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Thanksgiving the Naked way

dsmithdsmith Posts: 142
in Poultry
I am going to do my first turkey using the Naked Whiz/Mad Max method.  Any suggestions for this first-timer with this method not outlined on his site?  Also, any feedback on how good I might expect this to come out would be great.

Thanks.
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  • FanOfFanboysFanOfFanboys Posts: 1,195
    Interested too
    Boom
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  • Trailblazer1229Trailblazer1229 Posts: 69
    I did this for the first time last year.  Came out great, but I made one mistake....
    When doing the ice bag on the breast, make sure you pull the turkey out of the fridge and let it warm up on the counter slightly before putting the ice bag on.

    I pulled the turkey out and slapped the ice bags on right away and did  not get enough temperature variation between the breasts and the rest of the bird.  I think you want about a 20 degree difference, so if your ice and breast is close to 34 degrees, the rest of the bird should be higher before you put the bag on to get that separation.
    SmokinBandit
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  • nolaeggheadnolaegghead Posts: 6,040

    Trailblazer1229 said:
    I did this for the first time last year.  Came out great, but I made one mistake....
    When doing the ice bag on the breast, make sure you pull the turkey out of the fridge and let it warm up on the counter slightly before putting the ice bag on.

    I pulled the turkey out and slapped the ice bags on right away and did  not get enough temperature variation between the breasts and the rest of the bird.  I think you want about a 20 degree difference, so if your ice and breast is close to 34 degrees, the rest of the bird should be higher before you put the bag on to get that separation.
    I've never used that technique, but when I was reading the mad max recipe yesterday, and I'm not sure it's clear there,  but I just thought - hell, my refrigerator is 2 degrees above freezing, and ice is at freezing, the dark meat needs to warm up otherwise that's not much of a head start.

    Anyway, good call.
    New Orleans - best food on the planet. Large BGE
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  • Sandi_kSandi_k Posts: 30
    I caught this too - and I have a followup question:

    1) How long do you have the turkey in the oven uncovered to dry out? Is overnight sufficient?

    2) How long would you have to let the turkey come up to temp before icing? 30 minutes? 60 minutes?

    Looking forward to trying something new!
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  • nolaeggheadnolaegghead Posts: 6,040

    Sandi_k said:
    I caught this too - and I have a followup question:

    1) How long do you have the turkey in the oven uncovered to dry out? Is overnight sufficient?

    2) How long would you have to let the turkey come up to temp before icing? 30 minutes? 60 minutes?

    Looking forward to trying something new!
    1) - You mean in the fridge to dry for crispy skin?  Probably overnight - on the other end of the scale, Hillbilly Hightech leaves his birds in the fridge uncovered, I think he said for up to a week, and he said he hasn't died yet.  Stike the rotten meat expert probably would identify the molds growing on his and how well they hold smoke....

    2) Like I said, I haven't done this technique before and I feel a little silly commenting on it, but it makes sense that you let the legs get at least 20F warmer than the iced breast since you want them done at 180 versus breast at 160 (20F difference).   I don't know how long that would take, but if you have a Thermapen - the core (inside temp) of the thigh versus the breast are good indicators - take measurements and when it's ready, it's ready.
    New Orleans - best food on the planet. Large BGE
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  • Little StevenLittle Steven Posts: 20,852
    dsmith said:
    I am going to do my first turkey using the Naked Whiz/Mad Max method.  Any suggestions for this first-timer with this method not outlined on his site?  Also, any feedback on how good I might expect this to come out would be great.

    Thanks.
    Just so we're clear, TNW had nothing to do with this method. It is entirely Mad Max's. TNW provided the cyberspace
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  • Sandi_kSandi_k Posts: 30
    Nola, thanks for the response. YES, I meant uncovered in the FRIDGE - thanks for the catch. I'm not anxious to kill us all. 

    :))

    So, FWIW, I cleaned the bird tonight, patted it dry, s&P on the skin, and back in the fridge on the rack. Tomorrow I figure pull it out, 30 mins. to bring it up to room temp, then an additional 20 mins with the ice bags.

    Gonna be fun!
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  • GoodyGoody Posts: 102
    Great way of doing Thanksgiving Turkey. I highly recommend as others above have stated. The gravy is awesome as Max notes in the recipe. My only suggestion as a first timer is as you start the gravy process, get a willing helper. It really is simple but there are a lot of steps that happen somewhat quickly for a first timer, as I found out my first time. There is a learning curve to it and I found my second time through it was much easier to do as someone helped my by talking through the steps as I focused on the execution.

    I am sure it will turn out great and you will be the hit of Thanksgiving dinner!
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  • js9375js9375 Posts: 3
    I'm using the Naked Whiz method - Wish me luck...
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    henapple
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  • AviatorAviator Posts: 685

    @js9375, Why the double drip pan set up?

    And, for what its worth, I always stick the probe in halfway through the cook.

    But its all good. Have a few of the ole nasty and all will be well in eggland

     Large and Small BGE

    And all the toys to make me look like a Gizmo Chef.

    >:)

     

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  • AleBrewerAleBrewer Posts: 555
    I left my bird in the fridge overnight, uncovered to dry out a bit. Also pulled it out for about 40 min before icing the breast.

    It's been in for an hour now, and looking really good!

    Just got back from a ride on the bike, so it's time to crack a beer. Enjoying a Rye IPA from the Portsmouth Brewery.

    Hope your birds all turn out well!
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  • js9375js9375 Posts: 3
    Trying to go for the panful of water (heat barrier) he mentions...  I usually dont use a water pan but was concerned about drying it out, again never have had a problem with dryness but I was going for Whiz authenticity.  My problem is, my aluminum pan is not gonna match his 80 yr old pot when it comes to making the rouxe(sp)...
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  • js9375js9375 Posts: 3
    So I scraped all the crud out of the cheap aluminum pan into a 4qt sauce pan, then followed the gravy instructions (just not in the original pan)...  I have to say it was the best turkey ever.  The apple/turkey aroma was amazing.  Hope ya'll had a good one... 
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