ThreeDJ16 Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Alright, let's have them!! You have time to cook, eat, nap and clean up so now it is time for some pics! Here is my deep fried bird. Must say, it was the most beautiful bird I have cooked for even golden color. This sounds weird since it was fried, but the trick is to thoroughly rinse, dry and coat the bird with oil prior to frying (along with no outside season). It was brined for 12 hours and was the most juicy, tender and flavorful turkey I have ever eaten. BTW, fried turkey skin is the best yet...Mmmmm! Just wish I had picked up a larger turkey as now I barely have any leftovers for sandwiches. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 My endeavor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Thanks for the tip on oiling the bird before frying. Last one I did, I got the oil way too hot (smoking!, well it was taking so long to heat up I thought I had time enough to shower before the guests arrived. You know,... oil doesn't cool down like water does!). Anyway, I also put the bird in too fast and subsequently water proofed my brick patio. No weeds will grow in the cracks either, and this was 3 years ago! just lucky the flame was out before I plunked 'ol Tom in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Thanks for the tip on oiling the bird before frying. Last one I did' date=' I got the oil way too hot (smoking!, well it was taking so long to heat up I thought I had time enough to shower before the guests arrived. You know,... oil doesn't cool down like water does!). Anyway, I also put the bird in too fast and subsequently water proofed my brick patio. No weeds will grow in the cracks either, and this was 3 years ago! just lucky the flame was out before I plunked 'ol Tom in! [/quote'] A very clean (except for oil) and water free turkey will minimize the oil boiling over. Also, completely thawed with no ice crystals too! The easiest way to coat the turkey in oil, was to dip it in the pot with oil, top it up so it covered the bird, slowly remove and drain (so it served two functions). Heated the oil to 375, with flame at max, slowly lowered the turkey with my silicone gloves and handle, had zero boil over and let the oil level back out at 350 before cutting the flame down to maintain. A lot of folks have a per pound guestimate between 3-4 minutes per pound. Great info to rough it in, but I place my maverick remote meat probe in the breast and drop the pit one in the oil....works great. I wait and pull mine out at a 180 breast temp when doing the whole turkey and trust me, it is nowhere close to dry. Another method, almost anything will float in hot oil when it is done. The turkey is no exception, provided it is not stuck to the lowering rack and there is enough oil, it will be noticeably buoyant. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Looks purfect to me.. My endeavor... Looks purfect to me.. Did you go high temps at the end to brown up the skin? Basted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Re: Looks purfect to me.. My endeavor... Looks purfect to me.. Did you go high temps at the end to brown up the skin? Basted? Nope, I brined it in apple cider brine, with some spices added (see Thanksgiving 2007 thread) for 30 hours. Rinsed lightly, let sit uncovered in fridge for 3-4 hours. Dried it with paper towels, and rubbed it lightly with some olive oil just before putting it on the grill. Had the grill preheated to 340 degrees, added a few apple and pecan chunks, and loaded it onto the grill - polder remote in the thigh. I only opened the grill 2-3 times before it was done. Once to peek, once to show my guests the progress and once to check temp on the breast (thats when the pic in the other thread was taken). No basting, the brine handled all the juiciness you could want. The brown sugar in the cider brine, and the natural sugars in the apple cider itself might have contributed to the color. The 340-350 temp throughout the cook took care of making it papery and crispy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 In progress...and finished. I'm about an hour and a half into a two and a half hour cook. It's beautiful! Apple brine, 350* indirect. There's a stone, and spacers, and another stone, with a drip pan. I did the double stones with spacers, in the hope that I'd have unscorched drippings for gravy. Hardly anything has dripped out! Imagine that. *** Ok, now we're 3 hours in. The old girl still isn't at 160* internal! I've got 142*. UGH! Guests arriving in an hour. On the other hand, it still looks beautiful. lol. *** Whew. Just in time! 3.5 hours and the breast temp was 162*. Took it off the grill, finished the muffins, and went to Mother's house in time for company to pull in the driveway behind me. The bird had about a 45 minute rest, then vanished. I think I must have measured the wrong spot on the breast. Seems to me it was a little drier than I would have expected. So, I must have been in a bad spot, reading a lower temp than was real. Delicious - don't get me wrong. But less moist in the breast. Dark meat was good. The skin was the best I've ever eaten! I stole a couple bits, acknowledging that it was sinful, and would cause clogged arteries. But I did it anyway. Don't know if I would go to the bother of all that brining again. Probably just an herb and salt rub under the skin would be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted November 25, 2007 Report Share Posted November 25, 2007 That indeed looks beautiful, Sanny. The brine is kind of cumbersome on something big like a turkey, and I hate pouring 2/3 of a gallon of cider down the drain, too How long did you let yours soak for? Maybe your bird was just taking its time absorbing the brine? I let mine go for 30 hours, and even the leftovers are juicy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted November 25, 2007 Report Share Posted November 25, 2007 How long did you let yours soak for? Maybe your bird was just taking its time absorbing the brine? I let mine go for 30 hours' date=' and even the leftovers are juicy.[/quote']Soaked it 24 hours, FM. In a bag, in a cooler with ice. Just don't think it was worth the effort. And a gallon of cider, all those oranges, ginger, and all. Seems it should have tasted like something! Brining the small breast was easier, and I could taste the difference. But not with the whole bird. Roasting on the cooker, though, THAT was well worth it. And, as an aside, I found the bird wrapper when I took out the trash last night. It said 3 to 3.5 hours at 350* was a good estimate of cooking time in the oven. That was exactly how long in the cooker. Maybe my next experiment will be a spatchy bird. Although, I don't know if my K5 has the acreage on the grill surface to do a whole turkey that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted November 25, 2007 Report Share Posted November 25, 2007 Although' date=' I don't know if my K5 has the acreage on the grill surface to do a whole turkey that way.[/quote'] Well, if not I know of a place where you could get a bigger one with some really cool enhancements If you can get the spatched bird on the K5, the smaller size may be an advantage. Since the dark meat will be on the outside of the bird, it will also be on the outside of the grill. If you set up for indirect, that the hot area, so the dark meat will get cooked hotter than the breast. Be careful though, for the dome to be 350, those edges get much hotter. You dont want it directly in heat rolling up the sides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkline01 Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Stuffed with sage, thyme, rosemary, apples, onion, & garlic. White wine and apple in roasting pan for the gravy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I was wondering why you put the leg probe where it is mostly bone? I would have thought (I've not done a turkey before) that the probe would be more accurate in the meatiest part of the leg. I realize there is a differential between dark and white meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Trish, If you're asking me, the probe was in the thigh, because that is the meatiest part of the leg. I thought I had put it in parallel to the bone and a ways away from it, but one can always be fooled. However, the far-from-done condition of the legs indicates that I wasn't reading bone, but somehow my setup was keeping heat from reaching the bottom part of the bird effectively. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I was wondering why you put the leg probe where it is mostly bone? I would have thought (I've not done a turkey before) that the probe would be more accurate in the meatiest part of the leg. I realize there is a differential between dark and white meat. Trish - Thats an illusion. the meat probe is in the breast. The one that looks like its in the bone is the pit temp probe for their stoker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Amphoran..Thanks for the input, but it was tklines probe that appears to be in the lower drumstick. I saw the one in the breast that looks to be placed as I have previously read. I guess it is an optical illusion as Firemonkey is saying. Thanks to both for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Yeah, you're right! I hadn't seen the picture close up when I responded to your post. Later I realized that my original post was to a different thread, and went back and looked at the pictures full sized, and saw what you were referring to. It DOES look like its stuck right in the bone, doesn't it! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
