Amphoran Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Yeah, I'm confused, too! I was using the guru for only the second time. The charcoal burned weirdly which may or may not relate - rather than burning evenly down from the top, it ran down through the mass in a few streams. The basket still looked full, but after a couple of shakes, it collapesed by about half. was your bird stuffed in any way? I threw in the halved onion, quartered apple and lemon (and half bottle of wine) per Mad Max's reipe, and that pretty handily filled the cavity. That, of course, adds significant cooking time. I had my guru food probe in the thigh, and was shooting for 180 thigh and 160 breast, but when the thighs made it only to 175 after five hours, I checked the breasts and they were up to 185, so I pulled the bird. The roasting pan had a fair amount of liquid in it, so it wouldn't be radiating, but would be at around 212-220. (Drippings made great gravy, by the way!) Next time, I'll try the drip pan on the second level and the turkey completely exposed on the third, will put nothing in the cavity, and probaby raise the temp to 350. Thanks for the info on what worked! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 I had an apple (sliced) an onion (quartered) and some spices inside, so not much mass inside. The last 2 times I didn't put anything inside. I didn't use the Guru, I have a good handle on the settings for the 300's and it saves some set up time. I also put my Polder probe in the breast and when it was up to temp (I set the alarm to 158) I verified (breast and thigh) with the Thermapen and it was in the low 160's, I count on a 10 degree rise during the rest - so I pulled it. You certainly don't need any accessory liquids for moisture purposes, don't be afraid to try again. Do the brine, leave the cavity mostly empty and you should be golden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 That's pretty much in line with what I've been thinking, and I wasn't all that thrilled by the herb-butter blanket. I'm thinking next time just brine, rub down with a little olive oil, salt and peppr, and KK. Maybe just a handful of rosemary sprigs in the cavity. The two chunks of applewood was just about right for a nice subtle smoke flavor. Cheers, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
