Bird On!.....updated with pics of carving

[mrbill]

Ok, the bird has been in the smoke for about 30min now. Just saw the Turkey Throwdown 2016 thread asking for details and tips and pics. In order not to booger that thread up to much, I made this one that i'll be updating and just post a link to it in the other thread. Pictures of the cook and a description of my carving method will be at the bottom. I will try to get someone to take pics as i carve, but i can't promise anything. I will update this thread with new pics as they come.

So here we go-

How I smoke turkeys:
(note: i don't have any pics of last night's events, but if you've ever seen a naked turkey injected and rubbed that's all it was)

Night before the cook-

1.remove neck/giblets..etc from cavity and discard(you can use them if you want to but i don't)
2.place turkey on a platter or dish large enough to hold it, but small enough to fit in your refrigerator
3.take previously prepared injection fluid(i usually make my own, but last night i was lazy and just used Tony Chachere's Creole Butter) and inject into the muscles of your bird. make sure to save some of the fluid for basting during the cook, not a lot because you'll only bast a few times.
4.after injecting rub down with seasoning of your choice. i use Dan Pastorini's Garlic Herb Seasoning(this stuff is awesome, i use it all the time). rub well all over, inside and out
5.place in refrigerator over night


Cook day-

1.remove bird from refrigerator and set on counter to come up in temperature while you get your smoker up and running at temp. for my wsm, it's usually about an hour
2.place zip lock bag(s) of ice on the breasts. white meat finishes faster and keeping the breasts cooler will help them finish around the same time as the dark meat.
3.get that smoker set up and running. i fill the charcoal ring with charcoal and wood, then pull some out of the middle to put in my chimney starter.
4.fire up the chimney starter holding charcoal and a little wood using a weber cube.
5.once the starter is ready, dump into the divot created when i removed the material. and assemble the wsm
6. this is the point where i plug in my pitmaster iq110 and let it start working it's magic.
7.let the smoker come up to temperature(325dgrees) and settle in
8.once steady at 325, take the ice off the turkey and get it going in the heat and smoke
9.at 325, my 11lb bird should take a bit under 3hrs to cook. cook until done basting every 40-60minutes
10.once done, let it rest at least 15-20minutes before carving and serving.

quick description of my carving method-

there are many ways to do this. here is what i do-
slice skin between main carcass and leg quarter. push down on leg quarter to expose hip join and wiggle a chef/santoku knife in the joint to separate the leg quarter from the rest of the carcass. make sure not to cut through any bone, only the joint. repeat for other side. now that both leg quarters have been removed, manipulate them to expose the leg/thigh joint and cut through separating the legs from the thighs. set aside. now for the breasts. use a flexible bladed boning/filet knife to separate the breast from the carcass. start at the breast bone making cuts along the bone while pulling the breast away with your other hand. continue until entire breast has been removed. repeat for other side. i usually stop here and use the remaining wing meat and bones from carcass to make stock in my pressure cooker, but if you want you can use a filet knife to debone the wings for more meat on the platter. now that you've deconstructed the turkey, use your filet knife to debone the thighs. next, use your chef/santoku knife to slice the breast across the grain of the meat. i usually leave the legs alone, but if you want to carve them, use your filet knife to cut around the cartiledge and remove the tendons/connective tissue, then slice parallel to the bone and rotating until done. now place all of the meat on the serving platter as you see fit and serve.


Pictures-

charcoal ring with wood and coals minus what was removed for the chimney starter




sitting on table waiting for smoker to heat up and level off




chimney starter firing up with kbb and pecan pieces




all put together. waiting for the nasty white smoke to clear and temperature to settle in





temperature steady, thin blue smoke rolling(can barely see a wisp of it near the far side of the lid handle)




bird on!





1hour mark, first baste




1hr 45min, second baste maybe 30-40min left before it'll get pulled off and foiled up for the ride to my mother in law's house





done. took right about 2.5hrs.





foiled up and in the cooler for the trip to mil's house.





on to the carving pics(yep managed to get some for ya'll)-


cut skin between leg quarter and breast




push down on thigh and wiggle joint until you can get a knife between the ball and socket(see white part being pointed to by my finger) then cut through




repeat for other side





you should now have two leg quarters




now manipulate the leg/thigh joint until is separates a bit and you can get a clean cut w/no bone




white meat time. start by slicing against the breast bone and pull away with non-cutting hand




continue cutting along the breast bone and ribcage while pulling away until the entire breast is removed




repeat for other side and you will have two breasts




cut across the grain






debone thighs by cutting parralell to bone




plate and serve





what remains(as previously stated, i leave the wings(and misc skin, meat..etc) alone and use the whole remaining carcass to make stock in my pressure cooker. if you wish, you can debone the wings and and carcass, i usually don't because i think a little meat/skin give a better stock flavor)










and that folks, is how i smoke and carve a turkey. hope you enjoyed it.

[varekai]

NICE!

[Travis]

That's lookin yummy, Mr. Bill!


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[HoosierKettle]

Awesome


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[Easy]

Perfect bird and perfect display.
nicely done and looks very moist also.

[WNC]

Nice!
Beautiful bird, except in my house we fight over the wings


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[mrbill]

Nice!
Beautiful bird, except in my house we fight over the wings

lol, complete opposite here. even if i carved them out, they'd go untouched.