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Turkey - to stuff or not?

GrillDaddy
GrillDaddy Posts: 295
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I was wondering if anyone had cooked a turkey with the stuffing in the turkey on the BGE. Were you happy? Would you recommend doing it that way.

Thanks all

Comments

  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    I have and I know fishlesman has. Just make sure the stuffing gets to 165.

    Cooking 5 of them today for a dinner for cancer patients and survivors. None will be stuffed.

    turkey-1.jpg

    turkey-2.jpg
  • Rascal
    Rascal Posts: 3,923
    I find that the turkey cooks faster unstuffed and I don't have to fret over the temp. Perhaps I'll put some lemon quarters & veggies in the cavity instead. As far as the stuffing goes, I bake an oyster dressing that's to die for!! 8 - ),,,
  • Celtic Wolf - Thanks for the info, Do you recall when stuffing was at 165F; What the temp of Turkey breast & leg were?
  • Rolling Egg
    Rolling Egg Posts: 1,995
    Do you ice the breast? What flavor wood you using today? Thanks
  •  
    I have used stuffing in the bird. I do use a lot of cherry wood for smoke also. The stuffing has a very different flavor than oven stuffing or stuffing done in the bird in the oven.

    On the egg the in bird stuffing was way too smokey, I had to toss about 1" of the stuffing closest to the exposed end of the bird. The rest of the stuffing was good.

    I don't want to sacrifice the cherry and or apple wood smoke flavor in the bird so this year I will do both in bird stuffing and on the stove stuffing.

    I do ice the breast as per mad max because I usually cook a 23# bird and the top of the Turkey is pretty close to the dome. I pull the bird at about 160° and the rest will take it to 165° - 170°.

    No stuffing in this bird, neverthless, it turned out excelent.
    turkey0812.jpg

    GG
  • i'd rather put the stuff in the turkey that adds flavor to the turkey (aromatics like onion/apple/lemon/fresh herbs...stuffing does nothing to add flavor to the bird. ..

    what does the bird add to the stuffing? ...the juices from the bird DO add flavor to the stuffing that is true, but you can easily achieve this additive by simply making really good turkey broth ahead of time (refer to the mad max central description on making turkey stock), and make sufficient quantities of stock to use as you liquid for your stuffing (instead of water or canned chicken broth) ...in order to make sufficient quantities of good hearty turkey stock, when you buy your tukey, buy an extra package of turkey necks or wings or legs and throw them in your stock pot . . ..

    easy peasy!!
  • Rolling Egg
    Rolling Egg Posts: 1,995
    Nice pic. I'm going to either do just a regular bird or one with stuffing. I think I will use cherry as well. Thats a good choice.
  •  
    Results are much better if the stock is used. The bread absorbs the smoke aroma/flavor at a much higher rate than the bird does.

    Thanks Max for your sharing your cooking method, it sure does make a nice looking and tasting bird.

    GG
  •  
    Cherry wood is great. If you do the turkey with stuffing make sure you make some oven stuffing in addition to the in bird stuffing. See max's post below.

    Watch the bird done temperature and you will have a very moist flavorful turkey.

    GG
  • i agree....of all the things i've ever made in the eggs, i DON"T like 'wet' bread in my eggs. . .even in a clean burning egg, i find that wet bread absorbs too much smoke, even for my taste, and i don't like doing even panned bread stuffing in the egg. . .bread pudding is ok, because i think the creams/milks etc don't absorb the smoke the same way that simple wet bread does.. ..may just be a personal taste ...
  • any fruit wood is great with turkey, albeit in small amounts...cherry, apple, even pecan is really nice....i have become partial to a nice chunk of pecan. ..great flavor, and it provides a great color ... .
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    make sure to cover the stuffing, smoked stuffing is bitter tassting to me. i cook one bird in the egg per mad max, and a second stuffed bird in the oven for the stuffing. made stuffing not in a bird several times and thats a dressing, its not the stufing i grew up on. i use a lot of jimmydean sausage in my stuffing and it adds flavor to the bird and kicks up the gravey flavor
    http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=543774&catid=1
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • I put up about a gallon and a half from the last turkey I cooked. Startet the stock with the neck, and other trimmings before the cook along with onions, celery and carrots. Then added the deboned carcass after the cook. Nice stock.

    Will be used for stuffing (outside the bird) and turkey, andoille and oyster gumbo.

    Other trimmings include that chunk on the end of the bird that is all wired up. You know the chunk - It's the last part of the turkey that crosses the fence.
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    I ice the breast. I am keeping the smoke to a minimum today because these turkeys are going to cancer patients. Don't want to overwhelm them.

    Typically I will use pecan, with some apple. This year I am going with the Sugar Maple I have when I cook the bird next week.
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    If you have iced down the breast and stuff the bird with warm to hot stuffing everything will be done at the same time
  • I have done both...Stuffed and dressing in the pan.
    Living with the Food Safety Queen (aka, Mrs. Potatohead) stuffing the bird is something we just don't do anymore (no sense in having to pull out the angry eyes), but I do strongly believe that it is an OK thing to do as long as it temps. at 160 - 165 F. Part of that roasting a stuffed bird problem is the time / temp. thing. Too long in the "bad zone" can be a problem. If I'm doing a stuffed bird, I want it on at 350 F. or better!
    So, hotter is better (don't try to cold smoke a stuffed turkey) and icing the breasts and foiling the wings may be a good idea too!
    If you stuff, there is one other caution from the "Queen"...The cavity of the bird does need a very good cleaning and a bit of a dose of salt.
    As "Grandpas Grub" does, I too, like to smoke my bird and the stuffing will pick up on that smoke. I / we like a good smoke flavor, but do be advised that the dressing will have that smokey flavor too!
  •  
    Thanks Max, I never thought about pecan, I think I will give that a try this year.

    GG
  •  
    I had to throw away about 1" deep of the stuffing that was exposed in the bird. I enjoyed the inner stuffing that was in the bird it was pretty tasty. Different and not a replacement out of egg stuffing.

    If one really wants to do in egg in bird stuffing I would put some tinfoil over the stuffing and then poke some fork holes in the foil.

    It is a lot easier to use the stock made the day before.

    GG