Twin Turks and Ham with Habanero Glaze for Christmas

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bdillard

Newbie
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Oct 17, 2013
24
14
Lake Mary Florida
Good Day All!

Getting two turkeys on a XL BGE is a little tight but the results were phenom as usual!

First we use an Alton Brown recipe for the brine. Brine the turkeys about 12 hours. Use the same brine on fresh ham...excellent.


I use the beer can stands, modified in my shop to accommodate setting them closer together in the BGE


One of the advantages of the brine beside great flavor enhancement is the food safety protection the brine provides. I always brine poultry prior to smoking. Also start my day by giving our stainless steel sink a good scrubbing for additional safety.


One of the nice things about these racks is the handles which can be used to stabilize the beasts up the beer can holder. When I started beer canning turkeys I used the big 32oz Fosters can which provides some stability but can still can be a little tricky. Now with these beer can sets...I can just strap these babies in and smoke um up.


Have tried a variety of beers.....honestly can't tell one form another. 


I'm using a pretty standard rub out of Steven Raichlen's Beer Can Chicken cook book. Heavy coatings in the cavities then lather up the exterior's with olive oil and rub em down....These birds were both close to 13 pounds. Fresh from Petty's Market.


Normally I prefer apple wood on Turkey's but this smoke  I used a wood recipe of 50% pecan, 50% cherry. Came out GREAT! I need to learn more about "wood recipes" off the Forum!


OK....ready to go. BGE is armed with a DigiQ controller. It is a great system allows me to spend time with the Grandchildren rather than watching temperature read outs all the time. 


 I cooked these birds @ 270 degrees...about 3.5 hours to achieve 165-170. We then incarcerated them in foil and popped them in the cooler for about a hour. They came out of the cooler steaming hot and juice running out of them. These two birds and the ham below fed our crowd of 16.... with a food fight for the left overs!


Below is a 9 pound fresh ham I cooked the day before. This is Michael Symon's Christmas Ham with Habanero Glaze recipe. If you like cooking fresh hams this is a fantastic recipe. It has a great Cleveland BBQ sauce which is also the base ingredient along with a gallon of Orange Juice for the Habanero Glass. Again I used the cherry/pecan wood mixture. Smoked at 275 degrees. Four hour cook time. Began glazing when the IT reached 150. Pulled it at 170...about 4 hours. Re-heated to an IT of 100 on Christmas....was outstanding. BTW: I use this Cleveland BBQ sauce recipe as one of my sauces for pulled pork as well. In case you can't find it here it is below.


Cleveland BBQ Sauce (If you are going to make the glaze you will need to triple this recipe as the glaze uses two cups in its prep.)

1.5 teasp olive oil

1/2 cup minced red onion

1 minced garlic (double or triple to taste!)

Kosher Salt

1 1/2 teasp colander 

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

1.5 ounces Chipolites in Adobo sauce (when my Wife's not looking I double this!)

1 cup of stadium style mustard. (Bertrams etc) 

Habanero Glaze

1 Gallon Orange Juice

1/2 cup of lime juice

1 cup light brown sugar (packed)

And the Gun Powder: 1 Habanero Chile with a slit out in 1 side

These all go in a large sauce pan and are cooked to a reduction of 50%....its a great flavor with a nice buzz. I've learned a ton since joining this Group. Hope there's something here that can help someone in the future doing turkeys on the BGE....
 
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Hello and welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of information and great people that are willing to throw in their two cents worth on about anything.   
[/h1][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]
 
Great looking smoke! Your glaze looks really good!


I have been using the cherry and pecan mix the last couple years and it is one of my most favorites for just about everything except fish. Excellent on poultry, beef, and pork. I still like to mix it up a bit though. We did pecan cherry for the bird and apple peach for the pork loin this Christmas, both were fantastic. Have fun and mix it up, that's what Smokin is all about!
 
Welcome to the forum  Nice bird!

You ve come to the best place for great information on smoking and many other types of cooking! Many friendly people here that love to help. Also make the search button your best friend. There are over a million post in this forum. That powerful information on a vast array of subjects right at your fingertips.
Brian
 
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