Well, I started off Thanksgiving day hoping for inclement weather, so i could put the WSCG's insulative properties to the test. The weather was in the low 50's with no wind to speak of, so not really a test. Oh well, those days will be coming and look forward to firing up the WSCG.
I prepared the bird using Meathead's Simon and Garfunkel rub. I also wanted to make his gravy, so I prepared the drip tray with all the veggies, spices and liquids that Meathead calls for
I set up the WSCG by placing the fuel grate on the low level, and filling it with Fogo Super Premium Hard Lump Charcoal, which is really good stuff for long cooks/smokes. One thing I have noticed (ok, so maybe my wife and children notice more than me) using KBB on the WSCG is that if you aren't careful, KBB will impart undesirable off flavors onto the food. This is more pronounced when cooking veggies or fish, really anything that picks up smoke flavors easily. I never had this problem with using KBB on the Weber Kettles or on the WSM, and I think it is because these cookers have higher airflow and the fire burns hotter than in the WSCG for the same desired cooking temperature. Anyway, although I can kind of manage these off flavors, no reason to take the risk on an important cook like Thanksgiving day turkey.
As I mentioned, for this cook I also wanted to make Meatheads graves. Weber discourages you from putting much more than an empty drip tray on the heat diffuser when cooking, and since I had liquid and veggies in my drip tray I wanted to avoid placing the drip tay on the diffuser. I thought problem solved, since I have the expansion rack I would put the drip tray on the cooking grate and place the turkey above the drip tray on the expansion rack.
While it was a good idea, the hight of my turkey on the expansion rack didn't allow me to close the lid all the way. I had to come up with plan B, and since the fire was already started there was only one option, put the drip tray on the diffuser plate.
I cooked the turkey at 325, and it cooked much quicker than I expected, I think I put it on at 11 am and it was reading finished temperatures around 1:45 pm. We then had to rush to put the side dishes together, but we did and dinner / lunch was served around 2:30 pm
Here is the plate.
The color of the bird turned out good, the breast meat was spot on moist, but the dark meat finished around 170, and should have finished higher. As you can see from the plate, the dark meat (pink stuff on top of plate) was a little under cooked (don't worry it finished above 165 so no risk of getting sick).
I also grilled corn on the cob on the WSCG, but I have no pictures, along side the turkey. I then stripped the kernels from the husks, added some S&P and butter, and it was a hit side dish.
That was my T-day cook on the WSCG, thanks for looking!
I prepared the bird using Meathead's Simon and Garfunkel rub. I also wanted to make his gravy, so I prepared the drip tray with all the veggies, spices and liquids that Meathead calls for
I set up the WSCG by placing the fuel grate on the low level, and filling it with Fogo Super Premium Hard Lump Charcoal, which is really good stuff for long cooks/smokes. One thing I have noticed (ok, so maybe my wife and children notice more than me) using KBB on the WSCG is that if you aren't careful, KBB will impart undesirable off flavors onto the food. This is more pronounced when cooking veggies or fish, really anything that picks up smoke flavors easily. I never had this problem with using KBB on the Weber Kettles or on the WSM, and I think it is because these cookers have higher airflow and the fire burns hotter than in the WSCG for the same desired cooking temperature. Anyway, although I can kind of manage these off flavors, no reason to take the risk on an important cook like Thanksgiving day turkey.
As I mentioned, for this cook I also wanted to make Meatheads graves. Weber discourages you from putting much more than an empty drip tray on the heat diffuser when cooking, and since I had liquid and veggies in my drip tray I wanted to avoid placing the drip tay on the diffuser. I thought problem solved, since I have the expansion rack I would put the drip tray on the cooking grate and place the turkey above the drip tray on the expansion rack.
While it was a good idea, the hight of my turkey on the expansion rack didn't allow me to close the lid all the way. I had to come up with plan B, and since the fire was already started there was only one option, put the drip tray on the diffuser plate.
I cooked the turkey at 325, and it cooked much quicker than I expected, I think I put it on at 11 am and it was reading finished temperatures around 1:45 pm. We then had to rush to put the side dishes together, but we did and dinner / lunch was served around 2:30 pm
Here is the plate.
The color of the bird turned out good, the breast meat was spot on moist, but the dark meat finished around 170, and should have finished higher. As you can see from the plate, the dark meat (pink stuff on top of plate) was a little under cooked (don't worry it finished above 165 so no risk of getting sick).
I also grilled corn on the cob on the WSCG, but I have no pictures, along side the turkey. I then stripped the kernels from the husks, added some S&P and butter, and it was a hit side dish.
That was my T-day cook on the WSCG, thanks for looking!
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