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KevinD

My first cook in a long long time…

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It has been a while since I’ve had some fun with Pele and tonight I fired her up to smoke a turkey for my family’s annual Christmas tree trimming  party.   Prior to acquiring Pele I had bought fantastic smoked turkeys from Greenberg Smoked Turkey in Tyler, TX.   As much as I enjoyed those birds there’s no reason for me to not give it a spin on my own cooker so tonight, I put this on for enjoyment tomorrow...

Planning on the traditional low and slow @225°   I brined in a simple salt water solution for @six hours, dried the bird and seasoned with a mixture of ground black pepper, a bit of 77EC5EF2-D4AD-42BD-AC09-EF3E0E5622E3.thumb.jpeg.49feb2f8d15a21a3304f4b4852fce8b5.jpegE76F13FA-4D8A-4F08-82E9-76366E22723C.thumb.jpeg.7492149d164f1d7e475b5c487604cd6d.jpeg45365283-FD7F-43ED-AC98-5A3E2AECADE0.thumb.jpeg.d678619f67920c435d5896d6536b6800.jpegcayenne pepper, picante papriki, onion and garlic powder, with some good old Schillings poultry seasoning tossed in as well.  Put it on midnight and I’ll check at 8 in the morning.  I’ve allowed for a possible12 hour cook, + or - an hour or two.  Since I plan to serve this up carved for sandwiches or general noshing, finish time really is not critical.

 Of course I will post the obligatory finish pictures...

Edited by KevinD
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What kind of wood are you going to use to smoke it?

I do smoked turkey any chance I can, dont wait till the obligatory holidays . Smoked turkey rocks ! 

Don't toss the carcass either, makes a kick ass stock for soup!

On the low and slow, Turkey is not a fatty bird so there is no connective tissue to break down and unless you are going to baste the hades out of it , cooking for that long? Could be a little dry.

I cook it like chicken, high and fast with a ton of quality hickory in a smoke box. Longest I've ever had a bird on was 3 hours and it was a 16 pounder. KK cook keeps it moist  and crispy.

looking forward to seeing the  pics

Zo0

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Ok,  here we are 8 hours and 15 minutes later,  and the 17 pound turkey is at  165°F  for all areas probed, so off it  comes.   Didn’t open Pele up at all except to take a final temperature check this morning with my thermapen.  Pictures below...

Carving will wait until people begin to arrive much later today, probably 4 PM Pacific time.   That of course assumes that I can deal with the scent of smoked turkey in my house all afternoon and not give in to temptation...

FYI: I used two medium sized chunks each of pedan and cherry.

 

 

 

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Edited by KevinD
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35 minutes ago, Tyrus said:

Sorry Kevin, Saw the color designation on the circle and I guess I wasn't paying attention to the letter. We have wild turkeys in this area and in abundance, so that's the backyard comment...but I'm looking forward to tour pics also

Not a problem, bagged this one in the wilds of my Albertsons supermarket - it was crazy in there. 

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 Yes, it got real cold here in Southern California, for us – 41° F overnight.  Sorry I couldn’t resist teasing my friends on the forum in the colder climates – I do love the idea of seasons, but don’t know how well I would live in them.   When we get into what I called “real winter” in my area of southern California, it will get down to just below freezing on many nights.  

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The turkey should be moist and tender, I’ve not yet carved into it but will in a couple of hours.  I brined it for 6 hrs which have added some moisture content and given how efficient our Komodos are, I wouldn’t think that I suffered moisture loss beyond what the brine added.  

Once I get into the turkey and have had a chance to eat some of it with my guests I will report back on those results…

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The turkey should be moist and tender, I’ve not yet carved into it but will in a couple of hours.  I brined it for 6 hrs which have added some moisture content and given how efficient our Komodos are, I wouldn’t think that I suffered moisture loss beyond what the brine added.  
Once I get into the turkey and have had a chance to eat some of it with my guests I will report back on those results…
Report back with pics I hope.
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