Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Ballotine turkey

I have been wanting to try this for a while. This is boned out per the Pepin technique and stuffed with a wild rice/bread traditional stuffing. It was fresh and weighed about 17 lbs before surgery. The bones were roasted for flavour and we have a delicious stock for gravy and soup. I air dried the bird for 24 hrs in the fridge. Unfortunately my wife won't let me put it on the egg this time, that would just be too many variables, but this is an experiment. I have done chickens this way but never a turkey. Not sure if I want to go low and slow (275 for a while) or kick up the heat. Not really sure what the cooking time will be? imageimage
In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 

Comments

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    I did two for Canadian Thanksgiving and went with 325. They were awesome but cooked very quickly.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • GlennM
    GlennM Posts: 1,358
    How long did they take and did you use bread stuffing?
    In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    I did one dark meat and one all white with no stuffing. Just some eggs a a binder. They were completely deboned. I didn't really time them but at most they took half the time. I guess it takes longer to heat bone than meat. I didn't weigh them after deboning sorry. I would guess it would be 8 or 9 minutes a pound of original weight. They were really good and sliced beautifully.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,452
    edited January 2015
    Happy New Year!

    That's a beautiful bird!  Great stitching!  For Christmas I debated between ballotine turkey and chefstep's, ended up with chepstep's partly because I wasn't sure about what stuffing to use for ballotine, would love to get some ideas for bulk stuffing recipes from anyone.  For the 17.5lb bird the the breast was done at 250F in the oven till IT 145-150 (took about three hours), then cranked up to 475 for the finish.   

    Picked up three 17-lb'ish birds after Christmas, all defrosting now.  Planned to divide them up for ground turkey, ready-to-sv roulades, breast-only etc., then freeze all for future... love my chamber sealer!
    canuckland
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    Anyone who can debone a turkey gets full marks from me (like that means anything...) but I applaud the acceptance of the challenge and the deliverance of the goods.  BTW-I have successfully followed the Pepin wrestling match with a chix but that's the minors.  Happy New Year!
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    Props!!! =D>
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    I did one dark meat and one all white with no stuffing. Just some eggs a a binder. They were completely deboned. I didn't really time them but at most they took half the time. I guess it takes longer to heat bone than meat. I didn't weigh them after deboning sorry. I would guess it would be 8 or 9 minutes a pound of original weight. They were really good and sliced beautifully.
    How do you remove all of the sliver bones from the drumsticks on a turkey?
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    edited January 2015
    lousubcap said:
    Anyone who can debone a turkey gets full marks from me (like that means anything...) but I applaud the acceptance of the challenge and the deliverance of the goods.  BTW-I have successfully followed the Pepin wrestling match with a chix but that's the minors.  Happy New Year!
    I've only tried this on a duck, and while it wasn't bad, I was less than enamored with the potato, apple, and cheese stuffiing recipe I used.

    Anyone ever try deboning a Cornish Game hen?  I'm wondering if it is harder or easier than a chicken due to it's size.
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,452
    edited January 2015
    Zmokin said:
    How do you remove all of the sliver bones from the drumsticks on a turkey?
    Apology to Glenn for thread jacking.
    @Smokin - this video shows how.
    I followed this recipe for our Christmas turkey, very happy with the results. For the first time, we had leftover breast but the leg roulades, includidng drumsticks, were gobbled completely!  (btw the breast was great and juicy too)
    image
    canuckland
  • GlennM
    GlennM Posts: 1,358
    Ours is stuffed with bread, onions (diced), white rice, wild rice, celery, red/green/yellow peppers, garlic powder, celery salt, s/p, poultry seasoning and melted butter. It was a lot harder than a chicken due to the size
    In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Zmokin said:
    I did one dark meat and one all white with no stuffing. Just some eggs a a binder. They were completely deboned. I didn't really time them but at most they took half the time. I guess it takes longer to heat bone than meat. I didn't weigh them after deboning sorry. I would guess it would be 8 or 9 minutes a pound of original weight. They were really good and sliced beautifully.
    How do you remove all of the sliver bones from the drumsticks on a turkey?
    The ones that were in the turkey I just left. The ones from the other one I did on the cutting board.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    Very impressive bird trussing skills :) Can't wait to see what it looks like sliced up.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,458
    All right, you guys have pushed me over the edge! I got a new set of knives for Christmas, finally found some twine in this Podunk town and I'm gonna debone a bird. I'll start with yard bird, but by god I'm doing it. These look fun and tasty!
  • GlennM
    GlennM Posts: 1,358
    edited January 2015
    Well, this will be the only way I will cool
    A turkey from now

    imageimage<img
    In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 
  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    GlennM said:
    Well, this will be the only way I will cook A turkey from now on !! image
    Hmm, you've given me food for thought.  I was thinking of spatchcocking next year's Thanksgiving Day bird, but now I'm wondering if I should Ballotine it instead.  That way I can still fill the bird with my traditional stuffing instead of baking the stuffing in a separate dish.
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
  • CPARKTX
    CPARKTX Posts: 2,095
    Very nicely carved and plated @Canugghead‌. @GlennM‌ that looks great, tell me more about how you deboned it...
    LBGE & SBGE.  Central Texas.  
  • Your wife won't let you put it on the egg? Who wears the pants in the family ? Same as mine man. Nice cook. And you know what MY wife keeps in her purse :-@
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    Nice! I have a turkey in the freezer from Thanksgiving sales. This may be it's destiny.

    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
  • GlennM
    GlennM Posts: 1,358
    I did it exactly like the Pepin video. It is a little harder to do but same technique
    In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 
  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    @Zsmokin: I always do game hens. They are plenty big for two people. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • BearQ
    BearQ Posts: 174
    That my friend is awesome ! Something I hope to aspire to.
    Barrie,Ont.,Canada.
  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
    edited January 2015
    Excellent work, I did one for Thanksgiving and it turned out great. I stuffed it with a wild boar and turkey sausage. You'll have to do it on the egg though next time ;) 

    Dunedin, FL
  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    jlsm said:
    @Zsmokin: I always do game hens. They are plenty big for two people. 
    Cool, I'm thinking of doing 2 hens for a family of 3.  I've done some recipe googling and have decided to stuff mine with a rice pilaf of sorts.
    I haven't decided if I'll Egg 'em or Oven Roast.  That decision will be made the day I actually make them, but the hens are now on the grocery list.
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line