Cooking Turkey

[Gonzo]

Pretty much everything except the spatchcock part. Have to take to my mom’s which is two hours away. I get a fresh turkey every year then brine. Lots of herbs from the herbed butter I put under the skin.View attachment 161214

I get a fresh turkey too from Fareway every year, 22-24 lbs. Do you dry brine or wet brine?

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

I've only recently seen this method for roasting a turkey

 

[CY88CE11]

Frying is hands down the best.

I smoked a whole turkey once, years ago. Told my wife to get a small bird, like 12ish lbs. She came home with a 20lb monster. Took like 14 hours. The meat was delicious but the skin was rubbery bordering on leathery.

I've spatchcocked lots of chickens for oven roasting and they always come out awesome and I always set of the smoke alarm.

This is why spatchcocking is a must. Usually takes me 2-3 hours, depending on size. I also cook at 325.

 

[Gonzo]

I've only recently seen this method for roasting a turkey

I've seen that before, never tried it.

I dry/salt brine my turkey for 36-48 hours. Then I put pats of compound butter (usually sage) between the skin and breasts. I stuff the cavity with onions, carrots, celery, rosemary stalks and sage. Brush the skin all over with olive oil and apply salt/pepper all over. Place it on the rack and underneath the turkey in the pan have chicken stock with all the leftover carrots, onions, celery and herbs. Oven roast at 400 and cover with foil after about 90 minutes once browned. Then finish uncovered the final 30 minutes to complete browning and crisp up the skin. Let sit covered loosely in foil for 30 minutes before carving. Usually turns out great.

 

[cycloner29]

I get a fresh turkey too from Fareway every year, 22-24 lbs. Do you dry brine or wet brine?

I always wet brine. I use the Alton Brown Brine. I usually get a 14-16 lb turkey.

 

[Gonzo]

I always wet brine. I use the Alton Brown Brine. I usually get a 14-16 lb turkey.

I used Alton Brown's brine recipe a few times, good stuff.

 

[Al_4_State]

I have multiple times and they always turn out great.

Definitely brine the night before. I also add butter underneath the skin and on the outside to keep whatever seasonings you are using.

I’ve always gone under the skin with chickens, to good effect. Also planned a 24 hour brine.

 

[cydnote]

Never strayed from the fail-safe roasting bag. Stuffed bird with stuffing mix, add some celery, mushrooms and giblet pieces if available. Always moist, the juices are reserved for gravy, and easy cleanup. Traditional meal. If somebody wants smoked, serve a small ham also, but I prefer my turkey day dinner to taste like it did when I was growing up.

 

[besserheimerphat]

We have an annual turkey frying brunch on the weekend before Thanksgiving. We'll do 15 - 20 turkeys with two fryers going at once. Big spread of food (including the first turkey from the fryer), bloody mary's, screwdrivers, beer, bonfire.

For those wanting pointers, we always specify that the turkey be 16lbs or less, and of course, fully thawed. Here is the injection recipe we use:

2 T Salt
2 T Tony's Seasoning (green container)
2 T Dry Mustard
2 T Onion Salt
2 T Cayenne Pepper
1 T Garlic Salt
1 tsp Lemon Pepper
1 T Celery Salt
2 Cups Chicken Broth
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 T Tabasco Sauce
1 - 12-16 lb Turkey, defrosted, remove neck and giblets, cut legs at joints
Injection needle and syringe
Cheese cloth

SEASONING PREPARATION Mix all liquid and powder ingredients and heat to boil. Simmer for at least 1 hour. Filter through cheese cloth. Reserve the paste. At least 48 hours before cooking, inject liquid seasoning into turkey. Spread the paste on the outside of turkey. Place in a trash bag and store in the refrigerator until time to fry. Fry at 235-350 degrees for 3.5 minutes per pound or until internal temp is 165 degrees. Let cool and wrap in foil and refrigerate. Reheat in the oven on Thanksgiving.

Its really important to NOT do too big of a bird, whether smoking or frying. If you have to do something over 16ish lbs, just roast it. For frying you have to worry about oil spilling, and for smoking you have to worry about it 1) fitting in your smoker and 2) cooking in a reasonable time. Spatchcocking obvious helps with cooking time, but then you end up with a gigantic piece of meat that you may not have space to handle. It may "fit" bit there's got to be room for the smoke and heat to circulate around it too.

 

[MLawrence]

My simple secrets to cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey:

Step 1, buy a prime rib.
Step 2, cook said prime rib with your preferred method.
Step 3, eat and enjoy.

You're welcome.

I do something similar but with brisket. But then my father-in-law wants a turkey, so I’ll will make a turkey breast for the traditionalists.

 

[tm3308]

I've smoked a whole turkey before (and didn't spatchcock), and it turned out okay for a first attempt. But I generally go for turkey breasts instead. I get boneless breast roasts from a local butcher shop, and I smoke them at 275 after brining for about 20 minutes or so per pound (since they come packaged in a solution, I don't want to overdo the brine). I've seasoned with honey bbq rub, garlic and herb, Meat Church voodoo (my personal favorite, especially when I'm just smoking a breast for sandwiches), and I'll sometimes inject with Tony Chachere's creole or garlic and herb butter. And I baste with clarified butter a couple of times during the cook. They turn out great every time.

 

[Tailg8er]

Its really important to NOT do too big of a bird, whether smoking or frying. If you have to do something over 16ish lbs, just roast it. For frying you have to worry about oil spilling, and for smoking you have to worry about it 1) fitting in your smoker and 2) cooking in a reasonable time. Spatchcocking obvious helps with cooking time, but then you end up with a gigantic piece of meat that you may not have space to handle. It may "fit" bit there's got to be room for the smoke and heat to circulate around it too.

I haven't had an issue with bigger, we're typically in the 18-22lb range. Have a 20lb'er this year, have a lot of people coming over! Have a large Pit Boss so they typically fit fine, and still cook evenly via spatchcock.

 

[mj4cy]

I cook a turkey just like i do whole chickens on my smoker. Very easy to do and always comes out tender/juicy.

 

[cdnlngld]

I get a fresh turkey too from Fareway every year, 22-24 lbs. Do you dry brine or wet brine?

I have done both, but didn't reallly make much of a difference to me. For god's sake, though, don't forget to rinse! I didn't rinse my first time, and holy smokes that was some salty turkey.

 

[cdnlngld]

I'm inquiring about this tonight.

I just did some Googling, and it brought up a Reddit thread where the consensus was not spatchcocking was suicide.

Spatchcocking spreads the bird out and lets the heat get to it from all sides. I tried it once, and haven't not done it since. It was just so much beter and I didn't have to overcook some parts while waiting for other parts to reach temp. Just makes the cook time more predictable.

 

[cdnlngld]

Make sure your bird is completely dry (that includes free of any ice). Patting it dry with paper towels is a good idea - inside and out. As has already been mentioned any water can instanly turn to steam when hitting that hot oil with unpredictable consequences.

Same for smoking. Moisture makes the skin rubbery.

 

[Derek Duke]

I recommend brining a turkey before and if you have to cook it inside, a big roaster is a good route but my personal favorite is a fried turkey. Love the taste.

 

[tm3308]

Make sure your bird is completely dry (that includes free of any ice). Patting it dry with paper towels is a good idea - inside and out. As has already been mentioned any water can instanly turn to steam when hitting that hot oil with unpredictable consequences.

Definitely pat dry, and if you've got the fridge space, leaving it on a sheet pan with a wire rack in the fridge to air dry goes a long way (you can take that to a whole other level if you dry brine, too).

 

[BigTurk]

Also, turkey breasts are easier to roast IMO. You don’t have to worry about the breasts overcooking while you get the rest of the bird up to temperature.

This. I prefer cooking the breast vs the whole bird, but whole birds can be gotten for cheaper and my MIL like turkey legs. Gonna smoke my turkey on the Pit Barrel this year. Pray for me.

 

[Gonzo]

Definitely pat dry, and if you've got the fridge space, leaving it on a sheet pan with a wire rack in the fridge to air dry goes a long way (you can take that to a whole other level if you dry brine, too).

This is what I do. Salt brine it, place it on a baking sheet and put it in the basement fridge uncovered for at least 36 hours. Always fun to hear one of the daughters going down there and being surprised by this 24 lb. turkey staring them in the face.