# How do you do your turkey?



## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

It's time to start thinking about turkey. Share your recipes and techniques.

I love to cook and have cooked turkeys about every way: smoked, fried, grilled, dutch oven, house oven, etc. Here's how I do mine every year now.

First, I try to avoid birds and buy fresh, non-frozen.

Then I mix up this heavenly injection:

Scottie's Creole Butter 
- ½ can of beer
- ½ lb. Butter
- 1 tsp. Bonesmokers Big Time BBQ Rub (any mild BBQ rub will do)
- 2 tsp. Paprika
- 1 ½ tsp. White Pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 ½ tsp. Onion Powder
- 1 tsp. Coleman's Mustard
- 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
- ½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
- ½ tsp. Tabasco 
Warm mixture on stove until ingredients mix well. Let mixture cool a bit and then inject... 

Inject as much of this as you can get into the bird. Then let rest covered in the fridge overnight. Sprinkle a good poultry seasoning on the skin or I use salt & pepper.

Next morning, fire up half a chimney of lump charcoal and bank the coals on opposite sides of a Weber Kettle grill with a drip pan down the center (with a little water in it).

Set up your Weber for the rotisserie. Add a couple chunks of fruit wood to the coals.

I try to maintain a temp of between 350* and 400* (measured at food level) for the duration of the cook. Your bird will rotate the entire time and that creole butter will baste the bird. The wood give it just enough smoke and the skin will be perfectly crispy. Refresh coals and wood as needed.

Here's the important part: cook to an internal temp of 155*, measured in the deepest part of the thigh without touching bone. As soon as it hits this, remove the lid and hopefully your coals are getting cool at this point. Keep rotisserie running for 15 min or so.

Remove to plate, listen to your friends and family gloat over how incredible it looks and smells. Then carve it and they'll tell you they never thought turkey could be that good and moist. No gravy needed.

Save the carcass for gumbo.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

On a Treagger Smoker BBQ

Wash it. 

Dry it. 

Rub it with olive oil.

Put a rub on it.

Cook it

Yummy. Perfect.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

The best turkey ever. Start with a nice Dry rub (we used to try injections but frankly, it never turned out as good as just a plain old dry rub):










Put it in the frier, 3min per lb ... usually most birds we do are 12lb or so, which means its done in 40 min or less.









Let it sit and relax for 15 min or so before you get to cutting it up. Its juicy beyond description and sooooooo tasty. I wouldn't do a bird any other way.










-DallanC


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

Same thing we do Dallan. I have smoked probably twenty gobblers. I have even smoked them and then deep fried them but our favorite hands down is deep fried and that comes from a guy that owns and traeger and a big green egg.


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## ram2h2o (Sep 11, 2007)

Brine the Turkey overnite and then deep fry it . I like a spicy South Louisiana style Brine, But there are a bunch of brine recipes out there that will suit just about anyone's tastes.
Usually do a smoked turkey also along with the fried, but we have a large crowd to feed.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Cured and then smoked for us:

15 to 18 lb - fresh turkey
Ingredients:
6 quarts - water
2 cups - Morton's Tender Quick
2 cups - brown sugar
1 tbsp - ground white pepper
1/4 cup liquid smoke

Brine:
Mix all ingredients in a clean 5-gallon plastic pail.
The brine should float an egg, if not, stir in more Tender Quick, a little at a time, until the egg floats.
Pump legs, thighs, wings and breast.
Soak turkey in brine at 40°for 4 days. Check brine and rotate turkey after 2 days. 
Remove from brine and rinse in cold water.
While warming up the smoker, keep turkey at room temp for 1 hr, and then pat dry

Smoke:
Hang in smoker, legs up
120° - 3 hrs, no smoke, vent 100% open
140° - 5 hrs, cherry or apple smoke, vent 50% open
160° - vent 25% open, until temp in meat around knee joint is 152°

Notes: 
Cherry wood is preferred.
A 20 lb turkey is the largest turkey that will fit in a 5-gallon bucket.


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## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

We've done this for a few years now and it's been great:

Brine


Apple cider/Apple juice- 1 Gallon
Kosher salt- 1 Cup
Dark brown sugar- 1 Cup
Garlic cloves- 10
Sliced ginger- Handful or so
Orange- 4 cut in half
Apple cider vinegar- 1⁄3 Cup
Water- 1⁄2 Gallon-ish
Chili pepper flakes- 2 Tablespoons
Let it brine overnight, drain and pat dry, then put in a couple sprigs of rosemary, some fresh thyme and sage, put on a good dry rub and some butter under the skin, throw it on the kettle grill and cook with an indirect heat. Phenomenal!


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

at what temp do you fry at 3 minutes per pound? 350 degrees?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Yes, 350F. Get the oil at that temp, turn off the gas on the bottle and let the flame go out, slowly put the bird in to avoid splashing. Once in, turn the bottle back on and relight burner. Normally the bird absorbs some heat so I bump up the flow a little until it returns to 350. Because there is no flame when I add the bird, there is zero chance of a fire.

Also, I put the thawed bird in a empty pot and add water until the bird is barely submerged. Remove the bird and mark the new water level. This is the exact amount of oil needed for the fry. 

-DallanC


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

My Thanksgiving turkey was gorgeous this year:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> My Thanksgiving turkey was gorgeous this year:


Good grief, I grabbed the wrong photo! Sorry 'bout that.

here:




.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I have a fryer, but havent ever used it since getting the smoker; not sure if it the absolute pain in the butt of having to oversee the burn you to death oil until cooled days later or just the fact that the smoker does it so much better that has made me never touch the fryer again. I brine for about 12 hours in salt, sugar, worchester and poultry seasoning then smoke for about 6 hours (never over 15 lbs) to ensure safe cooking. Turns out great every time with mesquite lump charcoal. My buddy's wife is making him get one now that he has tried mine. I am not a turkey fan in the least, but smoked turkey is as good as any treat.


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## Solist (Sep 6, 2012)

Hard decision....

I like a good smoked turkey. This is my Rio Grande from a couple years ago that I smoked. After a good brine and a blanket so it would stay warm in the smoker: 







I think there is a turkey underneath there...
However, I also like deep fried turkey as well. I have a really good recipe for a honey beer marinade injection that I have yet to see leftovers of a turkey on.


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