I almost chickened out! Up early to start preparing for our guests I had already set out the cooker and filled the basket, and while working on other things in the house I got a case of cold feet. I told my wife, "I think I should just use the oven. We have a lot of people coming and this is a big bird (23lb). What if something goes wrong?" She talked me out of my fear, and everything worked out perfectly.
I cut the bird in half right down the center of the spine because it was just too large to spatchcock, which had been my original plan. Chose not to do it whole because I thought the halves would be a quicker, more reliable cook. I learned on my practice bird that without the spine, the thighs and legs just hang by the skin and I worried about them falling into the fire, so this is the reason I wanted bone on both sides when cut. I pulled the turkey from the fridge, patted it dry and added the rub, then let it sit out while I lit the cooker. We hung the halves at 11:15am after adding apple wood to the fire, and pulled it at 3:55pm when the alarm on the new ThermoWorks Dot I received as a gift alerted us that the temp in the breast had reached 165deg. We spot-checked both halves with the instant-read, and everything was good. Rested it for 20 minutes before carving, then brought to the table the prettiest, most juicy turkey I'd ever seen.
I am not exaggerating a bit when I say that everyone was floored. Throughout the meal we continued to hear positive comments about the flavor, juiciness and tenderness. I was asked several times if I had brined the bird (had not) because people just couldn't believe how moist the breast meat was. I have to apologize for the lack of pictures, but between being busy and a little embarrassed about shooting food pics in front of everyone, I just didn't get it done. Even so, I wanted to get this report out for those that may have had issues when trying a turkey or may be a bit intimidated to do so. This was my third and the first was good, but the second two were outstanding. Difference was that I left the first on the fire until reading 170deg in the breast, and pulled the second two at 165deg. BIG difference! As always, just get the fire started well and it will work.
