Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: Bacala on December 26, 2014, 12:09:35 PM
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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.
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One photo of a smiling face would cover it ;D
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That is great to hear!
But, once you start taking pictures of your cooks - you will find that they help you to further your cooking skills. ;)
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Nice report, glad it all worked out.
I have a PBC on my short list of stuff to get. Posts like this, make it even harder to wait. :P
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The PBC knocks another one out of the park!
Next time don't forget to get the pics ;)
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Congratulations! I love a happy ending. But get some pics next time ;)
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Sounds like a great turkey on the PBC.
Pics would be nice next time or else someone is going to mention the unicorn. ;)
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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.
23# turkey? Holy crap, that bird must have been on the 'roids!
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Folks are getting soft. Nobody is yelling unicorn? Hahaha
Glad it worked out great Bacala!!
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Folks are getting soft. Nobody is yelling unicorn? Hahaha
Glad it worked out great Bacala!!
(http://addyosmani.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/unicorn.jpg)
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Folks are getting soft. Nobody is yelling unicorn? Hahaha
Glad it worked out great Bacala!!
(http://addyosmani.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/unicorn.jpg)
Ok I buy the Unicorn and the cat riding it but a golden gun? That is going too far :P
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Folks are getting soft. Nobody is yelling unicorn? Hahaha
Glad it worked out great Bacala!!
(http://addyosmani.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/unicorn.jpg)
Ok I buy the Unicorn and the cat riding it but a golden gun? That is going too far :P
But you're ok with the Unicorn having fire coming out its noise? The gun I get. ::)
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The fire and gun are fine. The rainbow, however.... The light is all wrong. It would be impossible for there to be a visible rainbow from the angle of the camera based upon the position of the sun, as indicated by the shadow under the unicorn.
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Now...lets be fair guys...Bacala may not understand the "Unicorn" reference. I suggest that it would be appropriate for someone explain it ;)
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If you post but don't post photos then we call it a unicorn cook. Never really happened.
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/lmh8/217C8E76-A393-4ECD-A7FF-9E8ACA947ACD_zps5qtk22yu.jpg) (http://s1180.photobucket.com/user/lmh8/media/217C8E76-A393-4ECD-A7FF-9E8ACA947ACD_zps5qtk22yu.jpg.html)
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Now...lets be fair guys...Bacala may not understand the "Unicorn" reference. I suggest that it would be appropriate for someone explain it ;)
dude, if you post cooks and no pictures that is a unicorn cook. not good. we like pics my friend.
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Now...lets be fair guys...Bacala may not understand the "Unicorn" reference. I suggest that it would be appropriate for someone explain it ;)
Nah, I get it. I half-expected the subject to be raised when I posted without pics, so no worries. I'll take care of it next time I grill several dozen hot dogs for our 4-H club. You'll have more pics of dogs from more angles, different lighting, etc., that you'll surely be satisfied ;)
It's time to restock the freezer so I just pulled four racks of ribs and I've now got six chicken halves hanging, but I'll keep quiet because we've seen enough of both of those.
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Now...lets be fair guys...Bacala may not understand the "Unicorn" reference. I suggest that it would be appropriate for someone explain it ;)
Nah, I get it. I half-expected the subject to be raised when I posted without pics, so no worries. I'll take care of it next time I grill several dozen hot dogs for our 4-H club. You'll have more pics of dogs from more angles, different lighting, etc., that you'll surely be satisfied ;)
It's time to restock the freezer so I just pulled four racks of ribs and I've now got six chicken halves hanging, but I'll keep quiet because we've seen enough of both of those.
You're a good sport, you will fit in with this group nicely. ;)
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Second unicorn cook. Hahaha
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I'm really pleased to hear you got it right on your turkey in the PBC. There are lots of "okay" reports on turkey cooks but yours is the first one I recall that was a rave review. Seriously, I'd love to see how you did it with the halves and the hanging of them. I'm having trouble picturing how to copy it. Can you at least give us a detailed description of how you accomplished the cook?
Hub
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Hub, I'm definitely not the first to get it right but I agree that there seem to be a fair number of "okay" reports, and even a few fails. Looking down the first page here, I see turkey cooks described as "awesome" and "amazing", so others have had great success before I came along. I do understand that a picture of the bird hanging would be very helpful, but I simply didn't think of it at the time. I've always been more of a "words guy". Details of the cook are in original post, so I'll describe what happened prior to that here.
If you picture any of the the shots we've seen of whole birds hanging in the cooker, then imagine them sliced right down the middle with each half hanging on its own bar, that's my cook. I hung them with the breast down and spine parallel to the bars, not vertical like the chicken halves we see here. In each side, I put one hook near the wing and one just forward of the tail. Had originally planned on using three hooks on each side since this was such a heavy bird, but with the spine still in place for strength it was clear that two would be enough.
I started the coals with the method I am now comfortable with after trying a few things. I just couldn't make it work when following PBC's included instructions for a chimney light.
- Fill basket, then remove 50 coals to chimney
- Light with two sheets of rolled newsprint and let burn 15 minutes
- Pour lit coals over those in basket and distribute evenly, then let burn with lid off for 10 minutes
- Place lid on cooker and wait 10 minutes more
- Add wood chunks and hang meat
Since we've been speaking of pictures I have to say I would LOVE to have a shot of my daughter's face when she walked into the kitchen that morning and saw me standing at the sink holding a running Sawzall as I was about to slice down through the spine. She showed great restraint and uttered just one comment - "Is that even sanitary?".
Please feel free to follow with any specific questions you may have. Happy to help!
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Second unicorn cook. Hahaha
(http://www.jeffgothelf.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/unicorn.jpg)
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That is great to hear!
But, once you start taking pictures of your cooks - you will find that they help you to further your cooking skills. ;)
x2
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Thanks for the details. I think I see what you did. Sometime pretty soon I'm going to do a turkey using your approach. I was just too chicken to experiment on my friends and family before I was comfortable with it. My Traeger did a wonderful turkey the way it always does, but I know I can do one on the PBC, too. Your word picture of your Sawsall handicraft is easy to picture.
Don't be too discouraged by all the "unicorn" comments. Some of us aren't good with cameras and I'm definitely one of those. I also don't use a cell phone except for emergencies and the camera function in mine is illogical and almost impossible to get a picture out of. So please keep on using words.
Hub
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Ahem....back to the unicorn. Are those flames coming out of his rear-end? Maybe that's how they fly? ???
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Ahem....back to the unicorn. Are those flames coming out of his rear-end? Maybe that's how they fly? ???
That's an RPU (Rocket Propelled Unicorn). :P
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Hub, no discouragement on my part. We are a very visual society now, and the forums across the internet reflect that. I personally would rather read a nicely composed paragraph or two most times, but that just isn't where we are now. I used to frequent a couple of fishing-related forums so I have lots of experience with the "no pic, didn't happen" thing. I swear, Steinbeck or Hemingway could pen the most descriptive report about an outing and might garner a "way to go" or two, but if Joe Sixpack posts a blurry, badly lit shot of a dead fish in a bucket the kudos come by the trainload. Different triggers for different tastes, I think. All good.
I'll be looking for your report here when you do a PBC turkey. I've only had my barrel about 1.5 months but I believe that once you try a few cooks and get a good feel for the behavior of the thing, you can cook just about anything in it. I'm thinking of trying to duplicate the great smoked turkey legs you can buy at the County Fair for my next challenge.