need help.......was asked to make a turkey for sunday

mikeb6109

as being only a newbie going on 3 months. i never cooked a turkey on the egg yet.so my sister and her fiance are coming from toronto and i guess my parents are planning a big super pot luck and i was volontered to cook a turkey on the egg!!! from past supers for my parents like chicken , roasts , steaks.....they are expecting a great result. but i never tried a big cook like that yet, so i need all the help i need to make this a success...........looked into brinning first is this a must? does this give good results? PLEASE help me out
thanks mike

WessB

mikeb6109,
You can see a picumentary of one of my turkey cooks on my website, in the cooks section....I have brined mine every time I have made them so I cant really say what the difference would be...Everyone loved the ones I have made though.[p]Wess
[ul][li]WessB`s[/ul]

Unknown

mikeb6109,[p]Take a deep breath and know that everything is going to be great. We just volunteered to cook 4 turkeys for Thanksgiving this year. Brining is good, but not necessary...especially for your first bird. My husband is the better cook and so I will ask him for some advice for you. I know he injected the first bird we did on our BGE. Besides the fact that you don't want to put stuffing on the grill, you can basically use whatever seasoning you have used in the past. Use the BGE like you would your oven. It will be wonderful. Congrats in advance for rising to the challenge!

fishlessman

mikeb6109,
the mad max turkey recipe makes the best gravy you will ever taste. its all about the gravy. make sure to monitor the internal temps as different setups yeild different times. red wine makes the gravy purple, i like that, others dont
[ul][li]mad max turkey[/ul]

mikeb6109

WessB,
thanks wess i had your page already bookmarked but had not checked turkey cooking yet!thanks.this was an indirect cook right?and you started at 375 but then it dropped to 275 was this planned or just let go to that temp?i beleive the turkey that i'm cooking is around the 20 some odd pounds.but they want it for sunday and your cook prep took many days......can i brine for only 24 hours? i have the big green egg forumrecipes cook book and there is a brine section in there?? they mention to be carefull for the salty results depending on time? anyhows will be posting replys and checking , researching all day today so i can get this bird ready for sunday night super! thanks a million !
mike

mikeb6109

man beeing an egger is a great feeling!!!!!!!!!!
ask a question and the peaple are there for ya!!!gotta love this great big egg familly!!!
love ya all !!!! :cheer:
mikeb6109

BajaTom

WessB,
I looked at your picumentary about turkey. I have one question. When you put the bird on your dome temp was 375 after 2 hours when you rotated your dome temp was 275. What temp did you go after for the rest of the cook? Thanks, Tom

stormyddog

Mike you should be able to get away with your brine for 24hours. I did mine for 36 and my family thought it was the best bird they had ever had (remember to was the bird when you take it out of the brine). The real key is to monitor the breast and thigh temp and take the bird off when they hit their desired temp. The good thing about a bird your size is that if it is ready hours before, you will be able to wrap it foil and keep the heat. The cook temp was likely done to slow down the cook time, I usually cook mine at 350.
Good Luck, wherebouts r you located?
Stormy

mikeb6109

i'm located in new brunswick ,canada.
thanks for the instructions only one question can not make out what you are saying in the parenteses.
thanks mikeb6109

WessB

Bajatom,
As I said in the picumentary...the bird was so close to the thermometer that I didn`t trust it any longer. I just left the vents set where they were for the 375°[p]Wess

Unknown

WessB,
Thanks, Tom

WessB

mikeb6109,
As I said in the picumentary...the bird was so close to the thermometer that I didn`t trust it any longer. I just left the vents set where they were for the 375°...what the thermometer was reading was cooler due to being so close to the cold turkey.....I am no brining expert by any means, but I see no reason why you cant get away with only 24 hours....mine didn`t come out tasting salty at all...HTH[p]Wess

mikeb6109

GREAT ....LOVE THE QUICK RESPONSE!!
JUST CALLED MY MOM TO ASK HOW BIG IS THE TURKEY AND ITS 11 POUNDS,SO THE COOKE TIME SHOULD BE ? AND THE TEMP ?
THANKS MIKEB6109

BYC

mikeb6109,[p]Don't freak....a turkey is just about as easy as it gets. [p]Grab an 8 pounder (breast only is best after all who really eats turkey legs after thanksgiving??) and just lay her in there at 325 for about 2.5 hours or 160 degrees. Also I find the pop ups to be accurate. Drip pan and wood chips/chunks are optional. Personally I like a combination of any two woods as long as one is mesquite. Take the bird off and let rest for 20 minutes...After 20 minutes I usually glaze mine with a combination of sourwood honey and Tennessee sunshine and tiger sauce...waaa laaa

QBabe

mikeb6109,[p]Here's one I've been doing for a couple of years now, and it's always a huge hit. [p]I did several without brining, before I started using this recipe, and in my opinion it's much better and well worth the effort to brine. 24 hours is just fine. [p]Tonia
:~)[p]
[ul][li]QBabe's Maple Brined Turkey[/ul]

Moni-Q

mikeb6109,[p]What size Egg do you have?[p]I have a small, and I've been vertical roasting 8-pound chickens (aka beer can chicken, but with a store-bought vertical roaster).[p]The Egg has produced *spectacular* birds, with nothing more than some liquid in the center, and a bit of rub on the outside. What impressed me the most was how moist the breast meat (usually dry) turned out.[p]My husband is so impressed he's already told me that for Thanksgiving this year he wants a BGE-cooked turkey.[p]
By the way - I cook the birds at 275-300F for 3-4 hours.[p][p]Just a suggestion.[p][p][p]Monica