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Wish me luck: Turkey Throwdown

finaltable
finaltable Posts: 26
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Last year my parents went to visit my amateur chef sister and raved about her oven cooked turkey. I said I needed to do one on my Egg for comparison. This year my sister is going to be at my parents' house for Thanksgiving, so yesterday I built a rolling table for my Egg from the plans on the BGE site and am loading it up in my truck for a Thanksgiving Turkey Throw Down. We have a big extended family so she and I are each doing a 15 lb bird; mine, of course in the Egg using the Mad Max recipe and hers in the oven using some recipe she has.

This will be my fifth Mad Max turkey so I think I have the procedure down, I am posting here for the advice of the community.

I am curious to know if anyone has opinions on the specific ingredients. I am going to use Pinot Grigio white wine and was thinking about using Irish butter instead of the regular "house brand." I also don't know if anyone has thoughts on the type of onion to use, whether regular yellow vs sweet white and what kind of apples impart the best flavor to the turkey.

It is my opinion that the turkey comes out better off the Egg than from the oven. She is making some kind of gravy that includes reducing a whole bottle of red wine so my goal is to beat her on "turkey" and at least tie on "gravy."

I appreciate the support. I WILL report back how it comes out.

Comments

  • I predict you will win. Turkey just does not come out as moist in the oven. As for the butter, onions, and apples, I don't think it matters that much to the flavor of the turkey, making changes will only produce a very subtle difference, if any at all.
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • Oh yeah, and wishing you good luck, but I don't think you are going to need it. Have fun and enjoy!
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • Woodbutcher
    Woodbutcher Posts: 1,017
    Good luck! I agree with Faith on the onion and butter. Just use what you're used to. Don't over power it with smoke and you'll come out on top.
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Stick with what you've done, a throwdown is usually a bad time to experiment, or maybe a trial run on a smaller bird before hand?
    Good luck
  • I agree with the previous posts - stick to what you've done before and the Mad Max Turkey you do in the BGE will win hands down!! Best of luck and have a great Thanksgiving!
  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
    I say don't change a thing for this throwdown. Go with what you know. Family will go nut's for it and the gravy!
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    biggest thing with a turkey is getting it off the grill early, some where between high 150's and low 160's when you see the leg just start to get loose, let it finish cooking while it rests and let it rest. cook yours slower, you want yours off the grill last :laugh: its all about having a moist bird. does she know red wine makes for purple gravey, been there, it tastes great, but its a show stopper as some believe gravey should be light brown and let the purple bother them:laugh: go really light with the smoke and dont tell anyone you used smoke, some are pre biased against it
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Good Luck, take plenty of pictures

    Ross
  • My sister knows what she is doing and this gravy is supposed to be pretty good, regardless of the color, if my Mom is any judge and she is a pretty good cook in her own right.
  • ok, i think the apple/onion thing you should be fine. ..a standard yellow onion should be ok. . .i usually go with granny smith apples, but i doubt that will be a big discriminator. . .same for the irish butter. ... go for it if you want ...

    but now, if you really want to take it over the top, go get yourself a duck. ...deconstruct it. .. remove the wings and legs. ... peel the breasts and skin from the carcass. . ..throw the carcass in your stock pot along with the turkey parts for an even richer stock than just the straight turkey stock. .. . save the breast meat for something. ...take the skin and put in a saute pot and render down all the fat. .. ..reserve about 8 teaspoons of the fat to start your roux for the gravy.... take the rest of the rendered duck fat, let it cool, then rub it all over/under the turkey skin. .. .this is going to add an extra dose of flavor to the bird and take the drippings up another notch. ....when you separate the drippings. . ..add some of this fat to the reserved fat for your roux as well. ...you will use this instead of the 2 sticks of butter to make your gravy. ...there is NOTHING better in the world than duck fat gravy!!!!. ...

    now, a word of warning, i have not tried the duck fat under the skin yet, but i am doing it this thursday. ..however, having made a number of turduckhens, i can assure that its the duck fat that makes a turdcuckhen so good, so it stands to reason, that you turkey will be taken up a notch as well!!!....and i have made turkey/duck stock, and it is fantastic!!!! ..

    good luck !!
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    freeze it in thin layers, i already got mine ready :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Wow, that sounds really good. I don't think I am going to try that this time because I am always bad about timing and need to focus on my turkey being ready at the scheduled dinner time. I am also worried about kitchen space as I will be sharing with my sister. Fortunately for us, my Mom has a semi-commercial quality kitchen complete with a 6 burner gas Viking stove but I still don't know what her pot/pan count is like. I may have to take some of my own. I will be doing a Mad Max turkey for my in-laws for Christmas though and my mother-in-law raved about how good the original gravy was. I will consider it for this one but even if I don't I will do that for Christmas.

    I am honored that you rang in on my thread. I know you put a lot of work over the years into getting the recipe to where it is, so your input carries a great deal of weight. Egg turkey days are some of my favorite throughout the year so I look forward to adding the duck to the picture.
  • FinalTable, good luck on the turkey throwdown with your sister. Be sure and post pics and let us know the result.
  • no problem. ... like others said here, do what you know best and make it the best you can. ..it will stand out all on its own!!
  • uglydog
    uglydog Posts: 256
    There's some good advice posted here. Just go with what you know for the throwdown. You already have the deck stacked in your favor by using the BGE. Let us know the results. Uglydog