Formerly upstate NY, Now residing in Southern NH, Live Free or Die!
My current cookers include a Shirley Fabrication 24x36 patio model; Weber Performer with the Slow-n-Sear 2.0 & Drip & Griddle; Pit Boss Series 2 propane smoker & SnS Travel Kettle.
Straight Whiskey: I'm a bourbon guy. All time favorite Pappy Van Winkle 12 year. Standard go to Blantons
Blended Whiskey: James Oliver American Whiskey
I also enjoy an occasional cigar
I am also cooking two birds, each right around 15lbs. I'll cook one traditional in the oven, the other I plan to try the frog method of spatchcocking on my Shirley offset.
I'll be seasoning both with Meathead's poultry rub. I may inject the bird headed into smoker since it is a fresh bird.
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Last edited by efincoop; December 2, 2022, 12:55 PM.
Reason: Added a photo.
fzxdoc I was really pleased. I coated the outside with mayo. It was moist with crispy skin and took just about 2 hours for a 15 lb turkey. I thought it was a little easier to get the seasoning under the skin using this method versus the usual spatchcock method.
I’m doing 2, a 12 lb for my house and a 20 lb for some friends. Both are spatchcocked, brined, and will cook at 325 on the pellet. Not firing up the stick burner for a couple of birds and can’t fit them both on the akorn. The big bird is an apple based brine and the small one is going to be a sweet heat bird (hopefully). Tried adding some ground up hot hatch roasted chiles I had in the freezer. We may have to eat with friends if it sucks.
I've done quite a few methods over the years - smoked it whole, rotisserie turkey (very good!), spatchcocked, split, and deconstructed.
By deconstructed, I mean split into two breasts, two leg quarters (with deboned thighs that are tied up), and random wing parts. I feel that the deconstructed cooks the fastest and has the best results. You are just moving the carving of the turkey to before the cook instead of after the cook, and doing most of the work with a filet or boning knife.
Anyway, I have two to cook on Thursday, for a 2pm dinner - a 20 pounder and a 12 pounder. Thinking of deconstructing the big bird, and just spatchcocking the small bird. I would run the big one on the SNS Kamado, in kamado mode with the diffuser, at 325 indirect. I would put the small spatchcocked bird on the Weber kettle (Performer) with the SNS, also at 325.
How does the skin texture come out when smoking at a steady 325 degrees the entire cook? I'm smoking my first turkey this year.
I don’t worry too much about it fluctuating between 325 and 375 to be honest, and the skin comes out good. Don’t sweat it getting a little hotter, but my experience having smoked them below 300 is that the skin gets rubbery if you don’t run the smoker hot enough.
I have a 13.5 lb that is spatchocked and dry brined. Thursday morning, I will give it a good rub with a mayo SPOG mixture making sure to get under the skin and everywhere else. Then, into the oven in the early afternoon. I plan on making soup afterwards, otherwise I would be smoking it. I don't like smoke flavored turkey soup.
Cooked it Tuesday. Frogged it, but separated. That made handling and carving really easy and fast, and could cook the white and dark to different temps. Creole butter injection and rub, smoked with cherry wood. White meat to 160, dark to 180.
Cooking two. One roasted in the Oven one rotisserie on the gasser. Both brining right now. Using Emeril's turkey brine. Brown sugar, salt, oranges, lemons, rosemary, and sage.
First time spinning a turkey. Any tips? How quickly will it cook?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Last edited by Old Glory; November 23, 2022, 08:21 AM.
A rotisserie turkey in my experience takes the same length of time as a whole turkey just roasted on the grill grates or in the oven, for a given size turkey. Last 20 pounder I rotisseried took about 3.5 hours.
Deep fried with Indonesian marinade and injection. Its honestly the best deep fired turkey I've ever had - we even had a turkey cook off last year to prove it.
My lovely bride does the traditional whole bird in the oven, and it's amazing. I do nothing but manual labor. The only change to her SOP this year is adopting dry brining a day ahead of time and using a salt-free herb/spice mix to rub on before cooking tomorrow, after listening to me yammer on about the value of dry-brining since landing here... Just the two of us, so it'll be low key. Going to livestream my annual rendition of Alice's Restaurant this time around too...
This will be my first time smoking the turkey.
have a 13 LBer, and a small ham.
gonna hang both on the PBC..
No brine, no injection. Just going to hit it with rub a few hours before it goes on the smoker...
I of course love smoked meats of all kinds, but also like quick cooks like chicken portions, pork tenderloins, steak and fish. Really into cooking of all kinds.
My outdoor kitchen has a Lone Star Grillz Adjustable and it is wonderful. There also is a Pit Boss 5 Burner Ultimate Griddle and a Pit Boss Copperhead pellet grill.
There is an outdoor fire pit that has grilling capability and limited Santa Maria-style grill raising and lowering.
I have two fresh, non-brined breasts that are each around 5 pounds. I just dry brined them.
Edit: I guess I should say how I'm cooking it. Hitting with Meathead's poultry rub tomorrow and going on my Kamado at 325 with a heat deflector in place. Will probably use pecan chunks and take them off at 155 to allow carryover to 160.
How much other prep do folks do ahead of time?
We made our cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies today. I've also blanched the green beans and made the scratch cream of mushroom soup for the green bean casserole. Wanted to not have too much to do tomorrow since the grandbabies and the family of our daughter's new boyfriend will be here. We also thought we had finished our shopping yesterday. But then I went to put some wine in the fridge and there was only one bottle. My sneaky wife snapped this pic of me walking down the aisle at Publix with a bottle in each hand.
Last edited by Jim White; November 23, 2022, 08:20 PM.
Decided to smo-fry or smoked and fried. Planning to smoke it low with pecan/apple mix on an offset to about 125°, then finish it, deep fried, to temp. Looking for some smoke and crispy skin. Brined it in Kosmo Q turkey brine for about 12 hours (it's a 12+lb), in a briner bucket left in it's own, dedicated, fridge. Patted it dry. Injected it with clarified butter and a light amount of Tony C's creole seasoning (cause it's salty). Left it laid open on a rack, set on a sheet pan in the same dedicated fridge for a day and a half to dry the skin. Plan to transport it in the 'faux cambro' to maintain heat. Hoping it doesn't hydrate the skin too much. Not planning to put rub on the outside during the smoke/fry as I'm afraid it will come off in the fry or give it too dark or an appearance. Planned to dust it with rub out of the fryer and provide a couple options for people on the side. This is my first rodeo for full turkey and this method, so I may need a bit of luck. I've done turkey legs in a honey brine with apple smoke several times and have loved it.
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