So this thanksgiving, I'll be cooking the turkey on the PBC. Well....... Technically I'll be cooking half the turkey on the PBC. My wife has stated that she thinks she can cook a better tasting bird in the oven (She is a really good cook). So in order for me not to lose face in front of my in-laws I need all best tips and trick everyone has for cooking a turkey on the PBC.
The spachcock thread has been very helpful, but anything else people have to offer will be greatly appreciated.
last week I brined for 1 day and then Simon and Garfunkel rubed a spachcocked turkey cooked in the PBC keeping the temp between 228-245 for about 4.5 hours bringing the internal temp to 175 in the thick thigh of a 18 pound bird. I checked the temp in about 5 places and got one read of 184 but nothing lower then 175. I hung it from the rib cage which caused it to be more breast down. I found it to be super tender, the bird was a store brand. I to am test running for turkey day. My plan is two turkeys and one tri-tip roast. I tried to stay close to the thread you mentioned about that spachcocked bird, why reinvent the wheel. I thought it would be dryer with the higher internal temp but it was very moist.
Tim... Oh... you can definitely cook a better bird! But I agree with Earnest... if you have not cooked a Turkey in the PBC before, I would do some chickens or a turkey or 2 before Turkey Day -- you have 2 weeks.
Definitely do a practice run with a real turkey! Make sure the bird is fully thawed or it will skew your test! I've mastered the oven turkey using Alton Brown's method, but my single practice run doing a PBC turkey was sub-par. I'm so glad I did that practice run because now I have a much better idea about how to do a great job on the big day.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to get a test run in with a turkey, or even a chicken. Too much going on over the next week and a half. I'm hoping though with the right rub and a close eye on the temps the turkey won't dry out. Everyone loves the taste of food off the grill so I should win out.
I've smoke a bunch of turkeys the last several years and tried many different things. Brining, injecting, different rubs... I have found the the best so far has been brining overnight, oil the skin and use MeatHead's Simon & Garfunckle Rub on and under the skin, 2 lemons quartered and and a few sprigs of rosemary placed in the cavity and smoked at 300f until 160f internal. I foil the very end of the leg bone and wingtips just so the presentation is nicer. Hope that helps!
So the turkey came out great, nice and juicy, way better than the oven cooked half. I dry brined for 24 hours, then put Simon & Garfunkle on and under the skin.
I was originally going to hang the half bird, but since it was split and not spatchcocked the leg was precociously dangling and I feared I might lose it so I put the grate in and cooked it on the grate.
I took out one of the rods, to raise the temp, I wanted to maintain 325º-350º to get a good crispy skin. Unforunatly the sub freezing temperatures yesterday made that difficult. I had to use a lot of extra charcoal to maintain that level of heat. THe skin wasn't quite a crispy as I would have liked, but it was crispy enough to eat(and darn tasty too!). The cold also made the cook run a little long. Almost three hours for about 10 pounds of bird.
The wife's turkey came out good too, thankfully she took my advice and used one of the old taylor leave in thermometers. so it was very juicy. It was just short on flavor compared to the PBC half.
Because the cook went long I didn't have time to snap any after picks before cutting up the bird. The masses were hungry.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Timkatt, I had a similar taste comparison--I made two turkeys, one in the oven the old fashioned way and one in the PBC. Both were tender, juicy, tasty, with crisp skin. However, my family and guests preferred the PBC one, hands down. Both turkeys were fresh, dry-brined, injected with melted butter. I used PBC All Purpose rub on the smoked turkey. It was the winner for sure.
I'm hoping though with the right rub and a close eye on the temps the turkey won't dry out. Everyone loves the taste of food off the grill so I should win out.
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