Summer Turkey! p

[ecowper]

Well guys, I teased you a few days ago mentioning that I was defrosting an 18 lb turkey. Now I just got done prepping it. Here's what I did ....

- pulled it out of the net and plastic, rinsed it inside and out, patted dry so I could handle it easily.
- spatchcocked that bird .... never did that with a turkey before. That is a lot of dang work, even with my Wusthof kitchen shears and a 12" chef's knife
- Prepped the Simon & Garfunkel rub for tomorrow ... doubled the recipe
- Precooking the gravy just a bit. Since the bird is spatchcocked it's going to cook fast .... like 2 hours. I want that gravy nice and rich when it comes in the house. I didn't have an onion with the skin on, but I don't think that's going to be an issue, honestly.
- Salted the skin lightly to help it dry out overnight.

It goes on the WSM tomorrow around 3:00 PM .... We'll be eating turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans by 6:00!

I will post pictures and commentary during the cook, as usual.

[Jerod Broussard]

Spatchcocking is indeed a chore.

I have vacation week after next. Smoked Turkey breast for sandwich slices is on tap.

[ecowper]

I've spatchcocked plenty of chickens. Easy as pie. I didn't realize how much harder a turkey would be. Hey, you're totally welcome to show up and eat some turkey with the Fam!

[fzxdoc]

I just smoked 5 bone-in turkey breast halves for a dinner party. Made some plum chutney to go with. Yummy yum yum. Smoked turkey in the summertime is so delicious.

BTW, I bought a pair of Fiskars pruning clips at Lowes. That's all I use anymore to spatchcock anything--turkey or chicken.

I'm eager to hear how that bird smokes up, ecowper

Kathryn

[HorseDoctor]

FWIW: I use my long handled pruning "loppers" to spatchcock turkey. Even easier than the clips!

[richinlbrg]

fzxdoc , did you do them on the PBC or Weber?
HorseDoctor , I was going to confess to using a pair of metal shears, but you, sir, have taken the cake! Never thought of the loppers!! LOL!

[richinlbrg]

Sorry fzxdoc , you answered below. Thank you for the chutney recipe!

[ecowper]

fzxdoc .... Kathryn I'll go check out those clippers ... that might make a lot of sense. And it isn't like Wusthof shears are not good kitchen shears. Sheesh.

I'll post pics and observations tomorrow when I cook it. I've got a nice bottle of Oregon Pinot Gris to serve with it. Yum

[ecowper]

WAIT! I just realized you said "plum chutney" fzxdoc .... that sounds outstanding. Will you share the recipe?

[Thunder77]

+1 on please share the plum chutney recipe!! 😎

[fzxdoc]

ecowper and Thunder77

Here you go, guys. I used the Caribbean rub on the bone-in turkey breasts but smoked them on my WSCGC with a 6 oz chunk of cherry wood. Took about 3 hours (at 225ish). OMG delicious. (ETA: I usually smoke turkey at 325 or more but this time I had to do them at 225 (see my comment below for the reason) )

I made the plum chutney 2 days ahead so the flavors could meld. It's amazingly good.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/f...m-chutney.html

Kathryn

[Thunder77]

Thanks, Kathryn!

[Huskee]

It could take you 3hrs. Are you cooking hot? I'm sure you well know this, you are one smart dude...but 325 is the low end for skin-on poultry, my vote is cook it at 350 if you wanna eat by 6. YMMV of course. Looking forward to juicy breast pics. That sounds dirty, but we are talking turkey here darnit!!

[ecowper]

I plan to run the WSM at 325-350. If I didn't spatchcock the bird, I would agree on 3 hours. I'm expecting 2-2.5 hours this way. If we end up eating at 6:30 on a summer Sunday, that's not too bad

[fzxdoc]

It could take you 3hrs. Are you cooking hot? I'm sure you well know this, you are one smart dude...but 325 is the low end for skin-on poultry, my vote is cook it at 350 if you wanna eat by 6. YMMV of course. Looking forward to juicy breast pics. That sounds dirty, but we are talking turkey here darnit!!

For my cook, it took 3 hours for those 5 bone-in turkey half-breasts to get to 160 because I smoked that turkey for a gourmet club dinner party where one has to follow the recipe exactly. It was pretty frustrating smoke them at 225ish for that long. But they turned out really good, and the skin was not rubbery at all--very "bite through" indeed. That turkey/chutney combo was the hit of the party.

I also was not "allowed" to inject the turkey breast, which is something that I would have done if not confined by the gourmet group rules to using the written instructions and techniques.

Kathryn

[ecowper]

That sounds both fun and frustrating :-)

[Georgia rookie 903]

hey fzxdoc, I would like some advice on my first turkey. ecowper told me on my first cook I should try doing a spatchcock Turkey and I want to do something simple but different and I love lite meat like chicken or Turkey... would you recommend me doing Turkey/chutney for my first time grilling? thanks wheat

[fzxdoc]

Georgia rookie 903 , you might want to smoke a chicken for your first cook. If you keep the smoker/kettle temperature at or above 325 degrees, the bird will be done in an hour or so, especially if you spatchcock it like ecowper did to his turkey as shown in an earlier post on this same topic. If you like the chicken you could try the turkey next. Have fun with that cook!

Kathryn

[ecowper]

Alright fzxdoc I'm running to the store to pick up some plums

[ecowper]

Made up the chutney. I just did the Simon & Garfunkel directly on the skin, didn't have the patience for working it under the skin. Also did it all over the inside of the cavity. Gravy is underneath on the bottom grate, turkey in the top grate. WSM hit 345, I put the bird on, it yo-yo'ed down to 290, back up to 365. I have two bottom vents wide open, one full close and the top vent half open. Temp is stable at 340 and thin blue smoke :-)

[Jerod Broussard]

Very nice desiccation.

[ecowper]

That size turkey just barely fits on the WSM 22.5

[ecowper]

Jerod, I was pretty happy with how well the skin dried ..... If that doesn't produce some crispy skin, I don't know what will.

[ecowper]

Okay, turkey has been on for an hour now. The breast is hitting 120 and the smells are driving me crazy. The dogs are pacing around the WSM and everyone is gathered on the patio with a drink in hand chatting and having fun.

[ecowper]

The breast is at 140 .... Looking fantastic

[fuzzydaddy]

Love the skin! I guess it's too late for me to come over.

[ecowper]

You are welcome any time fuzzydaddy

[Huskee]

Yuuuuum!

[ecowper]

So I pulled the turkey with an IT of 164, which I checked with the Maverick and my Thermapen. Put the bird in my faux cambro while I cooked mashed potatoes, green beans and reduced the gravy a bit. It was a feast. 8 of us feasted on it. Now I'm cooking stock from the carcass.