Share Your Turkey Success and Fails

[DTro]

Mine went the so-so this year but I’m calling it a fail. In my defense I am forced -arm twisted behind my back- to cook the traditional stuffed bird. But I have had much better success in past cooks.

The process-

18lb bird

2 day dry brine salt and pepper with a dash of baking powder.

Pre-heat oven to 400º

Pre-heat stuffing to 160º

Rub clarified butter-olive oil mix with parsley, sage, and rosemary, all over the skin and interior.

Could not rub butter under the skin because the baking powder did its job, skin was tight.

Stuffed bird goes in the oven and I drop the heat to 325º. Then out of the blue, I think to myself, why not cook convection at 300º to keep an even temp. This was a mistake.

Breasts were cooking way faster than the thighs. In past cooks they were in a reasonable range of each other. This time breasts were cooking 12-15º faster. It became a fight to keep the breast cooler. Turned off the convection. Kept oven at 300º and covered the breasts with foil. Pulled the bird out when breast temp was 157º. The inner thigh meat was 148º.

After an hour rest, I removed the beast and stuffing and put everything else back into the oven to cook.

Results:

Dinner is ready and I slice the breast. Minimum juice and I end up pitching the thin parts of the breast because they were too dry. It was edible I just wanted juicier. Skin was crisp but did not brown well. Dark meat was good. Gravy made everything better.

Next time: My mom used to get it right. Her trick, cheese cloth drenched in olive oil placed over the breast meet during the cook. Also, I’m not gonna worry about the skin so much. The skin to meat ratio is huge. And absolutely NO convection.

Pic of bird right before flight-

[captainlee]

Roasted one didn't brown up because wife put cheese cloth on top with a butter baste. She got the recipe on line. I'll stay out of that one. The bird was very tender though. Our smoked fried one looked beautiful but it was far from tender. The process was the same as always so I'll blame the bird😨. All the sides came out great and everybody enjoyed the meal and day.

[PGH_RAM]

I managed to snatch victory from the jaws of near-certain defeat thanks to some teamwork between me and my wife.

I ordered an 18 lb bird from a nearby farm. I wasn't able to pick it up until almost closing time, however, at which point they only had 23+ lb birds left. For $20 on Amazon I bought an OnlyFire rotisserie motor that can handle up to 40 lbs, so size wasn't going to be a problem...or so I thought.

To prep, I dry brined the bird for 36 hours using 1/4 c Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of baking powder.



Turns out the wings, even after I lashed them tightly to the turkey's sides, were jutting out far enough to knock the lid off of my kettle. The last thing I expected to hear from my back deck was a CLANGNGNG! I'm lucky the dome didn't dent when it fell.



I was exhausted after a few nights of bad sleep due to a sinus infection, and I was not in a problem solving mood. Thankfully, my wife has a pretty level head and helped me brainstorm ideas. We managed to lash the wings tighter and jerry rig the lid with a couple of aluminum trays folded in half to get the extra 1/2-3/4 inch we needed. At first I couldn't get the dome temp above 300°F, but at least the darn turkey was cooking. 😂 I celebrated our success with a strong beer.





I managed to stoke the coals and get the dome temp up to almost 350. The bird came out pretty darn good, except for one wing that got a little torched. Tender, juicy white meat, succulent dark meat, crispy skin, just the right amount of smoke (apple wood). All that was left were wings and drumsticks after my guests went back for seconds and thirds. I've always felt that the highest praise a home cook can get is having no leftovers. 😁

[captainlee]

That's a winner!

[DaveD]

An epic tale of redemption! Great work on both of ya!

[fzxdoc]

Nice save!

[lostclusters]

After a rather disappointing turkey dinner at my niece's house (way over cooked and dry), I felt it necessary to salvage the situation the next day. This is some of the best turkey meat I have had:


It came in it's own oven bag, I accidentally overcooked it and it was still tender and juicy. Definitely yummy! Convection baked at 350, 375 minus 25 for convection, per instructions.

[Jerod Broussard]

Hope it wasn't "Christmas Vacation Dry"

[lostclusters]

Almost

[Donw]

We had no problems because we did a French roasted chicken ( Poulet Rôti du Dimanche) instead. It is just the two of us and it makes more sense for us. Juiciest chicken imaginable is our shared opinion.

[Jerod Broussard]

Went home and had gumbo (crab and shrimp), ham, and good ole' potato salad. Cherry pie to finish it off. Did not cook anything this year....SUCCESS for ME!

[Johnny Booth]

Actually that sounds pretty good. I haven’t had a good gumbo since I left Beaumont. 👍

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I had bought 2 turkeys (same brand, same weight), did my test turkey and it was perfect. Crispy skin, light smoke, moist and flavorful. Wife had me second guessing myself on when I took the real turkey out to thaw, I had taken it out 2 days earlier than the test turkey as the test one still had ice inside... anyway, real turkey ended up going back in the freezer after 3 days in the fridge and we bought a different brand larger turkey for "safety".

Cue Turkey day, it's windy, one side of my charcoal won't light (wind was creating a vortex that my tumbleweeds couldn't defeat). I did finish the turkey a little earlier than the test one because with the wind and the size of the turkey I just let my cooker run a little hotter.

Well, turkey was juicy but skin wasn't fully crispy, and it just had a different mouth feel which I believe is the different brand of turkey. Everyone else was happy, but I wasn't since I knew how the test turkey had come out. Maybe next year they will just let me spatchcock the dang thing instead of messing with a giant bird that I knew we wouldn't need (original 16.5 lber woulda fed all of us but ended up doing a 19lb AND 2 piece breast)

[58limited]

I smoked mine on the KBQ. I've always wondered why the skin was so dark compared to the ones Ernest smoked. It dawned on me that the sugar in my brine recipe is probably the culprit. It does not taste burned even though it is dark. I'll probably just dry brine it next year.

I usually don't use a rub but this year I used my hot sauce as a binder and sprinkled the turkey with the Denny Mike's Turkey Lurkey seasoning from the Texas Meat-Up gift bag. I'm reading the ingredients now and it also has sugar in it. I don't think the rub was very prominent - I mainly tasted the smoke. I ran the KBQ with only the bottom poppet open. Red oak with some cherry wood.

19 lb bird going on the KBQ at 6:15am



Finished at 10am. Not as dark as last year's, it turned out to be very good and was a hit at Thanksgiving. When I mentioned changing my brining method so that the turkey would be more of a golden brown they asked me not to change a thing.

[HawkerXP]

Mrs. H found a turkey recipe from a Southern Living magazine back in 2015. We've been using it on and off since then.
This year a 16 lb bird from Shaddy Grove (Giant, .27 per lb), dry brined, injected with some of the brine and done on the PBC using B&B charcoal with hickory chunks for smoke.
Four hours approximately in the barrel. Breast was probing 160* and leg 170*. Short rest under foil while the sides were finished. Came out nice and moist. but as you may see with frozen birds, some red around the bone joints. We have one who fears the red meat.

Happy Leftover Thanksgiving to all! ..., ..., ...!

[HawkerXP]

Raining when we woke up but blew off before cook time. Still windy, pointed the bottom vent away from the wind. One rebar, other holes open. Temp in barrel 320 ish. Wasn't in a rush.
Some may notice minimal bondage marks around the ankles. This bird behaved.

[DaveD]

Great looking plate! And I've been keeping myself stocked with Celebration Ale as well, one of my very favorites. Always gets that Kool And The Gang song in my head... "Celebration Ale, COME ON!"

[Duanessmokedmeats]

PBC, PBC, PBC!!!

[Allon]

I had great success!!!

I wasn't even in the same town as the turkey and it came out great...

[CRO]

I've been doing a Norbest Turkey for years purchased from my local butcher. I dry brine and roast in my oven using the Baking Steel and sheet pan method.
This year it was only 11 pounds, and it cooked quick! My mother in law kept on saying its not done. All my temp takings said it was 180+.
Sorry, no pics. It turned out very good.

[McFlyfi]

Been cooking turkey on the Weber for decades.
This year, I have a Spider Grills Venom temp controller on that kettle. Set it to 340, put the bird on, and watched some football.
Decided to check on it an hour later. I LOOKED done. The fire was raging, kettle thermometer showed over 600f.
The temp probe got buried behind the pan the turkey was in, and was blocked from any airflow.

I took the bird and put it in the oven at 225, and 2.5 hours later, it was done. I managed to save the turkey. Had I left it in the kettle, we would have had a severely charred bird.

Food for thought on temp.probe placement for larger items.

[NumbWhistle]

It seems like we’ve one challenge or another as my wife prepared holiday dinners in recent years , largely due to illnesses for one or both of us. This year, my house was the one with the “illness.” On Tuesday, as my wife and I were getting ready to go to dinner with friends, my wife noticed we had a toilet that had appeared to overflow. Not thinking it was that big of a deal, I went to plunge the toilet only to find we had pipes leaking significantly in our basement.

We called a power rodding company to come out the next day, and they found that the pipe that leads to our septic tanks was broken. They cleared it as best they could, but recommended using water as little as possible until we can get it fixed - which turns out to be this coming Tuesday.

So my wife and I started prepping Wednesday (except for the turkeys, which I started dry brining on Tuesday). My wife went to her parents’ house and started preparing the majority of her dishes (macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, Brussels sprouts, stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce).

On Thursday, I started working in earnest on the “meats and potatoes.” I spatchcocked two turkeys we got from a local farm, and fired up my pit (LSG ACG). I also started marinating eight pork tenderloins, and threw together a quick rub to use on the pork later.

Once I got the turkey on the pit, I started working on the mashed potatoes - basically cutting up ten pounds of Yukon golds and boiling them. Once they were fork tender, I drained them outside so as to not stress our plumbing, and then added milk, butter, salt and pepper, and mashed them until smooth.

Once the turkey breasts hit between 155 and 160, I put them in roasting pans, wrapped them in foil, and put them in coolers to rest. A side note, the Thermoworks RFX Meat did an outstanding job tracking the temps on the turkey. The RFX was my birthday present from my wife, and this was my first chance to use them with them having been back ordered.

The pork went quick and easy, then we had to pack up both of our cars. Thankfully we had already planned to move the dinner to our godkids’ parents’ house even prior to our plumbing issues. As such, we had already taken over some supplies that they were going to need (plates, silverware, etc.).

All things considered, dinner turned out very well. Everyone enjoyed the food and (more importantly) our time together. I wasn’t able to make any breads (feared it would be too hard on the plumbing), and my wife limited the number of desserts she made to two (she had planned for four) - but we were just happy to be able to provide a meal for our loved ones.

Moving the location for the dinner also allowed for our godchildren to be with the rest of the family longer, as they were home and could just go right to bed when it was time rather than having to drive home first.

My apologies for the long message. I’m just sitting in a house with very limited plumbing, flipping between college football and episodes of BBQ Pitmasters with my wife and three dogs all sleeping around me. As such, I don’t have much to do other than not use my bathroom.

[fzxdoc]

What a great story, showing that ingenuity and perseverance wins in the end. I'm happy it turned out so well for you all.

Kathryn

[PGH_RAM]

You did a beautiful job on those birds!

[NumbWhistle]

Thank you both for the kind words!

[realdocBBQ]

Well.... I had high hopes. Turkey came out great, though aesthetically not quite what I'd hoped.



Everyone raved over the turkey, though, multiple folks said it was the best they'd ever eaten and was the surprise highlight of their meal, as turkey 'usually' isn't the star. So that's good.

[Allon]

Looks like some good eats! I bet that skin is crispy....

[realdocBBQ]

Not much. A little in places. I was a bit disappointed. But after the injection, brine and drying in the fridge, the meat was very succulent, moist and tender. Highly praised by everyone.

[DTro]

Looks great by the Glenmorangie 😋

[DaveD]

In contrast to some of the heroic tales here, our Txg experience was pretty calm and highly successful. My lovely bride claimed the duty for this year (I did the turkey last year), and that turned out to be a fortunate call because the weather would not have allowed an outdoor cook on Thanksgiving Day.

13lb/5.9kg bird from Wild Fork, thawed in the fridge for a week and still had just a wee bit of iciness in the core, no biggy. Dry brined for about 24 hours, then rubbed with a mixture of melted butter, pepper, and paprika. My lovely bride used that Turbo Truss gadget that Jim jfmorris had trouble with the other day, but she apparently set it up as directed, it worked very well.


\

Ran the oven at 325/163, and it took just about five hours. Had a probe in the breast, thigh, and stuffing to keep track during the cook. My lovely bride also used a "stuffing bag", an unbleached muslin sack very similar to a "hop sock" used in beer brewing, which made handling the stuffing MUCH easier, she reports.

She prepped her stuffing by sauteeing some aromatics before mixing it all up and putting it in the bird. The temp profile showed that the stuffing cooled considerably for a while before turning around and climbing again. Fortunately all the temps converged at very nearly the same time, nominal AF.



Drippings made for an absolutely killer gravy.


Plated with stuffing, rolls, Pioneer Woman mashed taters, green beans and paired with a Cristom Willamette Valley pinot noir.






My late mother Rita would always insist that there be celery sticks on our Thanksgiving plates "to make sure there is some green on there." So all our family makes sure to prominently feature the celery



Presumably it will be my turn to handle the turkey next year, and this will be a very hard act to follow!!

[fzxdoc]

Kudos to your Lovely Bride. That turkey trusser looks almost medieval in design. But the proof was in the temperature plot. Nice job.

Kathryn

[jfmorris]

Looks great! Glad she actually figured out how to attach the trusser! I was just kinda lining it up with the rotisserie spit and didn't look at the online stuff until I had issues...