My kids are home with the flu, so I'm trying to make the most of being stuck here by getting some meal prep done. I had a 14 pound turkey in the freezer from Thanksgiving. Albertson's had specials at that time so I got four turkeys for $.24/lb. The plan is to to smoke it and pull it for future meals.
I didn't have enough salt to make a brine, and I didn't feel like dragging sick kids to the grocery store so I skipped the brining process. But I did inject it with some Tony Chacheres that I bought after the Thanksgiving holiday (I bought 10 of them for $.50 each).
After injecting, I covered it in some store bought cajun spice mix from a local grocers market here. I seasoned outside the skin and under the skin as well.
I put it in my MES 30 at 275º with the AMZNPTS filled with alder pellets. The plan is to pull it at 145º IT at the breast and then place it in a plan covered with foil for the remainder of the cook.
Meanwhile, I headed to the brewery for a couple of refreshments with a buddy. I had a Cold Trail Pale Ale and Smoke Chaser Porter. Both are delicious and are my usual staples at the brewery.
After almost 4 hours the IT hit 145º, so I pulled it and placed it in a big foil pan covered with more aluminum foil.
The reason I do this is because I want to catch some of the juices from the poultry. Since turkey is traditionally dryer than other meats, I want to add this moisture back into the meat after I pull it. It took about another hour and a half to reach 163º IT. At this point I pulled it off the heat and let it rest for 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes the IT rose to 167º at the breast. As you can see, the juices I was looking for showed up in perfect fashion.
Maybe one of the most important steps is to rip off a turkey leg and bite into it viking style to make sure it tastes good.
Yup, it passed the taste test.
My brewery buddy loves smoked turkey breast, so I took out a breast and sliced it up for him. BBQ's #1 goal should be about friends and family.
It took me about 15 minutes to go through the rest of the turkey and pull it all up. Afterwards, I tossed it all back into the juices.
After a night in the fridge to solidify some of the juices, I portioned it out for vacuum sealing. If you vacuum seal it while it's still hot, you tend to suck out a lot of the juices and then you have a mess and a lot of freezer bags that don't seal right.
All vacuum-packed and ready for future meals.
I'm thinking enchiladas, casseroles, turkey salad, tacos, turkey noodle soup, turkey fried rice, etc.
What would y'all use pulled turkey for?
I didn't have enough salt to make a brine, and I didn't feel like dragging sick kids to the grocery store so I skipped the brining process. But I did inject it with some Tony Chacheres that I bought after the Thanksgiving holiday (I bought 10 of them for $.50 each).
After injecting, I covered it in some store bought cajun spice mix from a local grocers market here. I seasoned outside the skin and under the skin as well.
I put it in my MES 30 at 275º with the AMZNPTS filled with alder pellets. The plan is to pull it at 145º IT at the breast and then place it in a plan covered with foil for the remainder of the cook.
Meanwhile, I headed to the brewery for a couple of refreshments with a buddy. I had a Cold Trail Pale Ale and Smoke Chaser Porter. Both are delicious and are my usual staples at the brewery.
After almost 4 hours the IT hit 145º, so I pulled it and placed it in a big foil pan covered with more aluminum foil.
The reason I do this is because I want to catch some of the juices from the poultry. Since turkey is traditionally dryer than other meats, I want to add this moisture back into the meat after I pull it. It took about another hour and a half to reach 163º IT. At this point I pulled it off the heat and let it rest for 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes the IT rose to 167º at the breast. As you can see, the juices I was looking for showed up in perfect fashion.
Maybe one of the most important steps is to rip off a turkey leg and bite into it viking style to make sure it tastes good.
Yup, it passed the taste test.
My brewery buddy loves smoked turkey breast, so I took out a breast and sliced it up for him. BBQ's #1 goal should be about friends and family.
It took me about 15 minutes to go through the rest of the turkey and pull it all up. Afterwards, I tossed it all back into the juices.
After a night in the fridge to solidify some of the juices, I portioned it out for vacuum sealing. If you vacuum seal it while it's still hot, you tend to suck out a lot of the juices and then you have a mess and a lot of freezer bags that don't seal right.
All vacuum-packed and ready for future meals.
I'm thinking enchiladas, casseroles, turkey salad, tacos, turkey noodle soup, turkey fried rice, etc.
What would y'all use pulled turkey for?
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