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

23lb & 14lb Birds - With Travel Sucess

My aunt picked up a 23lb turkey and asked if I would be interested in cooking it on the egg. (Score!) My mom also asked if I could pick up a smaller turkey for a couple extra guests that were coming. So I picked up an extra 14lb turkey at Sams. (Turkey was $0.99 cents a pound with an additional $3 instant rebate. Our 14lb turkey cost us a whopping $11! So I picked up a couple turkeys for the freezer. Score!) 

I went with coffee rub again this year as I enjoyed it the last couple year's on my turkeys. I decided to ground down my own ancho chili peppers for the recipe. I also ground down my coffee beans. So I got the rub prepped a few days prior.

I lit the XL at 6:45am to get everything stabilized by 7:30. The 23 lb. turkey went on the XL. I lit the large egg at 9:00am to get the 14 lb turkey on by 9:30. The goal was to finish the turkeys at noon and be to my aunts by 12:30.

I was very tempted to crack beers at 7:30am after the first turkey went on. Life was good. I cleaned the large and XL the night before and did all the prep work beforehand. No stress what so ever. All I had to do was put the turkeys on at the right time and let the eggs do their thing. I held out on the beers. Tempting though.  

I started checking internal temps around 11am for any surprise readings. Everything looked good. I pulled the turkeys off about 11:50. Both turkeys were reading in the 150's. Sweet!!! The biggest worries was getting them to finish around the same time. Everything worked perfect for timing. Whoo!!!

I foiled around the drip pan and over the turkey. I tried to keep the tinfoil loose around the turkey while placing a towel around it. 5 minutes after they were pulled off the egg we were driving to my aunts house. Wham bam thank you ma'am. We were gone!!!

The turkey was still hot 30 minutes later. Uncomfortable hot when cutting and grabbing the turkey. So a big thanks again for all the suggestions on how to travel with a turkey. It definitely stayed hot!

The turkey itself was very good. I was a little worried I used too much rub. To be honest I think I should have used a little more. It didn't have the flavor profile of rub like it had last year. I'm tempted to add more under the skin halfway through the cook to see if I can get more of a punch for flavor. I still have my wife's side thanksgiving in a few weeks. I'll do some more playing around with the rub. The smoke profile was excellent. I never remember what I did the year before. A small handful of apple and pecan chunks seemed about right.

Overall a very successful thanksgiving. Family and friends make the day and good food only helps it. Thanksgiving rocks!!! =)

"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

Minnesota

Comments

  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    Looks great! Thanks for the travel report, I'm sure it will come in handy at some point.
    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
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    Beer fridge was getting a work-out with those turkeys.  Great cook and result. I'm sure they won the day.  BTW, I am in your camp whenever possible, get the BGE and food prep work done early and then enjoy the cook.
    And no worries regarding the beers-
    My house rules; light the BGE-time for a beer, food on-time for a beer and then as appropriate for the requisite supervisory attention.  YMMV.  ;)
    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.
  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    Looks like a overwhelming success my friend. The grub looks spot on. Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • smbishop
    smbishop Posts: 3,053
    Looking good!
    Southlake, TX and Cowhouse Creek - King, TX.  2 Large, 1 Small and a lot of Eggcessories.
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    @DMW Thanks! I could have gone an hour plus before worrying about temperature 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    @lousubcap Thanks! I like your drinking rules. My two beers can turn into 12 pretty quickly! =) I did have have some whiskey helpings after turkey. ;)
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    @SGH Thanks! Thanksgiving was great. Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving as well
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    @smbishop Very much appreciated!
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota