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Obligatory Pre-Thanksgiving Ultimate Turkey Thread

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edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Okay, so football season is getting under way, school busses abound, and the kids have lost all interest in the swimming pool. Must be getting close to Thanksgiving.[p]BTW - Who the hell am I? Long-time lurker, long-time egger but have never posted. 38, four kids, software programmer, fly-fisherman, woodworker, aspiring cook, diaper-changer extraordinaire. [p]So Anyway.....[p]I have the Turkey duty this year. I'm leaning toward a honey-brined, have read Mad Max, searched the forums but still looking for every scrap of info I can find and am looking for advice on making the "Ultimate Thanksgiving Turkey which leaves everyone thinking they will never achieve my level of greatness and will shower me with gifts" kind of thing.[p]I would assume it would be some kind of brined / rubbed combo. [p]Also hoping to achieve forum greatnes by starting the "turkey thread for the ages"... whoops, better lay off the coffee.[p]Suggestions, observations, sage words of wisdom?[p]-Russell
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,776
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    SeeRockCity,
    its all about the gravy, max's approach will give you the best tasting gravey. white wine for traditional, red wine for purple gravey. the purple gravey will keep people talking about it for a long time : )
    jappledog has a great turkey brine
    [ul][li]brine[/ul]
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • EddieMac
    EddieMac Posts: 423
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    I love cooking stuff on the BGE..and I have had reasonably good experiences with Turkey....Nothing too fancy but pretty darned good....BUT....I'm deep-frying our Turkey(s) this year....just like I have for the past 4 years.....I inject mine with Cuban Mojo (Moe-Hoe) sauce....two days before I drop 'em in the peanut oil....And they come out great....really great....and yes....everyone thinks they can never achieve this level of greatness.....well...maybe not everyone....[p]Ed McLean...eddiemac
    Ft. Pierce, FL

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  • randomegger
    randomegger Posts: 194
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    SeeRockCity,[p]Last year we sold one of our smaller, less productive children and bought a turducken to share with the remainder of the family. It definitely had a 'wow' factor but did not require the hands on prep work that you might be looking for.[p]And I'm just kidding about selling one of my kids. It was actually one of the neighbors'...[p]RE
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  • irishrog
    irishrog Posts: 375
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    randomegger,
    take it a step further this year and prepare your own turducken. I prepped my own for Christmas last year, and got great satisfaction from the finished product. You can also control exactly what goes into the turkey, stuffing etc.etc.
    Roger

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  • Steeler Fan
    Steeler Fan Posts: 395
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    irishrog, how do you debone those babies ? I mean a chicken is hard enough, but then a duck and then the turkey. I'm thinking that will take all day, is there an easy method or am I not seeing the whole picture?

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    Yes, I've heard this before. I've been meaning to look into this. If nothing else, the equipment can be converted to a geranium pot or spittoon after the holiday.

    Then again, I'm concerned I wouldn't be able to stop myself from trying to fry stuff.... It might become an addiction.

    -r
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    Now we're talkin'

    Thanks!
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    How much did you get? This has crossed my mind.

    A Turducken? Oh, the humanity.

    -r
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  • Eggecutioner
    Eggecutioner Posts: 628
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    eddiemac,[p]wow WOW wow. I love that mojo I can't get enough of it. I have never thought of doing it in a bird. OMG I HAVE to do this. I think I might start small. Like soaking chicken wings for a couple days.[p]E

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  • Eggtuary
    Eggtuary Posts: 400
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    SeeRockCity,
    Did you notice that your posts on the .net site are in regular script, but your posts on the .com are in bold? Well, those posts on the .com site show up in both places, but those on the .net site only show up here. I thought I'd better warn you, in case you wonder why people who browse only on the .com site (which is most of the veterans) aren't seeing your posts.

    Welcome to the forum (even though you've been lurking for a long time.)
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  • billt
    billt Posts: 225
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    SeeRockCity,
    My best advice is to try a couple of turkeys or turkey breasts before the holidays to find out what YOU like. I have always had good luck with the basics (EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary on a vertical roaster with pecan smoke). I've done a lot of chickens, etc. with Dizzy Pig but not turkey. I think I'm gonna lay a Tsumani Spin on one soon. Good luck and keep posting.
    Bill
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  • BabyBoomBBQ
    BabyBoomBBQ Posts: 703
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    SeeRockCity,[p]Here's one I did using jappledog's brine fishlessman mentioned. I thought it was one of the best birds I've ever tasted and the best tasting one I've made. I found the gravey dissapointing. Perhaps it was too much pecan smoke in the drippings.[p]jappledogbird1.jpg[p]jappledogbird2.jpg[p]For the big day last year, I did a Madmax turkey.[p]tdaybird2005.jpg[p][p]Here's the gravey.[p]madmaxgravey.jpg[p]This year, I'm not sure what I'll do for the big day. I know I'll do at least one jappledog bird and a mad max bird during the dry runs. I usually do two or three. That way, I know I'll get the flavor I want if I have to give in to others desires on the big day. Gee that never happens huh?
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  • Eric
    Eric Posts: 83
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    SeeRockCity,[p]A buddy of mine who owns a Q-shack down the street does smoked & fried turkeys as special order items for the holidays. He rubs bird w/ his fav rub, smokes the bird for about 2 hours then into the fryer where he cooks it for 3.5 min per lb at 350 deg oil temp. Don't think he injects but that is just a matter of per pref.[p]ECW
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,776
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    BabyBoomBBQ ,
    make up as much gravey from mad max's recipe as possible, it freezes well. i dont much care for gravey from the brined bird, but i think max's gravey would go good on it. i usually have the gravey made ahead of time so i dont have to rush before dinner, and then after i make the gravey for next time. works for me as i dont like to rush
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
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    BabyBoomBBQ ,
    I think the fat in the gravy absorbs the smoke, after a couple trys I've quit adding any smoke wood with turkeys when I'm going to make gravy. Even then there is a distinct smoke flavor in the gravy, but it is a pleasant one. -RP
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  • BabyBoomBBQ
    BabyBoomBBQ Posts: 703
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    fishlessman,[p]That's great advise that I'll follow this year! [p]Thank you!
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  • Chef Wil
    Chef Wil Posts: 702
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    SeeRockCity,
    your search is over, MAD MAX is the answer, BAR NONE !!!
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  • Unknown
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    Steeler Fan,
    deboning a duck or turkey is same as a chicken--just bigger and takes longer. the only advice i can give is get yourself a SHARP boning knife and be patient as you work.
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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    Chef Wil,[p]Thanks, I've read that a couple of times. It does look good. Right now, that's probably the front-runner.

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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    BabyBoomBBQ ,[p]That looks great! Just what I was hoping for. [p]
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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    Bill,[p]Thanks, but I was hoping to at least narrow it down to a short list of 5-10 options. My wife will only tolerate so much turkey... ;)[p]

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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    randomegger,[p]How much did you get? Just err....curious.

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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    eddiemac,[p]As I posted on the new site forum (sorry, didn't know the rules). I'm concerned that, if I were to buy the gear for this, I'd get addicted to frying things....
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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    fishlessman,[p]That looks awesome... a front runner I think.

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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    Citizen Q,
    everyone was a newb. and there's always someone who's been here longer or knows more about the egg than we each think we do.[p]give the dude a break.[p]not a stupid question, since some folks do a test turkey-cook a month or two in advance
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    SeeRockCity,
    it may be the front runner, but frankly, there isn't any other write-up for turkey on the egg like that. if you want other approaches to consider, it'd have to be adapted from another source.[p]i'd recommend his too, especially if it's your first turkey on the egg. simply because too much wackiness with rub and smoke and brine etc. reduces the turkey to a bit player. max's recipe is straightforward, and it's pretty close to a 'classic' cook. in the egg, turkey is much much better than in the electric oven. it is so good, it doesn't need all sorts of things to rescue it, and in my opinion, none of that adds to the turkey, but would take away from it.[p]try hi method on a turkey breast this month maybe, and see.[p]
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    stike,[p]Thanks for the advice. I think I'll follow it. I've got a couple of months to experiment.

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  • SeeRockCity
    SeeRockCity Posts: 31
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    Thanks to everyone who responded. I have a pretty clear picture of the overall body of knowledge on the topic and therefore can make the most of my experimentation time.[p]Actually I've been cooking on the egg for ten years but have never done a turkey. [p]-r
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,776
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    SeeRockCity,
    one thing to note with turkeys is times. evry setup seems to yield different times per pound, use your polder, sometimes they cook fast
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    stike,
    Hey man, I'm just making a joke. If he was asking about the best method to cook a Labor Day turkey, you wouldn't have heard a peep out of me.
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