Ain't She Purdy?!? A 2017 Thanksgiving Special

[Spinaker]

We chose to go a different route this year. We went with the fried turkey. After doing it, I don't think we will go back to the old way or even smoked.
First I dry brined a 14 lb, Fresh turkey with nothing but some good old kosher salt. I left that in the fridge, uncovered overnight. It was about 41 F and sunny yesterday so the oil took a while to come up to temp. Once up too temp, I butter balled the turkey and rubbed it down with S&G rub. I put the turkey on the frying base and got ready to lower it into the oil. I used my Fireboard probes to monitor the breast temp in the turkey as well as the oil temp. That made it slick, and much safer since I didn't have to sit the flame off and lift the bird out to get a temp reading. I lowered the bird into the oil with no problems. She went for about an hour.
When I took it out of the oil at the end of the cook, it looked gorgeous. I was amazed at the skin on the turkey. Crucnchy as all get out. There really wasn't any rub flavor though, I was excepting to be able to taste the S&G a little bit but the oil just took over and fried it up. Next year, we are just gonna do the dry brine and injection and be good to go. This was a great time and the turkey was unbelievably tender, moist and flavorful. I will be frying our turkey for the foreseeable future.
The pictures don't really do it justice but it was unbelievably good!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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[richinlbrg]

KEWL! Spinaker !! Please let us know if you fry a PR - I've never heard of anyone doing that. We'd all be interested!

[HouseHomey]

Yeah, that's looking good!

[SlushDeezey]

Fried quite a few in the last several years. Start at the point of the breast (cavity end) and run your hand under the skin separating it from the breast. Two TBS of rub on each side of the breast under the skin. That’ll give you the taste you said you was missing. Dust w/ Slap ya Mama seasoning before frying.

[EdF]

I admit it was done in the oven this year. Too much yard work needed to use the egg. And it was in the thirties. And ... yadayadayada ...

Anyway, it came out spectacular!

[Troutman]

That’s a classic Home & Garden lookin bird !!!EdF

[HouseHomey]

Nice work Mr. Rockwell. I'd eat that.

[EdF]

Gotta mix 'em up to keep them on their toes!

[MarkC]

I made the ultimate smoked turkey last night with a twelve pound turkey. No pics or tales of greatness, but the turkey came out well and everybody liked it. I pulled it off when the breast registered 150 degrees, as the recipe directs. I felt it was just a tiny bit undercooked at this temperature, especially for squeamish eaters, and next year I'll leave it in for another five degrees. I liked the SnG mix, gave it that real thanksgiving flavor. I applied it dry as the recipe suggests, while I see that others here mixed it with butter, and wonder if there is a reason the recipe avoids this step. I had to replenish the charcoal twice, and see that another poster used lit and unlit briquets, which sounds like a great way to lengthen the time between batches. Finally, I have to brag about my new iGrill sensor, which allows you to remotely monitor several probes from your iPhone. This is a great way to save time for other chores.

[gabulldog]

Spatchcocked and PBCed!

[Troutman]

Dude wow !!! Nice bird and great pix....that’s a contender !!!

[Huskee]

Fantastic!

[HouseHomey]

That sir is a fine looking specimen. Nice work!!

[Gunderich_1]

Well no contest for me this year. Once again, I got in too big a hurry and forgot to take the dang picture. I guess I could take one of the carcass to show how well it went over, LOL. Oh and a shout out to fzxdoc for the hint about adding the baking powder to the PBC All Purpose Rub for crispy skin. The bird came out great and I was told it was a definate do over recipe. Many thanks. A 12 pounder in the PBC. You just can't beat that thing for any type of fowl.

[fzxdoc]

That's a heckuva big chicken, Huskee! Gunderich_1 , rest on those well-deserved laurels while you polish off those turkey leftovers. Congrats on a job well done.

Kathryn

[Huskee]

fzxdoc that's what I thought when I seen it at my local grocery store that usually has 4.5 to 6lbers. There was about six 7-9lbers for $1.39/lb special.

[fzxdoc]

So how did the chicken turn out, Huskee ?

Kathryn

[T-bone]

Great Ultimate Turkey day for us.

This...



Went through this process...



And became this...

[HawkerXP]

Very nice.

[Iron Bulldog]

7 lb turkey breast bone in done on PBC. Injected with creole butter and seasoned with Cavender’s greek seasoning. Cook time was 2 1/2 hours at a temp of 320-340 degrees with 4 applewood pieces. So good that both of my daughters took what was left home with them. Thankfully i had 1 breast lobe from a test cook earlier in the week, so the wife and I wouldnt starve to death.

[HawkerXP]

Good golly that looks good! But I see someone stole your legs!

[Iron Bulldog]

Sorry stole it from Eddie Murphy in Trading Places.

[Iron Bulldog]

Only had six people for dinner so this was plenty without 5lbs of turkey salad to eat in the next two weeks.

[HawkerXP]

No. It looks really good. Will do that for sure.

[Beefchop]

I followed the instructions found on the Adrenaline BBQ website pretty much verbatim to cook my 14 lb. bird using the Slow N' Sear on my 22" Weber kettle - spatchcocked the bird with a dry kosher salt brine the night before and added the wet rub the morning of (butter injection in the breasts). Instead of hickory I used apple wood chips and a few chunks of mesquite for a light smoke flavor. Best turkey I've ever done. https://abcbarbecue.com/turkey/ The Slow N' Sear also worked great as an improvised "burner". I took the drippings from the pan, added some white wine and water, and made a country gravy with a little flour and butter. It didn't look all that pretty but wow...the flavor! I may need to upgrade to a Weber 26" or Ranch kettle next year as the 22" was pretty much maxed out.

[Onez]

This year marks the 3rd year in row I've used a Weber Kettle and Slow 'N Sear for the Thanksgiving turkey. I thank all the folks on this page & Adrenaline BBQ for providing step-by-step instructions...they certainly are confidence boosters!

I started out with a 15.5 lb bird. After spatchcocking, I dropped it into a wet brine (Williams Sonoma garlic & rosemary turkey brining blend) for about 18 hours. After removing from the brine, I patted it dry then set back into the fridge for an hour to further dry off. I pulled it out again to paint with melted butter and sprinkle McCormick's Rotisserie Chicken seasoning (I dunno...I just seem to use this seasoning every year). Back into the fridge until it was time to light the charcoal.

Cooked on a 26" Weber Kettle with Slow 'N Sear XL. I foiled the charcoal grate opposite the coals & also added two pans to catch drippings.

This year, I decided to use Weber briquettes vs KBB...just wanted to try something different. I first filled the SNS XL then picked out enough briquettes to fill a small Weber chimney. Once the chimney coals were well lit, dumped them on top of the unlit, returned the cooking grate & closed the lid. Bottom vent open about 3/4, top vent fully opened. Once it reached 280, I dialed back the vents. Once the cook got underway, I found myself with both vents open most of the way. Target cooking temperature was 325. Outside temps were in the mid 40's, overcast with a breeze. A good 10-15 degrees cooler than prior years.

Cook time was just under 2.5 hours...maybe 2 hours 15 minutes.

Three pics attached. The first is a pre-cooked bird. The second is the grill coming up to temp with the hot charcoal lighting the cold briquettes (the smoke had died off by the time I placed the turkey on the grill). The last is the finished product.

Not necessarily contest-worthy photos, but thought I'd share anyways!

[Beefchop]

I did the same, but on the 22" kettle, which felt too small!!!

[kmhfive]

Wonderful!

[Onez]

Thanks, everyone!

[kamadoRob]

I went with an oven bird this year. The wife isn't completely in love with smoked foods so taking no chances on Thanksgiving turkey! 20lb turkey using a wet brine of salt water and molasses. I meant to take pics of it all carved up but got too excited and started eating...

[HawkerXP]

WAIT! You got that color from cooking in the oven? Sooo nice!

[kmhfive]

Wow! Great! Welcome to the Pit! I had to do the oven for the main bird also…. At least two family members who don’t like food with flavor. So, to compensate, I did 8-"Disney-style" turkey legs on the grill.

[kamadoRob]

I sure did HawkerXP. Just rubbed with soft butter and no basting. kmhfive, I almost smoked a small breast but the turkey legs sound like an even better idea!

[ColoradoScott]

We went to friends house that were roasting the turkey so I brought a smoked duck (using my old Weber gas grill with the indirect heat and drip pan per Amazing Ribs techniques. About 4 hours with applewood at ~ 235F.

[Spinaker]

Ain't She Purdy!?!?!?!

[HawkerXP]

Quack!

Oops, Looks great!

[kmhfive]

That’s a good-looking bird!

[theroc]

Here's my traditional post-Thanksgiving turkey smoke. We always have to travel to family on Thanksgiving itself, so I smoke my turkey a few days later so that we can have our own leftovers and great gravy. Dry brined a 12 lb bird, coated with Simon and Garfunkel rub. Cooked on the Smoke Vault with a bit of apple and pecan wood over a short stock. Got wonderful color and a moist, tasty bird.

[theroc]

Thanks. Just entered.

[HawkerXP]

I really like this one. Nice Job!

[Spinaker]

Those herbs tho

[thegeneral2]

Our Thanksgiving was a two 22 1/2" charcoal Weber Grill affair. It was hindered by a malfunction grill temperature probe but the meat probe worked flawlessly which made all the difference. We grilled a 12 lb bird, 2 extra legs, and 8 baking potatoes. The bird was citrus brined overnight. My earlier cooking logs told me it would take longer than it did. Once the meat hit 165 it came off the grill immediately. It turned out beautifully!

[Spinaker]

Wow! That looks great. Nice lighting too!

[HawkerXP]

A four legged turkey? Looks great!

[Beefchop]

Skin looks nice and crispy. I would love to snag one of those wings!!!!

[robd]

This isn’t a smoked turkey, but it is my annual Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey.

Shes brines with jalepenos, red pepper, and salt. Then rubbed with some goodies and covered in 2 lbs. of pancetta.

I tried a smoked version a few on a few years ago but the pancetta became really dark and lost its greatness.