Turkey vs Jeepster ... fought to a draw

Jeepster47

The missus said if I cooked another chicken, she was going to see a divorce lawyer.  So, with Thanksgiving coming up, a visit to Walmart was in order for a small (10.3lb) Butterball turkey.  With only four weeks of experience on the BGE, the idea was to keep the first turkey cook simple.  A Butterball turkey with no brining seemed a perfect start.  The missus prep'ed the turkey ... instructions to her were to do what ever you do at Thanksgiving.

Mangled an aluminum pan to fit around an over-sized v-rack that would JUST fit into the large egg.  Here's the obligatory picture of what it looked like before the match began:


The set up was one large BGE w/ platesetter, RO lump, standard grate and the turkey.  Maverick temp monitor for both grate and thigh temps.  Here's what I learned:

1) There are good reasons for cooking with the turkey face down on the grill.  Unfortunately, taking a rectal temperature is the only reading that's easy to obtain after the bird is in the egg.  And, what with the deep grooves across the breast the the visual appeal on the table is lacking.  So, won't do that again.

2) Aligned the dome thermometer so that 325 degrees was straight up.  That allowed a quick visual check through the window without having to resort to binoculars ... windchill was 0 degrees last night.  That will be a "to do" move from now on.

3) Have enough feel for the egg now that I could bring the temp up quickly without an overshoot.  Brought it up to about 180 with all vents wide open. Closed the daisy wheel (with petals wide open) and closed the bottom vent to a little wider than estimated for target temp of 325 degrees.  Watched the temp rise and tweaked the bottom vent to bring it in a little short of target temp.  Let it burn for another 15 minutes to assure myself that it was dialed in correctly.  Feel comfortable with this approach, so will keep doing it.

4) Placed the bird in the egg, added the grate temp probe, and didn't change any vent setting.  Hmmm ... sure was slow coming back to target temp on the dome thermometer. Sat on my hands and didn't fiddle with the settings though ... liquor would have helped right about here ... in me not the bird.  When the temp stabilized the dome was at 300 (attributed that to the fact that the cold bird was right below the dome thermometer) and the grate was at 400.  Decided that the bird was probably somewhere in between those two temps so left the vents alone for most of the cook. 

Since I was still cooking at the 3 hour mark, it seems like the temp should have been set higher.  It retrospect, the grate probe should have been raised to mid-bird level and shielded behind one of the platesetter legs.  Good to keep in mind when trying out the DigiQ.

BTW: The dome temp never varied more than 10 degrees from the 300 degree reading, while the grate temp varied upwards of 30 degrees during the cook.

5) A little bit before the three hour point the temp started to fall off gradually.  Had to tweak the top and bottom vents open more and more to keep the temp up ... didn't want to take the daisy wheel off since it was snowing at that point.  Finally ended up with the daisy wheel and the bottom vent fully open and the temp below target.  A peek inside showed a nice hot bed of coals, but an autopsy this morning showed that I almost ran out of charcoal.  Okay, that's a beginner's mistake that only adds a few points to my village idiot position.  Next time I'll fill to the *&%$ fire ring.

6) Since the thigh was at 171 when the egg temp started to fall, I pulled the bird and put it in the oven to top off the temp.  If I would have rushed the bird in the house and covered it, it probably would have been okay.  But, I think all the futzing for a few more degrees simply contributed to drying out the meat.

The final product was okay ... not what you'd serve to your boss, but good enough for family.  Very good in sandwiches for lunch this afternoon, so no harm no fowl foul.  The bird scored some points in it's match-up, but didn't keep me down for the count ... so I'd call it a draw.  I'll be looking for a rematch after the left overs are eaten.

Any obvious lessons I should have learned?

Mattman3969

I think you covered the bases pretty good. I would have let the egg stabilize for at least 30-45 mins, this you make your initial recovery time quicker but in today's cook would have caused you to run out of lump sooner in the cook. You already said more lump and breast up. You got it!!!

dldawes1

Grate temp probe position should be over a platesetter leg to shield from the direct heat. It is normal for the grate temp to gradually rise to meet the dome temp after several hours of cooking. If grate temp probe is positioned too close to the food, the temp will read cooler due to the cool temp of the food. 

Lump level should usually be to the top of the fire bowl....I sometimes go to the top of the fire ring....all the way to the PS when I am going for a long slow and low cook .

Sounds exactly like my first few cooks...you've got it dude...keep on smoking !!!

Mattman3969

Good eye on the grid probe @dldawes1.

theyolksonyou

Sounds like you learned a few lessons and you'll be better next time. That's what it's all about. Just keep trying and tweaking. Nice detail.

RRP

Tom aka @Jeepster47

With the size bird and size of your egg what I say following would not make a difference, but in the future with bigger birds it will. As a for instance to date my largest turkey in my large egg has been a 25+ pounder. At that size you run the risk of impaling the bird with the dome thermometer. Not only does impaling it run the risk of BAD readings but more a problem of bending your thermometer's probe. Secret is to remove that spring clip inside the dome and THROW it in the trash after removal since gravity will hold that in place! Then in the future with larger birds you can pull out the thermometer, insert that BIG bird or BIG ham, close the dome and then re-insert the dome thermometer. Obviously if you sense resistance you will know it rather than to keep trying to kick your dome reading higher and higher only to discover after it is too late that the probe was buried in a 40 degree bird! Make sense?

blind99

Looks like you're off to a great start! if you need extra space, squeeze the drip pan between the plate setter and the grid and do the turkey right on the grid. Truss it so it doesn't come out looking like it was hit by your jeep. (And put a few pebbles between the drip pan and plate setter and some liquid in the pan so things don't scorch)

WeberWho

Jeepster47 said:

The missus said if I cooked another chicken, she was going to see a divorce lawyer.

That's a green light for a $200 dry aged primal ribeye. Tell her the phone call to the lawyer would have cost more. I bet she likes chicken a whole lot more!

RRP

WeberWho? said:

The missus said if I cooked another chicken, she was going to see a divorce lawyer.

That's a green light for a $200 dry aged primal ribeye. Tell her the phone call to the lawyer would have cost more. I bet she likes chicken a whole lot more!

LOL but I dry age my own for a lot cheaper than that...but that's a whole 'nother thread!

WeberWho

RRP said:

WeberWho? said:

Jeepster47 said:

The missus said if I cooked another chicken, she was going to see a divorce lawyer.

That's a green light for a $200 dry aged primal ribeye. Tell her the phone call to the lawyer would have cost more. I bet she likes chicken a whole lot more!

LOL but I dry age my own for a lot cheaper than that...but that's a whole 'nother thread!



Yes sir. Spare beer fridge is my friend in more was than one

Jeepster47

Thanks for the suggestions and the positive feedback. 

Got to admit that pictures of cooks from the long time eggers is a little intimidating.  Reading comments like "Sounds exactly like my first few cooks" is encouraging.

theyolksonyou

Don't worried about pics. Guys like tarheelmatt and hapster are photography buffs. It's another hobby. Most of us use crappy cell phones, I think.

Jeepster47

theyolksonyou said:

Don't worried about pics. Guys like tarheelmatt and hapster are photography buffs. It's another hobby. Most of us use crappy cell phones, I think.

Oh it's not the pictures that are intimidating.  Both my kids are photo buffs ... they can make a single weed look like a well tended flower garden.  It's the fact that the long timers are cooking meat, vegetables, desert and warming the baby's formula all on the egg ... and timing it so that it's all at temp at meal time.  Can't decide whether to clap or cuss at their efforts.

Me. Right now it's only the meat and the schedule is "we'll eat some time this evening ... maybe."

ChicagoEgghead20

@Jeepster47 - I've been down to Washington a time or two, used to have a friend who lived there and one in Morton.  Still contemplate making the drive down for some pumpkin donuts every year.

blind99

Jeepster47 said:

theyolksonyou said:

Don't worried about pics. Guys like tarheelmatt and hapster are photography buffs. It's another hobby. Most of us use crappy cell phones, I think.

Oh it's not the pictures that are intimidating.  Both my kids are photo buffs ... they can make a single weed look like a well tended flower garden.  It's the fact that the long timers are cooking meat, vegetables, desert and warming the baby's formula all on the egg ... and timing it so that it's all at temp at meal time.  Can't decide whether to clap or cuss at their efforts.

Me. Right now it's only the meat and the schedule is "we'll eat some time this evening ... maybe."

No worries - the pros here are at another level, but it's cool to steal their ideas and learn new recipes and techniques!  I've been cooking and baking since I was a kid, but I've never been excited about it until I got the egg and started reading the posts here.  I personally love seeing even simple cooks, like a lone steak or a few wings, because that's what I do most of the time.  I always learn something new, so post your cooks!