WKC Turkey Noobs/Pros 2015 edition

[pbe gummi bear]

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Only 3 weeks away so you have some time to do test runs. Post up your Turkey questions here, and if you are a turkey pro, share your insights and recipes! Kettle, WSM, Kamado (LightningBoltdz- lol), oven (we'll try not to shame you), whatever works. There's a first time for everything, right?  Since this is the second year I'm sure we'll have a lot more "pros" in the house. Enjoy!

2014 Turkey thread here: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/wkc-turkey-noob-thread/

[Tommy B]

If you have as many grills as this group has and you cook you turkey in the oven...... I kid but seriously 

[mrbill]

few things off the top of my head-inject the night before. save some of the injection fluid to baste over the bird a couple times during the cook. place bags of ice on the breasts while the bird sits out before going on the smoker(lowers their temperature so that the white and dark meat finish at the same time). place some aromatics in the cavity(onion, citrus fruit....etc) while cooking. for crispy skin cook above 300deg. for serving, break it down like a rotisserie chicken(don't do the norman Rockwell slicing thing).

[austin87]

Tuck the wings back but don't truss the legs. The legs need to finish at a higher temperature than the breast so give them room to breathe and protect with foil if necessary. Overnight leave the bird in the fridge uncovered on a wire rack, especially if you brine it. This helps dry out the skin.

Like mrbill said definitely remove the breasts from the bird and slice across the grain.

I probably won't do a bird for Thanksgiving (my grandpa will) this year but I'll do one before hand and I am giving pretty strong consideration to breaking down the bird into pieces.

[CharliefromLI]

I did one of our birds on kettle last year and it was a hit.

For my first turkey it was a pretty easy cook.

A few notes for rookies from a rookie (which i am):

Dark meat needs more heat that white: easy way to accomplish this on a kettle is to use charcoal baskets on each side but off center:
think of your kettle as a clock, place your turkey neck cavity facing 12 oclock and rear cavity facing 6 oclock center your baskets at  4 oclock and 8 oclock instead of 3 and 9. This is will give your dark meat more heat and protect your breast.

Speaking of heat, go hot. A hot indirect fire 350-400 is ideal. just make sure its indirect.

Be careful with smoke: poultry is a sponge for smoke and its east to overdue it if your not careful. depending on your guests consider lighter woods and just a bit of wood. A chunk on the cooking grate directly above the coals  next to the bird will give a gently slow burn

Measure before you cook. a big bird on the top grate wont leave a ton of head room. If you going with a large bird consider a "basement bird" ala @1buckie

Speaking of which just search "turkey" and "@1buckie" and you'll have all the info you need

[Idahawk]

I like a fresh bird as opposed to previously frozen , I understand there's a shortage of fresh birds this year do to an avian flu that hit this spring and summer , if your a fresh Turkey buyer , get one early and expect a higher price




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[Hell Fire Grill]

12#er fits the 22"er nicely.

[iCARRY]

I spatchcocked my 12 pounder last year. Injected with creole butter, salt, pepper, olive oil on skin, and cooked it at 350-375 with some cherry wood. Best turkey ever.

All finished up




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[MacEggs]

All excellent advice, so far.  Man, I keep learning new stuff .... I like that. 

12#er fits the 22"er nicely.

For sure.  I don't like them much bigger than this.  I'd like to try one on the roti.

Here is one of mine from awhile back.  Turned out great.  Just one of the many different methods.

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/my-first-kettle-cooked-turkey/

[Lumpy Coal]

OVEN! (spit).

[chefn58]

Equilibrium Brine.

Hands down will be the best bird you ever eat.

I've cooked 5 turkeys in the last 2 weeks for various reasons on various grills and have heard the same comment from everyone that ate them.

Best damn bird ever. The tenderness and moisture are unbelievable.

1/2 the weight of the bird + the full weight of water when measured so the bird is just submerged in it.

Water weighs the same as it measures in ounces if you don't have a scale.

1.5% of the total weight above in salt.

Mix water and salt together to dissolve. Add the turkey and let it brine for 3 days.

I like to cook my turkey breast side down for the first hour and a half then flip it over.

I also have a pan to catch the drippings below the grate I'm cooking on.

Sorry if this is confusing. It's really not. I'm typing on my phone......


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[CharliefromLI]

I forgot a few details in my post above so to make it easier, here is my rookie turkey post from last year:
Easy simple rookie cook.
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/first-kettle-turkey-14006/msg140010/#msg140010

[Tommy B]

best advice I can give is make sure to invite a ninja turtle to help carve the bird....

[z1166z]

I spatchcocked my 12 pounder last year. Injected with creole butter, salt, pepper, olive oil on skin, and cooked it at 350-375 with some cherry wood. Best turkey ever.

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Thank you for sharing!

What size kettle was this on?  How much coal did you use and the set up?  Do you recall how long it took?

I'm as new as they come to smoking and cooking on my new 22".  I've done some pork tenderloin and turkey breasts as delicious practice, but I need to get as much help as possible getting the technical-side of things nailed down for a whole turkey.  Whole family will be counting on me for this bird!

[iCARRY]

I did it on my 22. I used a full kit chimney of kingsford blue bag. I believe it took about 1.5 hours.


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