BBQ Turkey

[Calpyro]

Hello all,
After 15 years of marriage, my wife is going to let me BBQ a turkey for Thanksgiving. My recipe is to soak the turkey for 24 hours in a brine of kosher salt, ice water, apple juice concentrate, and vanilla. I plan to put the bird in a horizontal smoker for 40 minutes per pound at 300 degrees.
Does anybody have any other good tips for smoking a turkey?
Thanks,
Cameron

 

[Molerj]

Cameron, No tips on smoking. Let us know how it turned out. Sounds pretty good to me. I
am going to deep fry mine. Injected the marinade tonite. We we also will have one made
the traditional way, in the oven. Happy Thanksgiving & don't try to eat it all tomorrow!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Calpyro]

I have been told that deep frying is a great way to cook a turkey and fast too. Have you done it before?

Thanks,
Cameron

 

[GlueGuy]

I haven't done it myself, but the next-door neighbor got one of those (turkey fryer) a month or so ago. We went over for dinner last week, and had some turkey done that way, and it was pretty darn good. They also injected the marinade under the skin.

The GlueGuy

 

[Bird]

I don't just inject the marinade under the skin, but deep into the meat. I use a pint of marinade per turkey; injected two yesterday afternoon and put them back in the refrigerator. Going out to fry them in just a few minutes. That's the only way we've cooked turkeys for the last two years. Quite a few years ago, when we lived in town and had a big gas grill with a rotisserie, I've cooked turkeys on the rotisserie. That worked very well, too. I fry my turkeys in peanut oil for 3.5 minutes per pound at 325 degrees.

 

[Boondox]

No experience with smoking, but our regular way of cooking a turkey is to rub it down with salt and spices, then stick it upright on the BBQ grill (unstuffed) so the body cavity forms a chimney that results in very even cooking. With just the wife and me, we stick to the smaller birds, and a 10 pounder on low heat is done to absolute perfection in about 90 minutes.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[Jeff396]

Our friends came over a while ago and deep fryed us a turkey. I think it was the best, moistest turkey I ever had. And boy do I like that extra crispy skin!!!! The only thing I miss is the giblet stuffing from inside the bird. That's the only way I like it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Jeff

 

[Jag]

Happy Thanksgiving to all... To smoke my turkey I use a Brinkman Smoker... I inject my own blend of fairly hot cajuan spice and like to leave it for about 24 hours before smoking.. I will cut the turkey up into 2 wings, 2 running gear, breast, and the back.. The Brinkman has a water pan in the bottom just above the coals. I keep a small fire going made of Pecan wood, keep the water boiling, cooking the turkey about 3-3.5 hours.....

Just after the big dinner, we had a flock of 9 wild turkeys feed through the the yard. Then they left and 6 deer came in for a late lunch... But before the deer left the turkey came running back into the yard to beat the deer to the last of supper... To all a great day.... JAG

 

[rlk]

Cameron, I don't know anything about smoking turkeys, but just cooked one on a Holland Grill, and it turned out great. Rubbed the whole turkey in olive oil, then sprinkled lemon pepper and salt on it. Let it sit while the Holland grill heated. Cooked it 15 minutes per pound. Did not turn it, as the Holland cooks the top as well as the bottom.

Not sure if the Holland grill is a national item, but since they were invented in my neck of the woods (Apex, North Carolina) they are very popular here.

The last time I fried one, it came out great, however, the peanut oil it was fried in cost more than the turkey. 5 gallons of oil at roughly $4 per gallon to cook a $15 turkey. Somehow, something is wrong with this picture.

 

[Bird]

rlk, you're right about the peanut oil, but you can cook several turkeys in the same oil. I've been doing 3 each time I fry turkeys, but only did 2 this morning. However, you can pour the peanut oil through a cheese cloth and put it in a refrigerator and use it again later. Of course, I decided to go with a smaller fryer (good for 12 to 16 pound turkeys - and a I prefer the smaller ones), so I only use 3 to 3.5 gallons of peanut oil.

 

[Molerj]

Hi Cameron, The deep fried turkey came out great. This is about the fifth one I've done. We also deep fry wings in a smaller pot that has a basket. We've also used the large pot for boiling corn. With the propane burner it is alot faster than doing it on the stove. Like it was said the oil is a little expensive. I'm on my 2nd 5 gal. container. Got rid of the first one after about 3 turkeys & a couple chickens which was about 6 mos. That's about the life of it if you strain it & keep it in a cool dark place. There are alot of marinades you can buy or make your own. I like the cajun one & yesterday we used a butter creole, that was delicious.

 

[Calpyro]

Well, my first BBQ Thanksgiving turkey was a rousing success! 14 hours in the smoker at 225 degrees resulted in a juicy and flavorful bird. I used about 15 pounds of mesquite charcoal which provided a mellow flavor and consistent temperature.
I learned a little about Barbecuing on this one:
1. The brine/marinade gave the meat a great flavor.
2. It is hard to marinate a 25 pound bird! I ended up using my Coleman picnic cooler.
3. I received a tip to BBQ the bird breast down, which kept the breast cooler in the smoker and allowed the juices to collect in the breast meat. I covering the breast with foil to slow the cooking worked well.
Thanks for all of the input on the deep fry method. I am going to lobby the wife to let me try a fried turkey for Christmas
Cameron

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...14 hours in the smoker at 225 degrees resulted in a juicy and flavorful bird. ...</font color=blue>

Now ... that's what I call ... smoking! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

For my taste buds, that way of smoking has always provided the "juiciest" and most flavorful turkey/chicken/any kind of meat than any other method...

I would think the "fried" method wouldn't be as "juicy" or as flavorful... /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[DAP]

John bud ... deep frying the turkey, if done with the right oil at the right temp makes a real juicy and grease free bird.

The bird seares in the oil and is sealed. Not much in, not much out and the temps get the birds bones to help cook from the inside out.



<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by DAP on 11/30/01 12:41 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[MODiesel]

May I humbly suggest...

Greenberg Turkeys @ www.gobblegobble.com

I promise. These are absolutely the finest turkey's you'll ever eat. I get one every year as a Chirstmas gift, from one of my best customers. At this point, even if he didn't send one, I would buy one myself. It's not really an Thanksgiving turkey, but a fantastic Christmas party turkey. Everyone loves them.

Listen here for more info:
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/weed/19991127.weed.02.ram

Now, they're FAR from cheap, but just the aroma will hook all you BBQ/Smokin' fans the minute you open it up. Guaranteed goodness!

Best Regards,
Jay

 

[gordon]

My wife does the turkey in the oven but she starts it out at 500 for a half hour and then turns the heat way down and covers the breast with foil. Makes for a very tender and moist turkey and cooking time is really reduced.

Great to hear that your bird turned out good. My friend does his in a fryer and they are great. Also real quick cooking time. The nice thing around here is that we also use the heck out of it for steaming crabs, clams and oysters that we catch or buy. So it does have it's advantages.

Gordon

 

[Lane]

Don't stop frying birds after thanksgiving. Shoot up a couple or three chickens with marinade and deep fry them whole just as you would the turkey. MMMmmm good.