Thanksgiving 2009

[mguerra]

Let's put all our Thanksgiving cooking posts here in this thread, sort of a "Turkey Central"! Remember, the recipe section should just be recipes, not long threads.

LarryR kindly posted a link to Brining, here: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brining.html I have just finished preparing two portions of the Apple Brine. Once they chill, I'll do a test bird tomorrow. Then the main family bird goes on the KK about 6AM Thursday. The whole family is depending on my bird, so it better come out right! So, what do you all have planned for KK Thanksgiving?

[Firemonkey]

Unless you are serving lunch, 6 am will probably be too early to start the turkey. They cook pretty quick on a KK.

[LarryR]

We usually have somewhere from 20 to 25 people over and it’s always a grand time, by far my favorite holiday of the year. We target sitting down to eat at 6:00 p.m. so I should have my birds on between 1:30 – 2:00 p.m. This year’s menu:

Jack Daniels and Maple Syrup brined bird over cherry

Apply Honey brined bird over apple

Mustard-Molasses glazed ham

Jack Daniels yams

Orange-Glazed Carrots

Toasted Almond and caramelized onion green beans

Grandpa’s sausage dressing

Mashed potatoes and homemade gravy (Mad Max’s)

Apple and pumpkin pies

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pecan Squares

Several different appetizers and munchies

Lots of adult beverages flowing freely

The family and friends stay through the weekend so I get in several cooks. This year my other cooks will be tris, chicken and pernil.

[jdbower]

I'm (un)lucky enough to be the odd man out - I always need to travel for family holidays since I live the furthest away (especially now that I'm in MA). This year's a little different so I'm staying here, but I'm bringing some food for my brother-in-law and his family/friends. I'll be cooking a cheesecake on the KK shortly and I'll be making some sourdough bread, rye rolls, and some Zuppa Tuscana to bring with on Thursday morning. I haven't decided on oven vs. KK for the bread yet, the cheesecake is a no brainer since I just pulled off some pork and it's still warm.

[mguerra]

Test bird on

Wow, you guys are on it! Sitting out back, got an apple-ginger brined turkey smoking on a pecan fire. Drinking ginger ale and smoking an Acid Kuba Kuba! Listening to David Grisman and Stephane Grapelli. Bluebird sky, 65 degrees It's a test bird. Starting early on T day to make sure bird is ready, then 1 hr drive down to San Antonio. I'll do the towel/cooler hold.

[mguerra]

quick

Test breast is done, resting. It cooked pretty quick, maybe 2 hours plus or minus for this approx. 6 lber. Brined with weber forum apple brine recipe for about 14 hours, cooked at 340 til 165 internal. Lump was 50/50 mix of Royal Oak and Cowboy, and a fair bit of pecan smoking chunks, indirect fire on main grill. Taste test in a while!

[jdbower]

You're a brave man, I haven't been willing to tote my creations around - too worried they'll dry out or the skin will get soggy in transit I guess.

As an interesting experiment, you can try LarryR's Roadside Chicken recipe on turkey as well. I do it indirect and it adds a nice flavor, but perhaps not a very Thanksgiving-y one

[mguerra]

Wow!!

The apple brine/ pecan smoke turkey is a winner! I used a fresh breast, not enhanced or juiced up, and the brine made it excellent. The recipe makes 5 quarts, which was just enough to cover the breast, double the recipe for a whole bird. I don't know how moist or juicy you can get a turkey breast, I'll just say this was juicy enough to not be typically dry. So that's moist enough. The flavor is a mouth popping blend of all the ingredients and the smoke. My wife raved, and that is saying something because she is a turkey expert. Here's the link:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/turkey5.html

I did not air dry the bird, since we don't eat the skin. And of course the Weber specific instructions won't apply to your ceramic grill, other than the temperature. It went straight from the brine onto the KK. Off the grill, I foiled it up tight and wrapped in towels, let it rest for about 2-1/2 hours. It was still very hot at serving time. All in all a great cook, and one we won't be saving for once a year! I only hope I get the whole turkey as lip licking good as this breast came out. Give it a try!

[mguerra]

addendum

I brined the bird in a Reynolds turkey roasting bag, inside a mop bucket that I washed out real good prior to use. (In case the bag broke.) I squeezed out all the air and tied it off, to get good coverage.

[LarryR]

LarryR's Cook

PICTURES

Got two birds in the brine this morning at 8:00 a.m. for a 36 hour soak. Both birds are in the 18 lb range. One is enhanced (one of our guests brought it over) and one natural. At 36 hours I'll rinse and let dry in the fridge overnight. And yes, that's a Homer's Bucket from Home Depot, lol.

[Firemonkey]

I've got mine soaking in a cooler. Well, actually in a huge ziploc "XL" bag, in the cooler. Along with plenty of ice outside the bag to keep it all cold. I put it in there at about 7am this AM. Bird is +/- 20#. I was planning to pull it out tomorrow morning some time, by the time I get to it, shoudl be at the 30 hour mark or so. Then into the fridge to dry.

Im using a basic 1/2 C salt, 1/4 C sugar per gallon brine, but I simmered about 20 bay leaves, a handful of juniper berries and a couple dozen whole black peppercorns into the brine for some flavor.

I picked up a 2QT Lodge dutch oven to make a smoke pot. NOw all I need to do is bring myself to drill holes in it I have a huge party tub full of of peach wood chunksfrom a spring trimming of a neighbors tree, and a big pile of apple, cherry and hickory to choose from. I am leaning towards a ablend of peach and apple, and probably KKEC if I use the smoke pot - That should let me guage the effect of the "potted smoke" vs raw wood.

BTW, if anyone has a source for peach wood, it is awesome on poultry. I use it regularly on chicken - give it a try.

[DennisLinkletter]

Very well carbonized charcoal has little to no smoke..

I I am leaning towards a ablend of peach and apple, and probably KKEC if I use the smoke pot - That should let me guage the effect of the "potted smoke" vs raw wood.

.

Just a note... It's the volume of unburned volatiles in the charcoal that determine how much smoke/flavor you get from the charcoal..

Very well (over) carbonized charcoal has little to no smoke or flavor.. but is a total bitch to light.

When making charcoal there is a fine line between leaving enough volatiles to make it easy-ish to light and have flavor but not so much to where you get flames from off gassing and harsh acrid smoke/flavors..

That's why the old timers burn wood down to charcoal, then BBQ. This way there is no guessing. They know how far it's gone and exactly what it going to give them flavor wise.

You can heat any charcoal to burn off these volatiles and then add your target wood for a more focused flavor.. You can bring the basket to high temps then shut it almost all the way down to get very clean burning smoke/flavor-less charcoal..

[mguerra]

brining vessel

Here's a brining vessel, guaranteed food safe!

http://primogrillforum.com/gallery/data/500/igloo.jpg

[LarryR]

Re: brining vessel

Here's a brining vessel, guaranteed food safe!

People always "freak" when they see my Homer's Bucket, lol. Been using her for years. I love the homers bucket, it's so versatile; Sunday she had Christmas lights in in her as I put lights on the house, today, a turkey.

Always wash her good and then sanitize her. Never had a problem. If all the crap I put in my body in college didn't hurt/kill me, brining a turkey in a homers bucket probably won't. And my guests, could probably use a little thinning of that herd if you know what I mean, lol, kidding of course.

The clear container is a food grade unit from Smart and Final, should probably pick another one up some day . . . to me about 5 years to remember to get that one.

[Firemonkey]

Re: Very well carbonized charcoal has little to no smoke..

You can heat any charcoal to burn off these volatiles and then add your target wood for a more focused flavor.. You can bring the basket to high temps then shut it almost all the way down to get very clean burning smoke/flavor-less charcoal..

You trying not to sell extruded coal or what?

I will likely do exactly that, since the extruded, IMHO, burns so much better at lower temps. It lasts seemingly forever at low temps, but seems to burn quickly at high temps.

[mguerra]

rant

My post had nothing to do with Homer's Bucket. I just thought the Igloo was a cool idea. I don't care about food safe plastics, I have brined in an old swimming pool chlorine bucket. Homer's Bucket would suit me! Life's too short to be scared shitless of every little thing. I spray the hell out of my house with Dursban and Diazinon. When they were banned, I hoarded gallons of the stuff! Doing the same now with incandescent bulbs. Swine Flu, Global Warming, blah, blah, blah...it's all a crock of shit. Especially global warming, the biggest scientific fraud since Piltdown Man. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs200 ... ltdown.asp

And would you believe it, it's the sorry English science establishment, East Anglia University this time, perpetrating a shameless prostitution of science once again. As a scientist, I find it reprehensible and disgusting.

[LarryR]

I LOVE it! Doc, I think you and I would have a grand time kicking back some good single malt and torching-up a couple stogies (and brining our birds in Homer's buckets and chlorine containers of course). I'm with you, don't be afraid of life, yea I smoke cigars, yea I may drink a bit too much, yea I eat grilled/smoked foods and guess what, I'm one happy son-of-a-bitch

Sorry, sounds like the timing of your "brining vessel" post and my Homer's bucket post were purely coincidental. But I've got to tell you, I LOVED the rant.

Back to your scheduled programing.

PS: I posted what looks like a great Turkey Soup recipe HERE

[mguerra]

yum!

That is one awesome looking soup recipe! I'm going to get the ingredients and be ready to throw in the carcass ASAP. Good one.

[bryan]

I never drink to much. I always pass out before I get there.

[Saucier]

Re: rant

Thats my kind of rant doc ! Add to the list socialized medical care.. the list goes on..

Put me on the scotch list too with Larry! I like scotch with a heavy peat flavor, normally LaPhroiag or Bowmore. Just picked up a new one, hard to come across though,, I think I got two bottles of the 4 existing in the California warehouse.

Octomore! Boy is it goooooooooood.. A real slow sipper

My post had nothing to do with Homer's Bucket. I just thought the Igloo was a cool idea. I don't care about food safe plastics' date=' I have brined in an old swimming pool chlorine bucket. Homer's Bucket would suit me! Life's too short to be scared shitless of every little thing. I spray the hell out of my house with Dursban and Diazinon. When they were banned, I hoarded gallons of the stuff! Doing the same now with incandescent bulbs. Swine Flu, Global Warming, blah, blah, blah...it's all a crock of shit. Especially global warming, the biggest scientific fraud since Piltdown Man. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs200 ... ltdown.asp

And would you believe it, it's the sorry English science establishment, East Anglia University this time, perpetrating a shameless prostitution of science once again. As a scientist, I find it reprehensible and disgusting.