Early Discussion about Thanksgiving Turkey

LittleJohn · October 24, 2014, 12:24:05 PM

Well it has been decided, that I the MASTER GRILLER in the family have OFFICIAL stuck my foot in my mouth and must now "cook" the Thanksgiving turkey on the grill.

Apparently grill a good Ham, some ribs and a whole chicken (on different days over the summer) and your wife throws out that WE will be hosting Thanksgiving and I will be grilling (with in-direct heat and little smoke) the turkeys for this year. Better start working on finding the brine recipe and mixing up some "SPECIAL" seasoning salt ;D ;D

thurlow · October 24, 2014, 12:40:11 PM

We usually host the family Thanksgiving dinner and always do Christmas here. For years, we cooked the turkey in the oven, then moved on to deep frying; for the last 8 or 10 years, we've been smoking/grilling ole Tom and can't imagine ever doing anything different. They're GOOD! This is last year's; doesn't look like it, but it weighed about 18#; that's a large platter.

Mooseherder · October 24, 2014, 03:03:18 PM

I'm leaning towards going all out this year and making trash can Turkey.
If it happens, it'll be on YouTube.

red oaks lumber · October 24, 2014, 05:45:26 PM

trash can bird is awesome!

21incher · October 24, 2014, 06:04:07 PM

We only cook it in the oven on thanksgiving. You need all the juices from the roasting pan to make respectable gravy, and that is my favorite part. Other times of the year we grill them.

drobertson · October 27, 2014, 09:04:37 PM

Is it possible to get a short smoke on the bird, say an hour maybe two, then put in a roasting pan to finish off? Sounds pretty good either way,

LittleJohn · October 28, 2014, 08:47:41 AM

Honestly, now that I know I have a mess of people coming over! I am thinking one in the stove and one on the grill; allow people to choose and take some of the stress off me. ;D

...might have to work on a Whiskey marinate (for me, not the turkey) ;) :D

Raider Bill · October 28, 2014, 08:55:45 AM

Quote from: drobertson on October 27, 2014, 09:04:37 PM
Is it possible to get a short smoke on the bird, say an hour maybe two, then put in a roasting pan to finish off? Sounds pretty good either way,

Sure is done it many times. Another favorite is beer butt turkey using a Fosters keg can.

ScottAR · October 29, 2014, 08:19:40 PM

I've cooked em on the barrel grill several times when Tday was at the house. Fire by the lower vent; bird by the smoke stack. I have four piece racks so I stack all of them on the bird side for extra mass. Next time I think I'll put a couple fire bricks in the bottom for extra mass as well. Rotate bird about once an hour. I put foil loosely over the bird for the first couple hours leaving the sides open so the heat can get at the drumsticks without overcooking the breast. Pull it off for the last hour or so to crisp the skin.

Bird gets a brine usually with some pepper flake, pickling spice, and ginger pieces. Before showtime, I usually put a couple cut up apples inside. Peel back a bit of skin and poke butter as far as I can get it. Butter the outside a bit and on it goes till the inside is around 150. It will carry the last 10 degrees on counter resting in foil.

This is my favorite way to cook/eat Turkey.

rooster 58 · October 31, 2014, 07:05:58 AM

Man O' Man
There's nuthin' better than Thanksgiving turkey smiley_turkey_dancing

I'm not sure about this year though. I might be living in a camper this year and don't know about trying to cook a turkey in a camper :-\

Mooseherder · November 16, 2014, 06:52:29 PM

I tried the Trash Can Turkey method today as a dry run test for the big day.
It turned out moist and flavorful. Cooked it for about 5 hours with the breast side down in a tin foiled tray elevated on a couple of bricks.
I had a can here that hadn't been used for trash. It was used for holding big bags of dog food back when we had Bruno. Then it became a can full of Planer shavings from the Pecan Table project. I cooked the can real good over a pit fire last night to make sure the can was sterile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oiVqz-YTJI&feature=youtube

okmulch · November 17, 2014, 09:52:29 AM

Has anyone deep fried a smoked turkey?

LittleJohn · November 17, 2014, 09:55:35 AM

Quote from: okmulch on November 17, 2014, 09:52:29 AM
Has anyone deep fried a smoked turkey?

...Just make sure you wrap it in BACON :D :D :D

Ok, I think I know what my next investment in cooking/grilling will be (Large Capacity Deep Fryer)

beenthere · November 17, 2014, 12:37:23 PM

ok
If it is smoked, does it need deep frying in addition?

sandhills · November 17, 2014, 02:23:08 PM

I think it would work ???. Get the smoke then add the crispiness, I might have to try it so I can post in the OP's failures thread :D. Seriously, gonna have to try it though, sounds good to me.

okmulch · November 17, 2014, 03:56:58 PM

Quote from: beenthere on November 17, 2014, 12:37:23 PM
ok
If it is smoked, does it need deep frying in addition?

That's why I asked to see if anyone has done it ;)
We always have a smoked turkey and I hear how juicy fried ones are so I thought why not have the best of both worlds.
Shouldn't have to fry as long since all ready smoked but would make it crispy and juicy inside.

beenthere · November 17, 2014, 05:32:17 PM

So just deep fry to fill it with cooking oil. Might work.

StimW · November 17, 2014, 11:15:24 PM

You need to google "Big Easy" oil-less fryer.
I think I saw them on sale at Lowe's.
It uses propane and cooks with infrared heat, no oil! You judge done with a temp gauge and put screen/lid back on to brown.
I bought one a few years ago and they work great!
I used to part out a turkey and throw it on the grill when friends and I would go to the Florida Keys for T Giving fishing and diving back in the 80's.

LittleJohn · November 18, 2014, 08:57:08 AM

Maybe for a practice run I should cook up a ham or something this weekend :D :D, got the big game on Sunday --> Green Bay @ Minnesota
**I cheer for green and gold, while wife cheers for purple and gold, as long as the kids don't become Bear or Lion fans I think I could handle it

It ~~could~~ will a real adventure to indirect grill, when its in the single digits

LittleJohn · November 24, 2014, 09:29:03 AM

Well!!! Over the weekend I decided to get a bit of practice in, and grill up a ham in preperation for the Turkey on the grill this coming WEEKEND

It was great, but it took a bit of fiddling to get the burn right in the grill

okmulch · December 01, 2014, 08:06:08 AM

Well the fried smoked turkey was a success!! Very tender juicy and crispy.
We will defenitly have another.

LittleJohn · December 01, 2014, 08:41:20 AM

The trukey on the GRILL was great; brined for 2 days and on the in-direct grill for 7.5 hours or so. The Sister-in-law, who is a picky eater and and turns her nose up at most things, had SECONDS

..only issue I had was I thought I charcoaled the bird after about 2 hours, cause when I went out to check on the bird the temp on the grill was up at like 300 (cause the wind changed and blew thru fire box into grill) and the skin was already kind of crispy. So I broke out the tin foil and the baster, by the way the left overs are not even dry ;D ;D. LESSON LEARNED; brine, brine, brine