Turkey ~ Standard Type Cookin' In Da Egg

Unknown

I was planning on cooking out turkey in my large Egg the same way I would have in the oven. That means;
~ Stuffing in the body
~ Roasting Pan - aluminum style
~ 300 deg F for 15 min / pound (approx).[p]I'll be using a remote thermometer in the thigh or breast to 180 deg F.
I'll be injecting marinade in the breast, thigh and leg. [p]I'm worried about the cheesy roasting pan. I'm not sure that those store bought aluminum pans where the Turkey sits on the bottom will make it.

Unknown

Ok.
I'm changing the plan a little.
I'm going to try to get a turkey rack.
If I can get a turkey rack, I'll cook without the stuffing and set the drip pan under the turkey to catch the drippings.[p]If I can't get the rack, I'm going to cook it on the grill with the plate setter inverted to catch the drippings. [p]I read below that I should elevate the pan to prevent the drippings from burning. Not sure how I'm going to do that one. Maybe a cooling rack would do it.

Mop

TTommy, this is how I do my Turkeys, I have done several...[p]350º for 15mins per pound, give or take..[p]well established fire, bricks or pizza stone, aluminum pan, V Rack , turkey....no stuffing in the bird[p]I brush olive oil all over the bird except for the outside area of the legs, they seem to burn to quick if oiled...[p]I put water in the bottom of the pan to eliminate sizzling and smoking of the drippings, I opt NOT to use the gravy from the bird as I find the meal too smokey....[p]It's just how I do mine...[p]oh, I forgot one thing......I brine too.....[p]Mop

Unknown

Hey Mop, do you put any rub on the turkey? Also what is your brine recipe? I'm also concerned about the turkey being too smokey. I see someone recommended covering the turkey with aluminum foil for the first hour. What's your take on this.

Mop

Amc, I cut up some onions, celery and carrots and wedge them between the legs and some in the cavity...[p]I also sprinkle a little sage and salt,pepper on the bird..[p]The basic brine I use is one cup of sugar, one cup of salt, a bay leaf or two, half cup of honey, I heat the mixture with two or three cups of water and let cool...[p]I then put the bird in the container and add the brine and enough ice cold water to cover the bird, typically it`s a gallon or so.
I then dump some ice over the top...
That will stay in the fridge overnight, thats usually good enough penatration for me...[p]Since I have stopped oiling the large portion of the legs I don`t bother covering the bird with anything, my problem is that the legs were burning, not deep burns but burns all the same....it just looked overdone whereas now it looks uniform in it`s readiness..[p]Some use foil and have good results, I opt not to use it..[p]Too much smoke for me would be Smoked Turkey, gravy and potatoes......way too much for me and my guests..[p]Now when I do a Turkey dinner, the only thing that gets smoked is the bird and even then the fire is at the point where it is least likely to produce much smoke penatration..[p]I love my ribs and butts smokey, just not Turkeys and sides..[p]thats just me though, I like smoke to enhance, not overpower..[p]take care[p]Mop

Unknown

Mop, "Now when I do a Turkey dinner, the only thing that gets smoked is the bird and even then the fire is at the point where it is least likely to produce much smoke penetration." What's that temp? Since I'm new at egging, this will be my first Thanksgiving turkey. Do you bring the temp up to your cooking temp, and hold, or do you take the heat higher, and then bring back down? Hey, thanks for the advice. Looking forward to a great Thanksgiving. All of us have so much to be thankful for this year. [p]

Mop

Amc,By that I mean that the temp of the Big Green Egg will have been at 350degrees for at least a half hour or so before I put the bird,vrack and pan in, I usually put the bricks or pizza stone in after 15 minutes of lighting the cooker or so, otherwise all that mass added at once causes a drastic change in cooker temp and takes a while to regain....[p]The temperature of 350 degrees is held for the entire cook and is read at the thermometer in the lid (dome) of the Big Green Egg...[p]Give it a whirl, I think you will be suprised how good it'll turn out, it's pretty hard to beat a bbq'd brined bird...[p]There are some folks that prefer not to brine but for me it's sooooo forgiving it's almost cheating, you would have to really "TRY" to dry it out......[p]makes for some good juicy bird sir...(or ma'am, can't tell by the name)[p]Mop[p]

BluesnBBQ

Here's how I'm going to do mine:[p]Brined overnight (I'm going to make a brine with salt, sugar, black peppercorns, garlic, apple cider, fresh ginger, and anything else I feel like throwing in .[p]Granny smith apple and onion slices in the cavity.[p]Skin rubbed with butter (and I'll probably let it air dry in the fridge for a couple of hours after I remove it from the brine).[p]Drip pan, with roasting rack. I might use a pizza stone under the drip pan, but I haven't decided yet. Pecan wood. I'm going to do it low and slow (around 200) for the first hour to let it get a lot of smoke. Then I'll kick it up to around 350 for the rest of the cook.[p]I've never had bad results with a brined turkey on the egg, and I'm sure this one will be great.

Painter

BluesnBBQ,
Sounds a lot like my brine recipe. Everything you like in the brine but the kitchen sink, although I thaw mine in cold water in the kitchen sink. Doing mine in the inside oven , believe it or not. Wife wants the traditional smell of roasted turkey in the house while it's cooking. I can handle that as long as I've brined it to keep from being dry. It isn't like we don't get enough egged food year round.
Happy T-Day to you all...Painter

Unknown

Hey Mop, it's definitely not ma'am. Sir seems a too old for me, although we do have 2 grandchildren under the age of one and a half...
I had an elderly friend (76) that after I first met him, I called him Mr. Thompson. After a few times of this, he finally told me, "Mr. Thompson was my dad, I'm Louis." Still took me a while to get used to calling him Louis...
Thanks again for the turkey advice. I've got a 12 lb bird thawing, and I will try your brining recommendation Wednesday night, and cook Thanksgiving day. Hope you have a good Thanksgiving.