Wild Turkey

Painter · December 2001

My co-worker brought to work a wild turkey for me to cook on the egg for him, as I brag to much sometimes. I offered to cook and when I opened the package at home it was a skinless boneless breast and thighs. Never done a wild bird, but figgerin they are lean stuff I brined it with a little oriental flavor, (ginger, soy, garlic, onion) with the sugar-salt brine measurements. My concern was the lack of skin for protection of drying out, so I wrapped in it in cheese cloth and saturated the cloth with olive oil. Not sure what temp to shoot for but am thinking 165* inderect. Dome is at 325 and am not using smoke on this. Will post results later tommorrow as this will be taken to work for sandwiches. Wish me luck. Any tips on this setup will be seriously taken into into account.
Painter

Jethro · December 2001

Painter,[p]Did you consider in a goblet over cracked ice?[p]Sorry couldn't resist, look forward to hearing your results.[p]Jethro

J Appledog · December 2001

Hey, Painter, did he shoot it or run it over? I have seen more turkeys this year than in the last 15 put together.... JCA

Painter · December 2001

Julie, Geez, I didn't ask but I assumed he shot it, but looking at the amount of meat he gave me, he either shot one freshly hatched or blew the he!! out of it. LOL I think I got about 4 lbs of meat to cook. A normal hunt around here produces them over ten pounds on the small side.
Pntr

Spin · December 2001

Painter,[p]I may be too late to offer any timely advice (and will get blasted by those that say it cannot work), but cooking the skinless bird at 225-250°F will provide a much juicier result; albeit a longer cooking time. Cook it indirect over only a drip pan with quartered fruit pieces in the pan and using a generous quantity of liquid in the pan also (1/2-3/4 inch or so). I would suggest onion, orange, apple, and/or pineapple for the quartered pieces and fruit juices for the liquid. Mix and match to your pleasure, the mixture will only slightly flavor the meal.[p]The theory of the cook is simple and works. The goal of a cook is to raise the meat temperature to a point that is considered safe to consume. Meat dries as it cooks because the air around the meat can absorb the moisture from the meat and carries it away. Lower cooking temperatures require less airflow through the Egg, thus slower drying of the meat.[p]Add a liquid in the drip pan that is directly heated from the fire and it will slowly simmer, adding moisture to the air in your Egg. Air can contain only so much moisture (100% humidity). The more moisture the air in your Egg contains, the less it can remove from your meal. Since the meal is intially (and arguably always) the coolest thing in the Egg, moisture will actually condense on it during the cook.[p]Just my offering of a way to do justice to your particular meal with your particular circumstances.[p]Best of luck,
Spin

Painter · December 2001

Spin, I can see I should of checked back for info. Bird was a little drier than I'm used to, which I'm blaming mostly on being a lean wild and not fattened domestic turkey.It had good flavor and is definitely edible. No gamey taste and would like to try again sometime. Do you do your birds as you posted or just in relation to unprotected skinless variety?, although I've never seen skinless domestic turkeys. I think with the wild ones, the hunter skins them for convenience rather the the plucking feather method which would be a more forgiving to cook. Thanks for the tip, I hope I get a chance to try this again.
Painter

Spin · December 2001

Painter,[p]I use the method for only skinless birds and I do not remove the skin to produce a skinless bird. The skin is a good natural baste and cover for the meat - if available I always use it.[p]Spin

Wild Turkey

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