Spatchcock Turkey - De-backbone the night before?

SmokeyPitt · November 2014

I think your plan sounds solid. Many people prefer direct, but I prefer indirect (with both chickens and turkey). I have never had a problem with crisp skin and when I try direct I always end up burning portions of the wings.

PNWFoodie · November 2014

@Carolina Q‌ Thank you for those kind words.

It was a bit more awkward than trying to get a spatched chicken on the grill, but definitely worth the effort. It reminded me of the old Far Side cartoon of the "Boneless Chicken Ranch" (probably showing my age there.

)

@HeathCave‌ Thank you.

It did look pretty - and that crispy skin was yummy! Tasted great and super yummy. In fact, sharing leftovers with a coworker today, she remarked on just how moist it was...three days later!

@dldawes1‌ Thank you for the kind words.

@Photo Egg‌ Thank you.

theyolksonyou · November 2014

On of my all time favorite Far Side cartoons. Still makes me smile.

XC242 · November 2014

Man, I miss The Far Side... Greatest comic ever.

HeathCave · November 2014

Turkey is on! Dome temp around 425 with onions, celery and apples cut up and sitting on a grate on top of the platesetter. One small chunk of pecan and a small chunk of cherry in with the lump. It smells incredible!

theyolksonyou · November 2014

Did you put an air gap between PS and drip pan.

HeathCave · November 2014

theyolksonyou said:
Did you put an air gap between PS and drip pan.

Yes. The drip pan is sitting on a grate on top of the PS. Not a huge air gap but something.

theyolksonyou · November 2014

Just making sure. Don't want to scorch your veggies.

SmokeyPitt · November 2014

Looking good! That is a nice setup. Are you planning to chop up the backbone like Kenji did in the video?

HeathCave · November 2014

No I chunked the backbone this time. Maybe next time.

My thighs are already close to temp but the breast still has far to go. Should I cut the thighs off once they reach temp??

DMW · November 2014

What temps do you have?

HeathCave · November 2014

165 on one thigh. Just hit it. The other one is still around 145.

DMW · November 2014

Hmmm...20* diff in the 2 thighs...are you seeing similar diffs in the breast temps? Is your fire even? You might want to rotate the cooking grid (while the bird is on) 180* in case you have an uneven fire.

HeathCave · November 2014

So...to summarize the cook..I had a bit of disaster with temps with my egg. It all started off fine but about 45-60 minutes in the temp starting falling and the done settled in at around 400* and wouldn't go back up. This caused a huge delay in cook time and an eventual move to finish the bird in the oven...which wasn't horrible since I started it with the smoke so it got plenty of the main reason why you want to cook it on the egg anyway.

There are only two things that I can think of that affected my temp troubles..

1. The outside air was very damp. I don't know what the humidity was but the air was thick. It had been lightly raining all morning and though it wasn't raining at the time of the cook, the air was definitely damp...is that possible?

2. I didn't clean out my firebox and grate good enough. I fear this is the real reason, which really embarrasses and frustrates me. I had family over the night before and I wanted to clean it out well, but family time got away from me and I ended up doing a quick clean and setup after dark for the next morning. I should have just waited until morning to clean it out.

When it was all said and done (after almost 3 hours of total cook time), the turkey tasted great. The skin was overcooked, but the meat was great, still moist and everyone raved about it and insisted on taking leftovers leaving me with a the carcass in the second picture.

Due to the craziness in everyone waiting on the turkey, I got caught up and only got the one pic when I was carving and realized I hadn't taken a picture. Then, the aftermath of the carcass after picking it clean. Sorry...I failed on the pics. I was too busy stressing over time and trying to put turkey on plates before the masses came after me with forks and knives.

Any thoughts on what went wrong with the temps?

theyolksonyou · November 2014

I doubt outside conditions were the issue as many here cook in inhumane conditions, stupidly cold and snow and such. I've cooked in rain and thankfully don't have to deal with extreme temps. Likely airflow or could you have damp lump? We've all had days like that, so if everyone was happy and you enjoyed your family time, it was a success! That's all that matters in the end.

HeathCave · November 2014

theyolksonyou said:

I doubt outside conditions were the issue as many here cook in inhumane conditions, stupidly cold and snow and such. I've cooked in rain and thankfully don't have to deal with extreme temps. Likely airflow or could you have damp lump? We've all had days like that, so if everyone was happy and you enjoyed your family time, it was a success! That's all that matters in the end.

Damp lump could be the culprit. I've been keeping my lump outside, but in a plastic box that is loosely sealed at best. It is covered enough to keep rain out but humidity would still exist since it is not really "sealed" at all. I noticed the lump bag felt a little damp when I took it out, but I didn't think much of it. Could the lump be damp without direct rain or moisture contact? This is the first good rain we've had since I started storing the lump in that box. Maybe this is a dumb question, but can it just absorb that much humidity from the air?? If so, then that was it.

tazcrash · November 2014

As far as the lump being damp, I've never had issues once the fire was lit. the heat should help dry out the lump as it cooks, IMHO more than likely clogged air-holes

Did you try using a wiggle rod to clear the airholes in the bottom of the egg? When I had temp issues, that was the culprit.

HeathCave · November 2014

@tazcrash, about a half hour into the temp not budging (even with the vents wide open), I stuck my ash cleaning tool in the bottom and tapped up on the grate to try and shake it loose. Still no change afterward.

I even tried using a little fan I had to force air in, but that didn't help and it might have even hurt since the air was cool and it may have forced out the hot air. IDK.

NPHuskerFL · November 2014

@PNWFoodie‌ fantastic Spatched Turkey!

jtcBoynton · November 2014

Very very doubtful that damp lump is the problem. Airflow is what controls temperature.

PNWFoodie · November 2014

@NPHuskerFL‌ Thank you sir.

Photo Egg · November 2014

Bird looks great...

I would agree with others on your temp drop. At 425ish for over an hour the lump was most likely dry.

Make a "wiggle rod" to poke through the bottom vent to clear your air holes. I also have good luck "thumping" the dome. Close your top vents, raise the dome 2-3 inches and close it with some force. Do this only if you have good gaskets you don't want to clank ceramics. Use just enough force to shake the ash and also force air from the body of the Egg through the lower lump grate to push the ash out. This is normally enough. I seldom need the wiggle rod.

The wiggle rod is the one on the bottom in the photo. A bent metal clothes hanger will do the trick

edit…sorry, missed you post in the middle about wiggle rod.

How much lump did you have left. It's rare but at times the Egg will burn the lump in one direction and kind of start to burn itself out like a fire break in a forest fire with good lump still on the other side. This is normally caused by uneven airflow in the lump grate from clogged holes.

Spatchcock Turkey - De-backbone the night before?

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