Let's Talk BBQ
Outdoor Cooking Equipment => Grills & Smokers => Charcoal Smokers => Topic started by: CaptJack on November 03, 2014, 08:10:04 PM
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turkey in the OldSmokey
i picked up a 12# frozen bird to do a test run in the OldSmokey
it took 3 days to defrost in the fridge
then i put it in a Reynolds BriningBag overnight
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/BriningBag3_zpsa0a72580.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/BriningBag_600_zps89da756d.jpg)
i have been playing around with different setups to do a turkey in the OldSmokey
i had originally decided not to use my Weber charcoal baskets and use a big foil pan as the separator for the two piles of charcoal, but I changed my mind because i like how they keep the hot coals in a tidy little pile and they keep the temp up even as they burn down. this meant that my big foil pan wouldn't fit between the coal baskets, so i had to go back to the smaller pan.
i also decided to put a small schmaltz pan directly under the turkey rack to collect the drippings
so i dried off the bird, basted it with olive oil and seasoned it with Mrs.Dash
i put a layer of lump oak in the bottom of the baskets (Minion), then split a half basket of lit briquets on top to get the cook going. it held a great 350° through the whole 3 hour cook
with one good sized chunk of hickory on each coal pile
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/OS_turkey_003_zps4a580cb5.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/OS_turkey_004_zps3a144571.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/OS_turkey_005_zpsc6beb1ad.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/OS_turkey_006_zpscaa8ef81.jpg)
the cook came off great, but a few things of note
the schmaltz pan directly under the roasting rack shielded the dark meat. the breast meat was cooking faster than the dark so for the last hour i took the schmaltz pan out from under the rack so the dark meat could catch up. in the the future i'll only have a drip pan under the rack so the dark meat cooks at it's normal pace. i ended up with 1-cup of strained schmaltz, for gravy (http://i50.tinypic.com/20ztyfl.gif)
the Weber charcoal baskets were the way to go. good decision
the turkey is probably the best i have ever cooked.
the brining worked perfect. i love those Reynolds brining bags (http://i50.tinypic.com/20ztyfl.gif)
the OldSmokey kicks butt cooking any sized bird. this was only a 12#er but a big 20#er+ would be just as easy
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Gonna be hard to top that at Thanksgiving.....looks perfect
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Fantastic looking turkey Jack!
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I hope my Thanksgiving Tom comes out like yours did. Do you think cooking the turkey breast down would have helped with the breast meat cooking too fast?
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I cooked it breast up
it was just the foil pan under the roasting rack shielding the dark meat that slowed it down
next time I'm going to put the big pan on two bricks (to raise it up off the bottom), under the grill grate to catch the drippings
it will be low enough to keep from shielding the back of the bird and the dark meat
the schmaltz is to die for. but I haven't made any GRAVY yet ;)
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I cooked it breast up
it was just the foil pan under the roasting rack shielding the dark meat that slowed it down
next time I'm going to put the big pan on two bricks (to raise it up off the bottom), under the grill grate to catch the drippings
it will be low enough to keep from shielding the back of the bird and the dark meat
the schmaltz is to die for. but I haven't make any GRAVY yet ;)
He said schmaltz.... :D! Jack...I never knew you had it in you ;).... :D
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Thats a great looking bird, nicely done. ;)
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Great looking bird!
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Jack,
Great looking bird!! I love the color!! Looking forward to cooking one, soon.
Art
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Color is perfect ;D
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Awesome looking bird!
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Great looking bird. I just pulled one out of the freezer for this weekend.
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Cuz, good looking bird. That OldSmokey will cook anything and everything.
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Great job on the turkey CJ, beautiful color!!! Don
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here's some additional pics of the setup
i use a 10"x 14" pan upside down as a separator for the two piles of charcoal
and as a riser to set a 12"x 17" drip pan on. this keeps the ashes out of the drippings for gravy
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/OSfoil_014t_zpsa9a15cf2.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o283/CaptJack50/BBQ/OSfoil_017t_zpsc3f68909.jpg)
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I hope my Thanksgiving Tom comes out like yours did.
X2 I'm a bit worried, I don't have time to test drive my SRG for T-Day
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There should be some good recipes and cooking directions on LTBBQ for cooking your turkey on the SRG....But if you can't find it using the search bar ( forum search engines are notoriously lousy - sorry...but it is true ) then - post a request for "Best cooking recipes and ideas" for your turkey in the Infrared cooker section. You will get some good advice.
Let us know how you do - I believe you will do fine!
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Great looking bird Capt!
There should be some good recipes and cooking directions on LTBBQ for cooking your turkey on the SRG....But if you can't find it using the search bar ( forum search engines are notoriously lousy - sorry...but it is true ) then - post a request for "Best cooking recipes and ideas" for your turkey in the Infrared cooker section. You will get some good advice.
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Let us know how you do - I believe you will do fine!
T ... planning on using Tommy's 2 stick recipe and cooking it like I do in the TBE but with a touch of Apple smoke ... will post it up
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You will do great. Looking forward tot eh pics!...and uh...FedEx delivers! ;) :D :D :D
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Fantastic looking bird..hope my T-Day bird turns out as well....
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Cuz, it is my understanding that you should always invite your kin over for turkey on Thanksgiving day (even if it is by marriage only).
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Jack, I think you could cook good food over a pile of wet leaves piled up in the yard. Good looking bird!