Mother's Day Turkey

Hustling Hare

I'll add my mother's day activity. I was requested to cook a turkey that the family already had, a 13 lb frozen butterball. Another family member thawed it out and I got it yesterday afternoon. I really like and followed Mad Max's recipe. This is my third time through. I did a couple of things differently and/or right this time:[p]1. I unwrapped, washed, and dried the bird last night so it would be quite dry this morning. Also, less to do early this morning.
2. I set the butter out over night so it would be soft by morning.
3. This wasn't exactly right but I let the fire get ahead to 350 just as I had to put it in. I stuck it in and let the cold mass of the bird cool things down. To ensure that I didn't return to 350 I closed the dampers a bit and that idea pretty well worked.
4. I had an idea a turkey needed about 20 min/lb but it only took 12 min/lb even though the fire was a bit lower than MM specifies.
5. I have a new Maverick and an old WS remote thermometer and I monitored both breast and thigh temps throughout the cook. Max will be interested to know that with his ice bag treatment, the two temps tracked at about 20 deg difference all through the cook.
6. I took it off at 160 breast and 180 thigh even though the drumstick joint wasn't loose as MM requires. The bird was running clear juices, however.
7. The thing I did right with the gravy this time was not to let the roux get too dark. My wife thinks there was a little too much grease in the final result and suggests a bit more flour next time. Flavor was good, overall.[p]Good experience and Mother, sister, and niece, all mothers enjoyed the effort and the result.[p]Sorry, no pictures.