I quite like the s&g rub. Has a seasonal taste, so fits in well. I do like a salty flavor on the darK meat, so the pbc all purpose worKS well. A simple alternative for a salty spicy flavor is Tony checheres cajun seasoning (the green salt container with the cartoon chef in the corner). It's cheap as they come, and just works in a hurry.
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I did a "practice" turkey this past weekend. Free "pre-basted" 12 lb turkey. I sprinkled a little more kosher salt plus Herbs de Provence soaked for an hour in oil (too lazy to make S&G rub). The bird wasn't 100% thawed so spatchcocking with kitchen scissors was tough, but doable. I didn't know about removing the wishbone so I didn't try. I couldn't get the bird to flatten no matter how hard I tried, again I think due to not being 100% defrosted when I was working on it.
I hooked under the wings like the OP and hung from one rebar. The "inside" of the bird faced the interior of the PBC, since I figured it would be hotter in the middle than the edge. I wonder if I should have flipped it around, or hung from both rebar? I did 2 racks of ribs on the other rebar because... why not?
I had a lot of trouble keeping the PBC hot enough. It wanted to stay around 225. I cracked the lid several times, but it would quickly drop back to 225. I think it's because turkey + ribs just bombarded the coals with so much moisture that they couldn't stay lit. After I removed the turkey and ribs the fire sprang back to life, blazing hot, after about 10 mins.
I removed the turkey when the breast hit 155, which took about 3 hours, and it crept up to just under 160. I was disappointed to find the white meat dry. Next time I'll remove at 148-150.
The smoke flavor was VERY strong! Perhaps too strong. I added a big handful of apple wood chips at the beginning, but next time I won't add any wood.
The skin was pretty rubbery, but that's not a surprise given the low cooking temp. If the skin refuses to crisp on Thanksgiving I'll remove 10 degrees sooner and toss it into a 500F oven for 10-15 mins.
I'd really love to be able to capture some or all of those turkey drippings, mainly to keep the fire well lit but also for the gravy. I'm imagining a disposable aluminum loaf pan hanging by the legs. But that sounds clunky, and could easily spill, or rip the legs off if it gets too heavy.
Another idea is to lump all the coal on one side of the basket, put a disposable pan on the other side, and hang the turkey directly above the pan. The side with coals would face the air intake valve. I don't know how much this would mess up the PBC's well-tuned burn, and I'd hate to try this on the "big day".
Any tips or advice much appreciated.
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I suspect that the issue was the thaw. That's a big block of ice in the top of the PBC. I would suggest that the thing to change is the thaw, rather than any of the other steps, and just push the PBC to 360+ in the initial part of the cook. Good luck!Comment
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Might be just the turkey, but I removed mine at 163 and it was so juicy that I want to leave it on longer next time. I did inject with butter, but I doubt it made that much of a difference.Comment
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I don't like turkey but I bet one could spatchcock it then fold it back after it's cooked, as a whole bird for that beautiful table center piece.
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I chickened (turkeyed?) out and called a butcher shop to order two fresh, un-brined 15 lb turkeys (that weight includes the neck, gizzard, heart, liver, etc) for Thanksgiving. I asked them to spatchcock the birds for me as well. So John, I can store away my wrestling costume and headgear for another year.
KathrynComment
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you folks actually like turkey or are just doing it for tradition?Comment
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I like turkey but typically only have it prepared whole once per year, but I did pick up an extra few for throughout the year. I didn't know you could spatchcock and smoke in a couple hours, I always thought it was some 8 hour marathon oven session like back in the day so it was only worth it rarely.
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Ernest, I like turkey sammies for leftovers better than I do the turkey itself on the day of. Maybe it's because after all that cooking I can hardly taste it, especially since I know that tons of dishes, pots and pans to be cleaned are looming in my near future.
My DD really dislikes turkey and all the trimmings, but for my DH it's the best meal of the year. He luuuuuves roasted turkey! And now he likes my PBC turkey too. It's all good.
Personally, I'd take a PBC chicken any day. In fact, whenever I fire up the PBC, if there's any room at all, I squeeze in a split chicken. It's waaaay better than those rotisserie chickens from the local grocery.
KathrynComment
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I really like turkey... I cook it several times per year.Comment
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What internal temperature should I crank the heat to crisp up the skin?Comment
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I agree with Ernest. Provided you get the initial spike, the cooking temp will be in the right operating range of 275 to 310 for the majority of the cook, and the skin will take care of itself. Two things that I find help the skin crisp - air drying in the fridge for several hours before cooking; application of oil to the skin immediately prior to cooking. If you leave the bird exposed in the fridge for say 4 hours (minimum), you'll see the skin move from white opaque to translucent. It's just drying out - and hence will be crispier on the final bird. I saw a michelin star restaurant leave the bird hanging for several days in the fridge for a the crispiest skin possible. (when I was a butcher's boy, we'd keep the fresh turkeys hanging for several days prior to customer pickup. You could often almost look through the skin).
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I tried a 'semi spatchcock' - all the benefits of the spatchcock with the presentability of a normal turkey. I cooked quick, hit the right internal temps, and looked like a cross between a turkey and the star ship enterprise. The spatchcocking was significantly easier - I only partially removed the backbone - not dissimilar to marcel above. No wizarding required!!
This seems to be the way to go.
http://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/for...-semi-spatched
sdfsdf
BTW - I don't think that there is such a term as 'semi-spatched' so not worth googling!
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Just to be clear, I did in fact fully remove the spine, but I didn't remove the wishbone and didn't (couldn't) crush the turkey flat. Perhaps call it "mostly spatchcocked"?
BTW I chickened out and cooked my spatchcocked turkey in the oven according to this recipe as SeriousEats.com: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...vy-recipe.html. Basically cook at 450F for about 80 minutes. It had the most amazing crispy skin I've ever seen on a bird. Everyone was impressed.Comment
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That's exactly the recipe I used for my oven-cooked turkey on Thanksgiving, Marcel. I roasted it on the Convection Roast setting of my oven, so I dropped the temp to 425 throughout the cook. Took 2 hours for a 15+ lb turkey. And you're right, that skin was soooo crispy!
Even so, the PBC turkey I did for the same meal edged out that turkey according to my guests. It think it was the flavor of the PB AP rub that wowed them, because both turkeys were juicy and had nice crispy skin.
Kathryn
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So I'm trying a semi-spatchcocked (odd looking word) turkey today. I brined in a Williams-Sonoma apple brine mixed with water and a half-gallon of cider. One chefs knife and two shears later I did get the thing somewhat flattened out -- cutting the skin and meat with the knife and just doing the bones with the shears seemed to work the best. So here we go...
Last edited by carolts; December 7, 2014, 11:56 AM.Comment
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and three hours later...
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