Turkey Day Practice Run (Pics)

War_Eagle_2244 · November 2012

Had to smoke a turkey breast this weekend for a little "practice" before Thanksgiving. Also did Brunswick Stew with some left over pork butt that I've had frozen for a few days.

Rubbed w/ Bad Byron's & brined over night

Smoked w/ Hickory, Pecan & Wicked Good WW

Sliced Up

The stew

"Spoon Test"

Served up with some good ole plain white bread

cazzy · November 2012

Looks great! How was your practice run? Looks good but how did the turkey taste? Juicy?

War_Eagle_2244 · November 2012

Yes, it was very moist & juicy...brining makes all the difference in the world to me. I have done a lot of turkey breasts (this was my first on the egg) and they usually turn good but the brine takes it to another level. I have brined ribs & butts before without a noticeable difference but I'll never do poultry again without brining. Bad Byron's was a very good flavor with the turkey.

jfm0830 · November 2012

There are two of my favorites in one meal! This year will be my first turkey on the Egg and I am looking forward to it very much.

The first time I brined my turkey 4 or 5 years ago I said the same thing. I will never cook another turkey without brining it.

Once again nicely done, I wouldn't know where to start first.

Jim

Buckdodger · November 2012

Stew looks delish and perfect for a meal in this kind of weather. Will have to try the brining thing, how long and your brine recipe ?? WDE

Griffin · November 2012

Congrats on your turkey breast. Stew looks good, but I've never had it before, not really a Texas thing. Would be interested in trying it, though.

War_Eagle_2244 · November 2012

I only brined it for about 12-15 hours & it was frozen when I put it in. I would prefer to do it more like 24 hours but it still made a big difference. I actually did it in the kitchen sink which worked really well. I used vegetable stock (one box/container), kosher salt (about 2 cups), white & brown sugar, a little honey, rosemary, thyme, & sage. Used my emersion blender to mix it really well and added about half a bag of ice.

Griffin, you can’t beat a good Brunswick Stew when it’s done right!

Optiontrader · November 2012

Two great looking cooks. Congrats!

Buckdodger · November 2012

War_Eagle_2244 said:

I only brined it for about 12-15 hours & it was frozen when I put it in. I would prefer to do it more like 24 hours but it still made a big difference. I actually did it in the kitchen sink which worked really well. I used vegetable stock (one box/container), kosher salt (about 2 cups), white & brown sugar, a little honey, rosemary, thyme, & sage. Used my emersion blender to mix it really well and added about half a bag of ice.

Griffin, you can’t beat a good Brunswick Stew when it’s done right!

Thanks for the brine info.

Hillbilly-Hightech · November 2012

Buckdodger said:

War_Eagle_2244 said:

I only brined it for about 12-15 hours & it was frozen when I put it in. I would prefer to do it more like 24 hours but it still made a big difference. I actually did it in the kitchen sink which worked really well. I used vegetable stock (one box/container), kosher salt (about 2 cups), white & brown sugar, a little honey, rosemary, thyme, & sage. Used my emersion blender to mix it really well and added about half a bag of ice.

Griffin, you can’t beat a good Brunswick Stew when it’s done right!

Thanks for the brine info.

I second Buck's "Thank you" because this sounds like something I'm gonna try!!

U_tarded · November 2012

more info on the stew! i gotta try this one

toothpick · November 2012

Wow, looks great. The stew in particular has my mouth watering. Thanks for sharing!

War_Eagle_2244 · November 2012

I found a recipe online & tweeked it until I got it the way I liked it. This is what I came up with. I typically put the meat from an entire butt in the stew. I had a lot of frozen left over that I used for this batch.

Brunswick Stew

Sauce:
In a 2 quart sauce pan, over low heat, melt ¼ cup of butter then add:
1¾ cups Catsup
¼ cup French's Yellow Mustard
¼ cup white vinegar

Blend until smooth, then add:
½ tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ oz. Liquid Smoke
1 oz. Worcestershire Sauce
1 oz. Crystal Hot Sauce or ½ oz. Tabasco
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Blend until smooth, then add:
¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup honey
Stir constantly, increase heat to simmer (DO NOT BOIL) for approx. 10 minutes.
Makes approx. 3½ cups of sauce (set aside - to be added later).

The Stew:
In a 2 gallon pot, over low heat

melt ¼ lb of butter then add
3 cups small diced potatoes (or 1 bag of frozen hash browns)
1 small/medium onion finely chopped
2 14½ oz. cans of chicken stock
Smoked Pork…a lot

Bring to a rolling boil, stirring until potatoes are near done, then add:
2 14½ oz. cans stewed tomatoes
The prepared sauce
1 small bag frozen corn

2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 rolls of frozen creamed corn

Slow simmer for 2 hours

jfm0830 · November 2012

With apologies to War Eagle, I moved the post I had here. There doesn't seem to be a way to delete this post. I was trying to be helpful and share a blog I wrote on brining. But I don't want to hijack his cool thread on two of my favorite foods-brined grill roasted turkey & Brunswick Stew. Here is the link to the relocated post.

nolaegghead · November 2012

Looks like good info, Jim. I will assimilate borg-style tonight. Need to start attendin' to dinnah right about now.

U_tarded · November 2012

thanks for the recipie

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