My First Turkey in the Big Easy

[JaneD]

OK, so I'm going to do my first turkey next week and would like to get some clarification or pointers.
The only turkey we were able to find was 18 lbs, (the next size down was 11 lbs which was going to be too small for our needs)

So here's what I'm planning to do:
Brine the turkey for 24 hours, take out the day before to let the skin dry out in the fridge.
I'm not sure if I should coat the turkey in olive oil or butter before putting it into cook, as I've heard butter will burn and get too dark.
Being 18 lbs., Should I even use the basket, or should I use something to "hang it" from the top like I've seen in photos on here.
Should I leave in the "pop thermometer" that comes in the bird?

Thanks in advance for any tips or recommendations.

[Jaxon]

A week before I cooked my 1st turkey I did a "practice" cook using a large chicken.

Have you cooked with it yet? 

I hope your's turns out.  Post pictures if you can...

[Pam Gould]

If you have a thing to hang with..that might work better..it's kinda hard to get out of cage that big..take the pop up thingi out..it's plastic. you don't want it to melt in your bird..I always use butter..matter of preference..are you going to inject it? I use butter & granulated gahhlick. then rub the bird and salt & pepper..use what you like and it will be fine. I don't do herbs on the outside becasue they burn..a lemon or 2 inside works well too..cut in half and shove in there..enjoy.  probably lookign at about 3 hours or a lil more..check temp and see..I like legs at 180º and breast at 175.  .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.

[Jaxon]

Somebody named Tommy will jump in here and help out soon. 

I think "they" say to allow 12 minutes per pound...

[TMB]

TBE will fit a 16 lb bird in the cage but if you have a 18 lb bird I would use a hanger and tie the legs and wings back so they are not up against the chamber and cause them to burn.

An oil fryer hanger works perfect for this       Now as far as what to do I would get a large chicken like Jack suggested and use it to practice with. Make sure the skin is dry and is aired out uncovered in fridge at least 6 hrs to dry any moister on skin (any moister = rubbery skin)

Inject with mix or use my 2 stick turkey injection 

TMB's 2 Stick Turkey.......

All you need is 2 sticks real butter 2 to 3 Tbs of you favorite seasoning (I use Mrs. Dash or Tee's W.O.W seasoning) 

Melt 1 1/2 Tbs butter is a sauce pan add the seasoning stir turn off heat and let it come together for 30 mins.  After it  cools use it for injection .  Inject breast, thighs and legs, then use the rest of what's in the pan as a bath for the outside.   Cook as you would any bird in TBE, SRG or BEESR and you will have a turkey that will not be forgotten

Ask anyone who tried it back at  the 2012 gathering

Cook normal with a light coat of oil on skin not much but just a VERY light coat. Cook with the mesh lid on til IT is close to 140 to 150 remove the lid and use the rest of the butter to baste the skin with. Keep lid off at this point.   Bring IT of leg to at least 175 to 180 and breast to 165 remove and cover with a piece of foil laid on top DO NOT WRAP the bird in foil.

Remember, the skin has to be dry of moister before you rub oil or butter on it

You will be rewarded with a bird like this, just got to practice !

[tlg4942]

Brine that bird !.... Still inject it if you want but brine it for a day as well.

 You can get a food safe plastic bucket at Firehouse Subs for 2 dollars. Smells like pickles for a day or so until it airs out and dries completely.  Then it's perfect.
WalMart has buckets as well and in several sizes...
Both have rubber seals in the tops which makes them airtight.  Really handy to have around.

[burkely]

TBE will fit a 16 lb bird in the cage but if you have a 18 lb bird I would use a hanger and tie the legs and wings back so they are not up against the chamber and cause them to burn.

An oil fryer hanger works perfect for this       Now as far as what to do I would get a large chicken like Jack suggested and use it to practice with. Make sure the skin is dry and is aired out uncovered in fridge at least 6 hrs to dry any moister on skin (any moister = rubbery skin)

Inject with mix or use my 2 stick turkey injection 

TMB's 2 Stick Turkey.......

All you need is 2 sticks real butter 2 to 3 Tbs of you favorite seasoning (I use Mrs. Dash or Tee's W.O.W seasoning) 

Melt 1 1/2 Tbs butter is a sauce pan add the seasoning stir turn off heat and let it come together for 30 mins.  After it  cools use it for injection .  Inject breast, thighs and legs, then use the rest of what's in the pan as a bath for the outside.   Cook as you would any bird in TBE, SRG or BEESR and you will have a turkey that will not be forgotten

Ask anyone who tried it back at  the 2012 gathering

Cook normal with a light coat of oil on skin not much but just a VERY light coat. Cook with the mesh lid on til IT is close to 140 to 150 remove the lid and use the rest of the butter to baste the skin with. Keep lid off at this point.   Bring IT of leg to at least 175 to 180 and breast to 165 remove and cover with a piece of foil laid on top DO NOT WRAP the bird in foil.

Remember, the skin has to be dry of moister before you rub oil or butter on it

You will be rewarded with a bird like this, just got to practice !

This is how I do it every year as well and am never disappointed.
I use Instant Gourmet if I can find it...it's the only thing I ever buy at Fresh Market.
It seems like it takes closer to 4 hours for me, but I typically shoehorn a 19 pounder into TBE.

Here's a video that might be helpful in carving that delicious bird:
https://www.nytimes.com/video/dining/1194817096866/the-butcher-carves-a-turkey.html

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

[RAD]

I have been using a turkey hanger and crowbar for years. No issues with birds up
to 20#'s

[Pam Gould]

I have been using a turkey hanger and crowbar for years. No issues with birds up
to 20#'s

Good Job..I use a rotisserie rod..lol .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.

[RAD]

I have been using a turkey hanger and crowbar for years. No issues with birds up
to 20#'s

Good Job..I use a rotisserie rod..lol .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.

That red handle is now gone. TBE gets HOT!!!!

[JaneD]

Ok thanks everyone for the tips! Here's what I did and how it turned out! :-)

I didn't brine it, (I was worried about making the skin soggy) but I did do the 2 stick Butter + 2 Tablespoons of Mrs Dash - Table Blend injection the night before, then I dried it and placed it in the fridge on a shelf by itself, sitting on a cooling rack on top of a 9x13 casserole pan to catch any additional liquids.

I did pull it out of the fridge an hour ahead of time to let it warm up a bit and lightly greased it with vegetable oil.

I ran out of time to get a turkey Frying rack, but was able to purchase the "better basket" and used that.

I had to position it upside down (legs up) to get it to hang straight in the fryer. Because of that, I now know to NOT preheat the fryer as adjusting it may be necessary. We did rotate it about halfway through cooking, and we also flipped it to breast side up about 2 hours in (placed it in my oven turkey roasting pan and carefully worked it out of the better basket, and then put it back in breast side up - it was NOT easy, required large forks, oven mitts & 2 people), then I basted it as best I could with the remaining injection butter while my husband held it up for me. (difficult to do with a hot turkey & through the basket wires)

When we flipped it back to breast up, the breast was measuring at 158 degrees. I'm pretty sure we cooked it for about another hour (too long I'm sure) and we pulled it out at about the 3 hour mark. It was a bit dry, but had really good flavor & great crispy skin. We cooked it with the lid on for pretty much the whole time. I live in Arizona, and the temp was around 68 degrees I believe.

I bought this 25 pack of aluminum containers with lids to use as drip pans: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078PQCK2W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 they are about the same size as the weber grill ones - but with lids. I pulled out the drippings about every hour, and put them on the stove to make the gravy. These ended up working out great, because folks were able to take home leftovers in them!

Some take aways:
Next time I will definitely brine the turkey.
Next time I will try drying it in the original basket to keep it upright - so I can hopefully have more room in the fridge.
I think letting it "warm up" on the counter helped to speed up the cook time. It was a 18.5 lb turkey, and at 10 minutes per pound it should have been 3 hours possibly up to 3.5 for 12 minutes per lbs. I believe it was probably done at about 2.5 hours.
Oh, I left the popup timer in cause I forgot to remove it - no harm done, it didn't melt.
Also I need to make sure the fryer is clean & ready to go for the morning. Making sure the drip pan is cleaned & a fresh foil pan is in place and lay a fresh piece of foil down on the bottom of the grill.

Overall, it was a great turkey everyone liked it. :-)  And it was so great freeing up so much room in my oven for the other items to cook. Thanks you all for your helpful advice!

[TMB]

Looks good        I try aways to cook legs up, gets the dark meat into the hotter area of the chamber.   

When you brine one just make sure the skin is dry before you place it in the chamber the skin will be crisp if you dry it off

[Pappymn]

Looks fantastic! I do a three day dry brine. Works great


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[HighOnSmoke]

Fantastic looking turkey!

[JaneD]

Thanks guys! :-) My husband is still raving about the turkey skin. He keeps sneaking into the kitchen to pick off what's left. haha!

What's a dry brine? never heard of that?