Smoked Fourth of July Turkey

RAmorris

Charter Member

Joined: Dec 2014

Posts: 440

Location: Winter Haven, Florida
#1

Smoked Fourth of July Turkey

July 9, 2016, 10:25 AM

The night before I was going to smoke the 11 pound turkey, I spatchcoked it and dry brined it. The next morning, July 4, I smoked it on my Weber 22â€ with the Slow â€˜N Sear. I used two Chef Alarms, one with an air probe for the cooker temperature and one with a food probe for the turkey. I put aluminum foil on the indirect heat side so as to block airflow on this side and direct it to the charcoal in the SNS. Then I put a drip pan on top of the aluminum foil to go under the turkey. I opened the lid damper and the bottom damper all the way. I put 42 unlit charcoal briquettes in the charcoal part of the SNS and lit the other 42 in a charcoal chimney. I poured a quart of boiling water into the water reservoir on the SNS, and poured the lit charcoal on top of the unlit in the SNS. Then I added 2 large chunks of cherry wood on top of the lit coals. Next I put the food grate in the cooker and put the turkey on the food grate. Then I attached the air probe to the grate with the grate clip, and inserted the food probe in the turkey breast. I fed the probe cables through the damper holes in the lid, and put the two Chef Alarms on a cart next to the Weber. When the cooker temperature reached 285, I adjusted the bottom damper to half open and left the top damper open all the way. It settled at a cooker temperature of 322 degrees and held that for the entire cooking time. It received smoke for about 45 minutes of that time. At 90 minutes on the Weber, the food probe read 166 degrees, and I took the turkey up. It was the best smoked turkey that I and my wife, Kate, have ever had: juicy, moist, tender, with a great smoky flavor.

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ecowper

Founding Member

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 5572

Location: Maple Valley, WA

Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove

Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)

Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set

Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt

Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"

Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.

Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"

Some Posts in Pitmaster to check out:

Eric's Brisket Method
Eric's Method for Drunken Texas Beans
Stacy's Bouef Bourguignon
Eric's Smoked Texas Chili
Rancho Gordo Beans and Bean Club
Troutman's Ribs - Step By Step Primer
Grilled Pork Chops: Harissa Marinade
Light My (Hasty Bake) Fire

Eric
#2

July 9, 2016, 10:33 AM

That looks outstanding! I've been thinking of smoking a turkey in the next couple weeks. That pretty much clinches it.
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Jerod Broussard

Moderator

Joined: Jun 2014

Posts: 12522

Location: East Texas

"Spray cheese, from the famous family of aerosol cheeses."
#3

July 9, 2016, 10:36 AM

Nice bird. I plan to do some turkey breasts pretty soon. Then chill and slice.
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MBMorgan

Club Member

Joined: Sep 2015

Posts: 8065

Location: Colorado

> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
#4

July 9, 2016, 10:39 AM

Excellent looking bird ... nice job!
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fuzzydaddy

Club Member

Joined: Nov 2014

Posts: 5032

Location: Near The Villages, FL

Cookers:
Weber Kettle (used/fair condition; a gift).
Grilla OG.
Pit Boss 3-Burner Ultimate Lift-Off Griddle.
SnS Kettle.

Everything Else:
Sous Vide equipment.
Instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Royal Oak Lump Charcoal, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
BBQr's Delight Hickory & Apple flavor pellets, propane torch, 6" smoke tube.
Grilla apple & hickory pellets, Royal Oak charcoal pellets.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church, Meathead.
Rubs without salt: SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef.
Rubs home-mixed: None at this time.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
#5

July 9, 2016, 12:01 PM

Oh my, that is BEAUTIFUL! Well done RAmorris!
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CeramicChef

Former Member

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 1184

Location: OKC, OK
#6

July 9, 2016, 12:48 PM

That is one beautiful cooked turkey. You just can't beat color like that! Cherry is a wonderful wood on fowl. Kudos!
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RonB

Club Member

Joined: Apr 2016

Posts: 18145

Location: Near Richmond VA

Weber Performer Deluxe
SNS
Pizza insert
Rotisserie
Cookshack Smokette Elite
2 Thermapens
Chefalarm
Dot
lots of probes.
Fireboard
#7

July 9, 2016, 01:48 PM

That turkey is no turkey.
Comment
DWCowles

Founding Member

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 9698

Location: Smiths Grove, Ky

Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
#8

July 9, 2016, 03:05 PM

The turkey looks great...wish I could say the same about the p-u truck...if only it was a Ford
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1 - 3

3 comments

#8.1

MBMorgan commented

July 9, 2016, 03:08 PM

Editing a comment

Blasphemy!

#8.2

CeramicChef commented

July 9, 2016, 03:22 PM

Editing a comment

I"m right there with you, DWCowles!

#8.3

jharner commented

July 9, 2016, 09:32 PM

Editing a comment

You know why Ford has a heated tailgate ? So your hands don't get cold while pushing.
jharner

Club Member

Joined: Jan 2016

Posts: 1341

Location: Louisiana - North West but a coon ass at heart

Cookers

Camp Chef DLX Pellet Grill
Weber 22.5 Kettle
Brickman Box Smoker

Accessories

Slow N Sear
Tube Smoker
Turkey Cannon
Rib racks
Weber chimney starter

Thermometer's

Maverick ET 735
Tru Temp 3619n
Thermapen mk4
Thermapop

Favorite Drink

Free beer
Coors Light
Windsor ( Canadian blended whiskey )
#9

July 9, 2016, 09:33 PM

Great looking bird. I have not tried a turkey yet but will soon.
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Breadhead

Former Member

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 0
#10

July 9, 2016, 11:53 PM

Schuweet... That's a pretty bird! Great color and it looks like the skin is nice and crisp. Fantastic!👍
Comment
richinlbrg

Founding Member

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 1910

Location: Leesburg, VA. (Northern, VA)

We have two weber kettle grills (one LARGE and one small/average), the SnS and the Weber Smokey Mountain 18" smoker. We use both natural lump charcoal and KNB for smoking and measure our temps with a Maverick 733, thermopen and MK4. Favorite beer depends on what is cooking (alt answer is yes).
#11

July 10, 2016, 05:27 AM

CONGRATS on a great cook!

And jharner , you gotta try it!
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PaulstheRibList

Founding Member

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 1595

Location: Lake Charles, LA

Started Low-N-Slow BBQ in 2012. Obviously, it's taken hold (in chronological order:
1.) A pair of Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5's
2.) #LilTex, a 22" Expensive Offset Smoker (looks like a Yoder Witicha)
3.) #WhoDat1, a HUGE Gravity Fed Insulated Cabinet Smoker (cooking chamber 3'x2'x6')
4.) A Full Size Commercial Dryer/converted to Vertical Smoker.
5.) Jambo Backyard stickburner (my FAVORITE Pit so far)
6.) GrillMeister, a huge 24"x48" Adjustable, Charcoal Grill from Pitmaker.com
7.) 22" Weber Kettle with Slow-N-Sear
8.) Vault insulated reverse-flow cabinet smoker from Pitmaker
9.) BarbecueFiretruck...under development
10.) 26 foot BBQ Vending Trailer equipped with HUGE Myron Mixon 72xc smoker is HERE, Oct 2016!
11.) Opened www.PaulsRibShackBarbecue.com Food Trailer officially in March 2017
12.) Austin Smoke Works 500 Gallon Propane Tank Offset Smoker, named "Lucille" as travel pit for PaulsRibShack, Oct 2018.
12.) Opening Brick & Mortar location at 4800 Nelson Rd, Spring 2019. Had a pair of 1,000 Gallon Austin Smoke Works pits, both in RibShackRed for our new place!

Fabulous Backlit Thermapens, several Maverick Remote Thermometers (don't use any remotes anymore), Thermoworks Smoke, Other Thermoworks toys, Vacuum sealer, lots and lots of equipment...

I'm loving using BBQ to make friends and build connections.
I have #theRibList where I keep a list of new and old friends and whenever I'm cooking, I make 1 to 20 extra and share the joy.
#12

July 10, 2016, 05:35 AM

Super Great!!!!
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