Last year's Turkey, Meathead's Recipe

[Huskee]

Troymeister, you've been doing great with some helpful posts and recipes, way to go! We need to get you over to the Introduce Yourself channel to get a little bio of you- however much or little you'd like to share.

Also, we need to get your signature set up. And here's some more 'new member' homework for when you get time:

Check out Pit Boss' Welcome & Announcements channel, as well as the tips posts in that channel. These will help you learn your way around The Pit.

There's also a post that explains the best way to post nice big pics here but it looks like you have that one mastered.

We look forward to hearing more from you! Enjoy!

[troymeister]

Thanks Kathryn, glad you steered me in the right direction with making the gravy. I would love to see some pics of your food. Happy Holidays!!

Troy

[fzxdoc]

Troy, I love my PBC! Everything turns out juicy and delicious and it was an easy way for me to get back in to using charcoal after years of grilling and smoking on a gas grill. I started by following the videos for cooking various meats on the PBC site and had awesome cooks right from the start. Plus I got great help from the other PBCers on this site. Win-win.

It's good to know that the liquid still absorbs that smokey flavor even when the pan is shielded. I think you've got a good plan going on there to smoke the giblets and add the pan drippings to your stock mixture judiciously. Have fun with that cook!

Kathryn

[troymeister]

I have tried using perforated foil on another dish. Seems the liquid absorbs the smokey flavor almost overwhelmingly. I think I will try putting the giblets on the smoker for a while and then make the gravy on the stove with earlier made stock using the giblets with a very slight smoke flavor. I might try siphoning some drippings from the drip pan and putting that into the separate stock mixture as well.

How do you like the PBC?

Troy

[fzxdoc]

Looks marvelous, Troymeister. Picture perfect.

I read on Serious Eats that with the water pan so close to the coals, ash gets in the drippings and that's what contributes to the overly smokey and sometimes bitter flavor. I wonder if putting a fine mesh over the pan so the juice drips through but the ash stays out will work. Any other solids would get filtered out as well which may/may not be a good thing since they are ultimately strained out anyway. However, solids cooking in that broth (before being strained out at the end) is part of what adds flavor, IMO.

I'm making a smokey gravy by using the broth made from a couple of smoked chicken carcasses from previous cooks, since my Pit Barrel Cooker design does not give me the option of catching the drippings. Plus the drippings are what contribute to the smokiness of the turkey in the PBC design.

Kathryn

[Jerod Broussard]

That pipe threw me off. I thought the coals seemed awful close.

[troymeister]

Weber 22.5

[Jerod Broussard]

Is that on a UDS?

[troymeister]

Ha Have to find a way to make the gravy less smokey though.