Nothing could be finer than Thanksgiving in Carolina

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

joepeep77

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 19, 2016
22
19
Hey all, been awhile since I shared anything but I just had to document my turkey cook. First time I'd even done a whole bird, and hoo boy, the results were something.

First off, look at the majestic sunrise that greeted me on Thanksgiving morning:

20191128_064306.jpg


No time to admire it, though, there was WORK to be done.

Got the bird (whom I christened Julius), idk why but I always name them) out of the briny slumber I'd put him in the previous night. Rinsed off, patted dry, and applied a liberal coating of Uncle Monkey's Season-all (we found it in Texas on our honeymoon back in 2017, that shit is DELICIOUS). Julius was ready to shine:


20191128_072433.jpg


So outside we went, where my UDS had already been preheating:

20191128_082335.jpg


And on went Julius!

Stopped to pose for a second:

20191128_082425_HDR.jpg


This time, I didn't fret too much about maintaining a consistent 225. Even let it spike up to *gasp* 275-300! Julius, it turned out, despite being almost 12 pounds, was ready to rock in about 4 hours or so. And when I uncapped the smoker, my god y'all:

20191128_110202.jpg


Such beautiful sights I had never beheld with mine own eyes. Managed to hit about 168-170 in the breast, roundabout 190 in the thigh.

Also, I went kinda minimal on the wood. Normally I'd do 5-6 somewhat hefty hickory chunks, scaled it back to 3, and the results were PHENOMENAL. Just the right flavor. Just the right smokiness. All in all a damn fine day.
 
Great looking bird you got there. Gotta love the drum smokers. I have a couple in my collection.

What part of NC you do you leave? I lived in Greenville for 34 years before moving to KY.

Johnny Ray
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Clicky