. Just changed temp from one thing to another.

Thanks in the turkey it was a real surprise for sure!
 
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Oh man! Y'all gonna make me do a turkey and force the wife to make dressing! that plate is gorgeous!
Jim
JL the dressing has fennel, chestnuts, celery, onion, Italian parsley, sausage, and white wine. Oh and my turkey stock I make from the extra turkey we buy (turkey bones simmered for 12 hours with aromatics and fresh herbs the last hour! It is over the top yummy!

Wait till you see the left overs tomorrow.....going to be special!

Um Um good!!!
Thanks hawg!
 
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Looks great Civil. Glad you all finally got to have Thanksgiving meal. So nice to see everyone pitching in.
Great work all the way around.
 
Looks great Civil. Glad you all finally got to have Thanksgiving meal. So nice to see everyone pitching in.
Great work all the way around.
I appreciate that MJB! I tell ya it was a crazy ride but the meal today sure help cure the memory of the ordeal for sure! Having 8 sets of hands really helps too!!!

Nice bird. Job well done!
thanks SEdge! I like experimenting for sure, this one was a win some not so much....lol

Congrats on the ride. It's well deserved!

Thanks Sow! I’m always grateful for the opportunity to share with others and humbled to be recognized!
 
So I prepared the leftovers tonight.....hope I don’t jinx it but I’m just a kid in the candy store so here it is....

first I removed the breasts, wings, and legs and then put the smoked bird bones in a pot with the day one turkey stock and a bit more bottled water (I use bottled water for making stock) and on the heat for a good 8 hour simmer.....this smoked (Two Turkey) stock is pure gold!
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Next I took the second whole uneaten breast skin removed and wrapped it in prosciutto.......
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oh yes leftovers is going to be a smoked turkey wellington!!!! At least my version of it! I know....... but with a new oven it just had to be!!!

next I egg washed a pastry sheet and made a bed of dressing......
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i only put the dressing as a base because I want a nice presentation when slicing (a little vanity is ok isn’t it?) The turkey was placed on top and then a second egg washed sheet was wrapped over the top....
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this baby was then wrapped up tight and in the fridge till lunch left overs tomorrow.... fingers crossed!!!!
 
This already looks like it's gonna be another out of this world wellington. Can't wait to see the finished product, especially in that new oven!
 
The first meal look great, but that Turkey Wellington is shear BRILLIANCE! ...JJ
 
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