Turkey Trial Run Diary -- THE DAY

Uncle Milt · November 2002

This morning, I took the bird out of the brine after 24 hours and rinsed it very well several times. Then I dried it with paper towels and put it back in the fridge while I got the EGG fired up. I put the Turkey in the EGG at 10:00 AM, and I planned to cook it at 300 degrees. I didn't put my remote meat thermometer in the bird but I did put one sensor in the dome, so I could monitor the EGG temp. The turkey was about 15 pounds and I planned on cooking it for 15 minutes a pound, for a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. I put the bird on the V-Rack, breast side down, with the rack sitting in a drip pan which was on top of some fire bricks. I threw in some pecan and apple wood chunks to give it some smoke. The breast side down thing is a technique my ex-wife used to do. You cook it that way until the last hour when you turn the bird over. This keeps the breast very moist and when you turn it over, you can brown it up real nice without burning it or drying it out.[p]At 2 hours and 45 minutes the insta-read thermometer showed 150, so I left it in for another 20 minutes, checking the temp every 10 minutes. I removed the bird from the EGG when I got a reading of 165 degrees from deep in the breast. All my sources said take it out at that temp and let it sit for 20 minutes or so, and the bird will be moist yet thoroughly cooked. The USDA recommended temp of 180 yields a bird that is too dried out.[p]Right now the bird is sitting lightly covered in foil in my kitche and it is a thing of beauty. I'll let you all know later how it tasted.[p]I have some photos of the finished bird, but since I don't have a web site, I will need to use an online photo storage site to share them. Unfortunately, two sites that I used to use, Photoloft and PhotoPoint are out of business. Does anyone have a recommendation for a site to use?[p]Milt

Uncle Milt · November 2002

Well, the bird was a complete success. I carved it up and took it to a friend's house where they have a big family Sunday dinner. Everybody loved it. The brining gave it a moist and slightly seasoned taste with an overlay of the smoke from the pecan and apple wood. It was a lot of work but I think I will do it again for the real turkey day.

Uncle Milt · November 2002

One final note on internal temp. I took the bird out when the instant thermometer read 165 in the breast. When I carved it there were traces of blood in the dark meat near the bone joints. I microwaved those pieces to finish them off. Next time I will use my Polder and wait till the breast temp reaches 170. That will insure that the dark meat wil be fully cooked and that the white meat is still moist.[p]Milt

Jim R. · November 2002

Uncle Milt,
Sounds like a great bird!On the uploading picture thing try fototime.com its free and easy to use.(there is also a paid service but if you only are using it for uploads no cost.)

Marvin · November 2002

Uncle Milt,
That's all very similar to our method. What I didn't read in your description is whether or not you put any seasoning or rub on the and in the bird prior to putting it on the Egg. Did you use anything?

Uncle Milt · November 2002

Marvin,[p]Emeril's Holiday Turkey recipe includes rubbing the bird with butter or olive oil, and then sprinkling on the Emeril's Essence.[p]Milt

Uncle Milt · November 2002

Marvin,[p]I went all the way with the Emeril recipe, which calls for removing the bird from the brine, rinsing it thoroughly, and then rubbing it with vegetable oil and Emeril's Essence, a kind of sesoning/rub. [p]I wouldn't put too much rub on it, since you already have the meat well flavored by the brine.[p]Milt

Turkey Trial Run Diary -- THE DAY

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