Apple brined turkey

[Bbqmiller]

Turkey took 3 hours. Cooker temp was around 330. Had to rotate once since one side was cooking a little faster than the other. Pulled off at 165 in the breast.



Nice color - just waiting for our guest to arrive to cut into it. Skin is very crispy and bulged out due to juices underneath it.
Smoked with a good size chunk of pecan and two small of apple.

[OoPEZoO]

I got mine on about 8:15am and the damn thing was done by 10:45. Considering it was a 20lb bird, that completely blew my mind. My Mother was completely freaking out because "there was no way in hell a turkey could ever be cooked that quickly". The thermometer doesn't lie. I monitored the grate temp and breast temp with my iGrill.  I also monitored the thigh temp with my other digital thermometer. I checked 4 different places as I pulled it off and everything said it was done.  Here is the iGrill graph

I had some issues getting the WSM up to temps. I propped the door open a crack and held it in place with a heavy duty magnet. I was getting impatient so I fired up a 1/2 chimney to add. By the time it was ready, the temps had got up to 325 on their own.  I dumped the chimney anyway, and then just choked it down. Everything was pretty smooth sailing after that. I messed with the vents a little here and there, but not much. The bird looked great



Smoke ring turned out pretty impressive on the dark meat. Here is a slice from the leg


The overall plating looked pretty good as well


All in all......it looked great, smelled great, and everyone liked it. The meat was all very juicy and cooked perfectly. That being said, I didn't really care for it. I thought it was pretty good, but was expecting better. I would not do the recipe again without doing some sort of a rub on the bird itself. I also think the smoke flavor was a little much on the skin. No one complained......in fact, it was the opposite, but I still think it could be better.  For reference, I used 4 small fist sized chunks of apple wood mixed in the charcoal. Next time, I would use less, maybe none at all.  Overall, I would call it a success, but I can't wait to improve on it next time

[Ted B]

I find myself being much more critical of my cooks than other people. Maybe they are being kind or I'm just overly critical. The other side of it is that most people don't eat food so expertly prepared on a grill so for them its fantastic.

[landgraftj]

100% agreed Ted!

[Bbqmiller]

All in all......it looked great, smelled great, and everyone liked it. The meat was all very juicy and cooked perfectly. That being said, I didn't really care for it. I thought it was pretty good, but was expecting better. I would not do the recipe again without doing some sort of a rub on the bird itself. I also think the smoke flavor was a little much on the skin. No one complained......in fact, it was the opposite, but I still think it could be better.  For reference, I used 4 small fist sized chunks of apple wood mixed in the charcoal. Next time, I would use less, maybe none at all.  Overall, I would call it a success, but I can't wait to improve on it next time

Nice looking bird - from the looks you nailed it.

Here is the wood I used. Two small apple and one bigger pecan. I put them on at the same time as the turkey started.

[Bman]

I got mine on about 8:15am and the damn thing was done by 10:45. Considering it was a 20lb bird, that completely blew my mind. My Mother was completely freaking out because "there was no way in hell a turkey could ever be cooked that quickly". The thermometer doesn't lie.

Holy crap!  When you say the thermometer doesn't lie, did you have a pit temp probe, or just going off the smokers thermo?  My WSM lid thermo reads quite a bit different than the grate temp probe via my Maverick et-732.  If you thought you were at 325ish, you very well could have been closer to 375-400.

As an example from a butt cook this summer...

[Bman]

Got the 16 pounder on the WSM (after a 22 hour brine and 14 hour rest)



Fired up with Kingsford Competition and used 3 chunks of cherry



And we're off...



Not my house, but that is my WSM pumping out the thin blue smoke.   



Truckin' along



And we're done



No carving pics as my hands were dirty and no plated pics as my hands were busy. 

[Bbqmiller]

I got mine on about 8:15am and the damn thing was done by 10:45. Considering it was a 20lb bird, that completely blew my mind. My Mother was completely freaking out because "there was no way in hell a turkey could ever be cooked that quickly". The thermometer doesn't lie.

Holy crap!  When you say the thermometer doesn't lie, did you have a pit temp probe, or just going off the smokers thermo?  My WSM lid thermo reads quite a bit different than the grate temp probe via my Maverick et-732.  If you thought you were at 325ish, you very well could have been closer to 375-400.

I see the same difference  on my WSM using maverick - about a 50 c difference between lid thermo and top grate.

[Bbqmiller]

And we're done



No carving pics as my hands were dirty and no plated pics as my hands were busy. 

Nice cook!!! I know all three of our apple brined birds looked and tasted superb!!!

[OoPEZoO]

I was actively monitoring the breast temp, thigh temp, and actual grate temps.  I overshot 325 for a few minutes, but quickly got it under control and it stayed steady the whole cook.  I occasionally glance at the lid thermometer, but I never trust it. That being said, it was pretty close to what my grate temps were reading (within 20 degrees or so).  I posted the cooking graph from my iGrill above, see for yourself. Like I said, I never would have guessed I could cook a 20lb bird that fast. All of the times and temps are listed on it. Smoker grate temps on the top, breast meat probe on the bottom.  It altered our whole Thanksgiving dinner plan by about 2 hours. Nothing wrong with eating early, but certainly threw us for a loop.

Also, I ate some leftovers today in the form of a turkey sandwich.......wow this white meat is juicy. I'm still not crazy about the added favors, but I'm not sure if it's from the brine or too much smoke wood.  I'll have to attempt it again on a few smaller chickens and figure it out

[Bman]

Miller --- yeah, I'm certain the apple brined birds were the star of the show.  Where I was, there was also 2 oven roasted birds there.  Meh, no comparison.

PEZ --- Originally, I glanced at the graph, but the numbers are so small I couldn't read what was going on.  I've read where the brined birds to cook easier/faster than a normal bird, but you took that to a new level.  Glad it all worked out for ya in the end.

[Bbqmiller]

I have also read that brined birds cooked faster. I have brined/cooked a turkey for thanksgiving on the WSM since I bought it - 2009. They have always been pretty good. I may cook a turkey ( and some other things) for Xmas dinner on the RK.

Mike