Let's Talk BBQ
Outdoor Cooking Equipment => Charbroil Infrared & SRG style Cookers => Grills & Smokers => Big Easy (BEESR) and SRG Type cookers => Topic started by: richvalle on November 30, 2014, 06:21:15 PM
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Also testing posting pictures. Been years since I used Photobucket.
The goal was to cook a 21 lb turkey to crispy goodness. I put it in breast side down so the dark meat would cook faster. It brined over night.
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0057.jpg) (http://s96.photobucket.com/user/richvalle/media/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0057.jpg.html)
The SRG warming up. I put a little bit of hickory chips into the smoker box. In the background you can see the lovely Thanksgiving Day weather in Chicago.
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0058.jpg) (http://s96.photobucket.com/user/richvalle/media/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0058.jpg.html)
The turkey goes in. With 21 lbs at about 10 min per lb I was figuring about a 3.5 hour cook time. With sitting and carving I was giving it 4 hours.
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0059.jpg) (http://s96.photobucket.com/user/richvalle/media/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0059.jpg.html)
After an hour.
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0060.jpg) (http://s96.photobucket.com/user/richvalle/media/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0060.jpg.html)
After a bit less then 2 hours.
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/richvalle/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0061.jpg) (http://s96.photobucket.com/user/richvalle/media/SRG%20cooking/IMG_0061.jpg.html)
I took some temp readings and it was over 180 in the dark meat. The problem, besides it being done 2 hours early, is when I took it out and the breast meat on the bottom was still pale and only at 130. I had to take it out (hot!) and flip it over and put it back in for 30 min.
I think parts were definitely over cooked. Deep inside it was pretty juicy. I thought parts were under cooked but after looking at some posts here I'm not so sure. I had redness at the joints but that seems to be ok. Some of the breast didn't look done but I didn't test the juice color I just set them aside and used them for the soup I was making the next day.
It was a learning experience. I had thought about putting in one of the shelves to raise the turkey up but I was afraid I would be pushing the top of the turkey up too high. I should have done it. Also a smaller turkey might be better. Brining and putting salt on the outside was too much and the skin was salty.
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Great color on that bird. I will never make the mistake I made this year and cook a 20 pound bird. Too hard to work with. I usually cook two 14 pound birds, but Costco only had big ones.
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Nice looking turkey.
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Don't worry about pinkness and redness. If the juices run clear then your good!
Great color on that bird. Your next one will be better I am sure!
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Great color on that bird. I will never make the mistake I made this year and cook a 20 pound bird. Too hard to work with. I usually cook two 14 pound birds, but Costco only had big ones.
I did an 11, a 14 and and 18 lb bird for Turkey day - and the 18 lb one gave me trouble....getting the breast temp to 165F ( food safety temp) was difficult, and the color of the finished bird was darker than I would have liked - and the extra time was an issue.
I am in agreement with Pappy on this one - the 11 and 14 lb birds I did came out great in color, the doneness was easier to predict.
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I cook 10 to 14 lbs turkeys all the time. Reason I choose these sizes is because I get the amount of white meat that the family wants without buying a larger bird. Barry (CB) from the other site had a thread talking about it was better to cook two 12 lbs bird than a single 24 lbs bird, had something to do with white meat vs dark meat percentage .
Did you use a rub on the skin??
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Just oil, salt and pepper on the outside.
When you guy say you did 2 x 14 lb birds... at the same time in the roaster?
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Just oil, salt and pepper on the outside.
When you guy say you did 2 x 14 lb birds... at the same time in the roaster?
No, I have two SRG's :) so I'm able to cook two at one time
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When you guy say you did 2 x 14 lb birds... at the same time in the roaster?
Not at the same time in the same roaster. I did 2 12# in two different cookers, one in the PBC and one in the BEESR at the same time.
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nice looking turkey. I cooked a 16# one and ran into the same issue with the legs being done first and the breast not done. I also had to flip mine as I had the leg up and breast down.
Good stuff though!
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Turkey looks good Rich and nice you get some great help here! Don
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I almost always buy the smallest turkeys I can find in the store.
Obviously the cooking is easier (or more predictable, let's say) if it's smaller.
I also feel like the quality ends up being better, the smaller the turkey is. Not sure if that's because smaller birds somehow taste better than the bigger behemoths, or if it's simply a byproduct of the bigger birds forcing you to overcook huge areas while you wait on the more stubborn undercooked spots to come around.
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richvalle, great looking bird.
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i too am a first time turkey cooker on the SRG. got a lot of great tips right here...went with the two stick turkey recipe, and used the half racks on the lowest ring of the basket in lieu of a tommy ring. the 20 pound bird went in head first/legs up, and took right at 10 min/lb to cook. it cooked very evenly all the way through, I couldn't be more pleased with the results!
[attachments deleted after 6 months]
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i too am a first time turkey cooker on the SRG. got a lot of great tips right here...went with the two stick turkey recipe, and used the half racks on the lowest ring of the basket in lieu of a tommy ring. the 20 pound bird went in head first/legs up, and took right at 10 min/lb to cook. it cooked very evenly all the way through, I couldn't be more pleased with the results!
That is a great looking bird and welcome to the forum. ;)
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i too am a first time turkey cooker on the SRG. got a lot of great tips right here...went with the two stick turkey recipe, and used the half racks on the lowest ring of the basket in lieu of a tommy ring. the 20 pound bird went in head first/legs up, and took right at 10 min/lb to cook. it cooked very evenly all the way through, I couldn't be more pleased with the results!
Ya did good..pretty bird. Pam .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
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Birds look great. I find that 16# is just about right for me when using TBE. Breast down and bird suspended using fryer hooks instead of the basket.
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Birds look great. I find that 16# is just about right for me when using TBE. Breast down and bird suspended using fryer hooks instead of the basket.
Fryer hooks... hmmmm. Something else to look into. :)
Thanks all.
rv
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Another tip--I figure out the approximate cooking time, divide it by three and rotate the bird three times during the cook. Seems to eliminate the problem with cooler spots. Also raise the basket up with a Tommy Ring. Helps a bunch! Right, Tee?
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Birds look great. I find that 16# is just about right for me when using TBE. Breast down and bird suspended using fryer hooks instead of the basket.
Fryer hooks... hmmmm. Something else to look into. :)
Thanks all.
rv
I use a crowbar to hold the bird but you could use just about anything.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l501/rdelemos/ThanksGivin2013/Turkey/20131128_093752_zps3aefc3c2.jpg)
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Another tip--I figure out the approximate cooking time, divide it by three and rotate the bird three times during the cook. Seems to eliminate the problem with cooler spots. Also raise the basket up with a Tommy Ring. Helps a bunch! Right, Tee?
Thanks. I did see this tip and rotated the bird 3 or so times as it cooked. Turns out I needed to rotated it top to bottom too. :)
I think putting a shelf in would have been good enough to raise it up. I'll have to try again before next Thanksgiving.
rv
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Another tip--I figure out the approximate cooking time, divide it by three and rotate the bird three times during the cook. Seems to eliminate the problem with cooler spots. Also raise the basket up with a Tommy Ring. Helps a bunch! Right, Tee?
Thanks. I did see this tip and rotated the bird 3 or so times as it cooked. Turns out I needed to rotated it top to bottom too. :)
I think putting a shelf in would have been good enough to raise it up. I'll have to try again before next Thanksgiving.
rv
That will definetly do the trick. What I did in my BEESR was I used the stand I have from my turkey oil frying pot to put the bird on. Then I put that inside the BEESR basket with the half shelves mounted on the first ring above the bottom of the basket. With the thickness of the base of the turkey stand and raising the bottom with the half shelves that brought it out of the dead zone. I also placed the bird breast down with legs sticking up, this method produced the juiciest turkey I have ever done.
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Another tip--I figure out the approximate cooking time, divide it by three and rotate the bird three times during the cook. Seems to eliminate the problem with cooler spots. Also raise the basket up with a Tommy Ring. Helps a bunch! Right, Tee?
Thanks. I did see this tip and rotated the bird 3 or so times as it cooked. Turns out I needed to rotated it top to bottom too. :)
I think putting a shelf in would have been good enough to raise it up. I'll have to try again before next Thanksgiving.
rv
Now remember, the more you cook with the SRG the better and more even it cooks. Like a cast iron pan once seasoned it just keeps getting better. Oil the chamber after every cook for the first few cooks. The chamber needs to be dark not shiny. This will help you more than you know
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Now remember, the more you cook with the SRG the better and more even it cooks. Like a cast iron pan once seasoned it just keeps getting better. Oil the chamber after every cook for the first few cooks. The chamber needs to be dark not shiny. This will help you more than you know
Yep, I've oiled it up before each time I've used it. Seems pretty dark if you look at the pictures though I'm sure it will get darker still. I'll keep oiling it for the next few times before using it and then drop to once every 3 or so times.