Whole Turkey this weekend - Need Advice.

Eggecutioner

Hey all. I've haven't really been keeping up on the Forum recently. However I've been eggin for a whole Month now. Tonight I had a realization. I have used the same cutting board to bring food into the house from the grill for years. 14"x16" plastic, groove cut all the way around it to catch the juices. Tonight was the third time in a week that the juice has overflowed the groove and down the counter to the floor!!! Never once happened before on the gas grill. The Egg just makes stuff juicer and better![p]Any way here is my dilemma. I am thinking about doing a Turkey this weekend for a party. I have never cooked one other than in the oven some time in november.[p]Should I brine or not, if no brine then what spices, smoking wood in the lump or not. What temp? 250 Dome? for like 6-7 hours? Crank the egg up a little at the end to crisp the skin? I have read several recipes in the archives as well as in the living cook book. Nothing seems to jump out at me. Thanks to all![p]Joe

Banker John

eggecutioner,
I'm doing turkey this weekend too. Rather than post another request, I'll watch yours.[p]I'm thinking cooking with light smoke (cherry perhaps) with a grill temp around 300. I'm still searching for a seasoning/rub to use.[p]Dizzy pig maybe?.. but which one?[p]Banker John

Unknown

eggecutioner,[p]I have done many a turkey on the egg... [p]1st about brining... if you have yourself a "fresh" bird then by all means brine away... but if you read on the label that it has an xx% of salt solution added (very common in todays supermarket turkeys) just don't brine as it basically already has been. The benefit to brining yourself is you can control the other flavors in your brine.. really not a big deal... I do prefer to brine my own but usually only get my hands on a fresh, untainted bird around the holidays.[p]2nd... cook her up on an egg set up indirect @ 350 for about 15 min per pound as you would in an oven.... now I usually will let the egg get up to 500 and I'll hold it there for about 15 min prior to putting the bird on... when you add all that cold mass the temp tends to drop down to the proper 350 in about 20 min anyway... plus that initial heat will crispen up te skin... after the first 30 min or so I will usually cover the breast meat loosely with foil...[p]If it is a big bird you might want to cover the drumstick ends and wing tips with foil to prevent them from burning... the heat that comes around the plate setter is sometimes not indirect to those parts on a bigger bird and they will get a little too "roasted"[p]Gravy makin!!!! I put my bird in a roasting pan on a bed of finely chopped carrots, celery, oninon, and apple, and few cloves of crushed garlic. You can put the bird in a v-rack too... and put the vegs under it. About 30 min to 1 hour into the cook pour water (about 2 cups) in to the pan.. otherwise the veggies just burn up and thats not good eatin. After you remove the bird I reduce the veggies and about 2 cups low sodium chicken broth (reduce by about half then add thickener). Ill add pepper and salt to taste and thicken with either corn starch or flour/ roux... always comes our great. Also, make sure to use low sodium broth... if not the end product will taste like the dead sea![p]Back to the bird... I cook until an internal temp of 163 in the breast (163 allows for a few degrees of carry over heat ) if you pull it at 165... your bird will be 170 to 175 in about 20 min... actaully I have done this and still had a much juicer bird than I ever did in the oven but hey ideal target final temp is 165![p]As for rub... well wether you brine or use a pre-salt solution bird... wash it well (after brining to remove salt) and then pat dry with paper towels... rub down with veg oil (lightly) and the apply rub.. I personally have tried many different rubs but either prefer a mix of garlic powder, pepper, paprika or good ole Dizzy Pig rub (either Dizzy Dust
or the Maple salmon rub I can't remember what its called right now).[p]Anyway... good luck... cook to internal 163 breast over indirect setup @ 350 for 15 min per pound.. let it rest about 30 min before carving (whiel you make the gravy if desired) and enjoy... [p]Brian

Bordello

Banker John,
While I have not done this one myself it has gotten great reviews. The link will take you to the Naked Whiz's page with the recipe for eggen a turkey by "Mad Max Beyond Eggdome"[p]Cheers,
New Bob
[ul][li]Link[/ul]

mad max beyond eggdome

eggecutioner,
here is the link to how i do them. . .most folks who tried it liked it last year. . ..if need be, i'll be happy to open the 'hotline' for you. ..just shoot me an email. ...[p]max
[ul][li]http://www.nakedwhiz.com/madmaxturkey.htm[/ul]

fishlessman

eggecutioner,
i like to put a bacon herb paste under the skin and then cook at 325-350 following madmax's directions. use a white wine, red will make the gravey purple. for the paste ive included a link, but the cooking directions are too low, cook above 325 or the texture will be rubbery
[ul][li]bacon herb paste[/ul]

Clay Q

Nardi,
Thanks for the great GREAT on turkey. I got a small 11# asleep in the freezer that my wife bought for me to egg up. Between your method and Mad Max's, I'm covered. [p]Like you, I only brine uninjected birds and fresh pork. So much meat at the grocery store is becoming a solution of uniformity to tenderize ect. Bologna! (ballllooowwwneeyyy) I like my food natural and free of additions. [p]My brine is a simple 1 cup kosher pickeling salt, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 1 gal. water, fresh cracked pepper. It is a low salt brine to give me flavor and not, as in the old days, to preserve.[p]Just wondering how you brine and what's your recipe, if you care to share and it's not a guarded secret? )[p]Clay Q

Eggecutioner

Nardi,[p]WOW! Now that is the type of answer I love! Thanks so much! [p]Your fountain of info will be put to good use.[p]Thanks again![p]Joe

Eggecutioner

fishlessman,[p]WOW! does that sound wonderful! I think I'll bee combining all these suggestions! Does it make the skin crisp? Cause I like it that way, not rubbery![p]Thanks
Joe

Eggecutioner

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]That is an all-inclusive answer! I didn't look at the Whiz's site for inspiration, shame on me. Thanks for the info![p]2 more questions:[p]I'm thinking of baking the taters (to later be mashed) in the egg along with the bird. good or bad idea[p]b) I don't think my raoster will fit in the egg, have to try tonight. If it won't, will the inverted setter and a foil pan be sufficient? I will probably be using a v-rack for the bird above the pan.[p]Thanks so much![p]Joe

mad max beyond eggdome

eggecutioner,
for the set up, try out a couple of things before you light up the egg (i actually stuck a basketball in my roasting pan during a test fit to see that it would all work). ..if you use foil pans, i would use 2 or 3 of them one inside the other to create a sufficent thickness so that your 'stuff' won't scorch in the bottom. . .i would also use something to create an air space between the inverted plate setter and pan(s) . . .again see my pictures on how i used the green 'feet' from my eggs to achieve this. .. you could also use some 'balls' of aluminum foil, etc. .. [p]on the taters. ..depends on whether or not you like the smokey flavor. ..i typically boil mine the old fashioned way, but that's just the way we like them. ..if you like potatos done in the egg, then go for it. .. .HTH

fishlessman

mad max beyond eggdome,
dont know if youve tried it, but steaming the potatoes with the skin on and then peeling gives them a better taste IMHO.tried it last tday and will not go back. with rubber gloves on the skin comes right off.

StumpBaby

fishlessman,[p]Rubber Gloves...rubber gloves![p]Shoot..I just cannot believe I didnt think of that...about 2 years ago my wife told me about the tater skins and how the taters taste so much better when they is cooked with the skins on..then peeled. I couldn't prove it either way..truth e tol...cause I burned my fingers sumthin awful peelin them hot taters.. that my poor burnt fingers got more mouth time than anything else..just tryin to cool them off...for 2 full years I couldn't prove them taters was tastier than my fingers (although my wife was the first to declare that they do indeed taste better this way..but I always wondered if they taste better to her cause they taste better..or they taste better to her cause they attacked me an I got hurt makinem).[p]Rubber gloves...rubber-friggen--gloves...why must I be a Stump..why..o...why....[p]
StumpBaby

fishlessman

StumpBaby,
just figured it out myself on st pats day. made colcannon with some double smoked ham and some kale with the potatoes. remembering how hot those taters can be, i tried the gloves. people think im just sitting there drinking my guinness, but some times im thinking AND drinking

Eggecutioner

fishlessman,
Did you steam them in the egg? Or just in a pot?[p]Joe

fishlessman

eggecutioner,
i steam them in a pot , but add smoked ham to them. smoke a smoked ham, then simmer in a weak chicken broth for about 2 hours until the ham is shreddable. add to the potatoes with hot milk. sometimes some boiled kale goes in.lots of butter. this is really good if fried in patties for breakfast.

Unknown

Clay Q,[p]Actually , I usually stick to a simple brine similar to yours myself.. I have tried various others some with more "flavorings" like allspice berries and other herbal accents.. but I pretty much like plain ole kosher salt and brown sugar some pepper and a few crushed cloves of gahlic the best.... I find that I get a lot of flavor from the vegs , apples, ect that i rest the turkey on to make the gravy. Oh, sometimes I'll toss some herbs (Rosemary, thyme, ect) in to the cavity of the bird and into the roasting pan with the cut vegs... that adds some flavor as well... but overall in a pinch salt/sugar/crushed garlic can't do you wrong for most poultry.[p]Cheers, [p]Brian

eggor

<p />eggecutioner,[p]I did my first whole turkey on a turkey sitter last november and ran out of lump before it was finished. then had a problem with the breast meat geting done a lot sooner than the dark meat.[p]this bird also had some issues. first thing was we put it in the fridge on tuesday and by saturday the dang thing was still partially frozen. So i kinda did a ass backward mad max turkey. instead of icing down the partially frozen breast i filled the sink with about 4 inches with hot water to thaw out just the dark meat this took about an hour. which worked out fine since it gave me time to get the egg burning clean(with a full load of lump this time). I also just nuked the butter and added the herbs, when i brushed that on the bird it congealed(sp)on the cold breast and was a lot easier to put on evenly that cold butter. The 20 lbs turkey was done in about 4 hrs dark meat 180 and the breast meat about 165. The skin was pale and rubbery so i tossed it in the oven and turned on the top burner to brown it up, well i kinda burned it a little so i didn't take a pick. as far as the temps it stayed in the 350 to 400 deg dome temp the entire cook.HTH[p]Scott

Eggecutioner

eggor,
So what would you do differently to correct for these issues, or as we like to call them at work "Opportunities"![p]Joe

eggor

eggecutioner,[p]well, first thing would be put the frozen bird in the fridge on monday if you want to cook it on saturday, but in a way that partially frozen bird had its blessings. i figure its much more difficult to cool down just the breast with ice than it is to warm up the dark meat with hot water. Remember that little thing that keeps getting brought up here though, about meat being below 140 for more than four hours, so if you don't want to leave it in the sink or counter much more than an hour or you'll be pushing that 4 hour timeline. I am really convinced that you need to have at least a twenty degree difference between the dark meat and the white meat BEFORE you put it on the egg. To help prevent the rubbery skin, well i've read that if you pat the skin dry and leave in the fridge for a while that will help, so i guess next time i will debag, and remove giblets rinse the bird well and put back in fridge, wait a couple hours then fill sink with hot water about three inches or so. Place the bird in the sink, breast up and wait about twenty minutes before putting on the egg and see how that works.[p]Scott

Eggecutioner

eggor,
Thanks Scott. You just sparked my memory about drying the skin in the fridge.[p]Hope all goes well, I'm a little scared.... LOL[p]Joe