First Turkey on the PBC

[lschweig]

Thanksgiving was at my daughter in laws home, while she sent some turkey back with us we wanted more so the following Wednesday I did a 17# turkey. As I was rushed I did not inject, dry brine, or even leave it in the refrigerator overnight. I did rub it with PBC AP rub and decided to hang it whole breast down.

It is and was the best turkey I have ever done and may be the best I have ever had. The flavor was and is out of this world.

Also I have always in my many years of carving sliced directly from the bird and never knew there was a different way until I spotted on AR to remove the breast after cooking and then slice it. I found it to be a much easier method with more uniform slices and less tearing.

[HawkerXP]

Oh yeah. Pretty bird.

[Voodoo]

Yeah PBC bird! Looks awesome!

[tbob4]

Beautiful job! I'm like you. I've been cooking the turkey for years in the smoker. My son is getting married this year and I know there will be a time when I'm not going to be the cook due to obligations to celebrate elsewhere. None-the-less, I will be smoking my turkey either before or after for myself.

[MBMorgan]

Nice job! Congrats ...

[Mr. Bones]

lschweig Great Lookin' bird, made me crazy bad hungry just lookin' at th' pics!!

Truly Norman Rockwell level, fine job!!!

lschweig tbob4

My Son got married several years back, so they have been hosting Thanksgiving, but Dad still always shows up with either a turkey, ham, pork loin, etc., plus sides...

I think the most important job we have to do now, is teaching our Sons how to make "Dad's Turkey, etc."

[lschweig]

Or maybe the lady folk as well.

[EdF]

But tbob4 this is a wonderful opportunity to set a good example for the younger generation!

[Mr. Bones]

"Give a man smoked meat, an' he'll eat fer a day. Teach him t' smoke meat, an' he'll eat fer a lifetime..." ;-)

[Danjohnston949]

@Ischweig, Pics like Yours of Your Turkey are going to Cost Me! I have never even been close to a PBC? I do pay attention to what You and Others Post!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[lschweig]

If you choose to get one you will not regret it in the slightest.

[rototiller78]

I agree w/ @Ischweig, I've never heard a fellow PBC owner say "This piece of crud PBC sucks bad! I wish I never bought one!" If you can wing it, definitely agree w/ pulling the trigger & getting one.

[fuzzydaddy]

Gorgeous turkey!

[fzxdoc]

lschweig That is one beauty of a bird. Congrats! Did you use the PBC turkey hanger? How long was the cook?

Kathryn

[lschweig]

I did use the turkey hanger with the rebar going through the upper part hung diagonally as recommended.

When I first pulled it and after resting I cut into it and noticed the thigh joint was slightly underdone at the joint. So I ended up putting it back in for a while. Actually during the initial cook I noticed that the breast temp was rising much faster than anticipated so reduced the heat significantly and also moved the probe to the other breast with the same temp results.

I think maybe that with the breast being hung down retarded the heat to the thighs and caused my problem, but don't know for sure.

I do keep a log and if I had to guess on this cook around 2.5- 3 hrs maybe a little more mostly due to getting the bird actually cooking again.

The one thing I do know for sure is that this was the best turkey I have ever had and I am long in the tooth.

[JPGators17]

Beautiful Bird! I am going to hang a turkey on the PBC this week for the first time. I assume you started at 325, but what did you reduce the temp to? I had the same underdone joint problem with my thanksgiving turkey on the Weber Kettle. I'm hoping to avoid that on the PBC.

[lschweig]

I actually made a scotch run for 15 min or so at the beginning of the cook and the temp went up to 400 and I quickly brought the temp down to average around 325. Maybe hang the bird legs down will work better.

[Spinaker]

Great looking bird man!! The PBC strikes again!!

[lschweig]

Yes I am amazed at how everything comes out great from the PBC.

[Joedvasquez]

That looks fantastic. I'm planning on my first turkey for Christmas Eve. Is there a problem with cooking it at the "normal" PBC temp? What are some positives and negatives if each way? For my first one I'm planning on doing it it exactly like Noah's video, like I do all my first cooks of a certain meat. I'm just curious.

[lschweig]

You will want to run at 325 or higher to get a crispy skin, which means you will have to crack the lid to get higher temps than normal.

Hopefully you have thermometers.

I did mine with PBC AP rub and the flavor and juiciness was wonderful.

Oh, and I did leave it unwrapped in the fridge for around 24 hrs to help dry out the skin.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Joedvasquez]

Ah. That makes sense. Did you put any AP rub under the skin? Have you or anyone tried cooking at say 275-300 and crack the lid near the end to crisp the skin? I do have thermometers so I can monitor the temps. Do leave the thermometer In the breast or check for doneness as you go? I've actually never cooked a turkey before so I'm not sure if leaving it in will dry it out.