Realm of the Shadow Redux

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with Mike, Nikki, Tim, Grandma Dar, Derrell, Emma, Jean and myself in attendance. Jean decided she wanted me to smoke the turkey this year (which I have not done in MANY years) and as such we needed to downsize our bird selection. The experts state that you need to use a 10 to 14 lb. bird to smoke in order to prevent possible salmonella contamination since the cooking process is slow and low (low temperatures at a very slow pace). So, with that in mind we were off last Saturday to Jewel/Osco to pick up a properly sized bird since they had them on sale for .89 per lb. with a $10 off coupon on birds between 14 and 24 lbs. Of course we were unable to find a 14 lb. bird so we had to ask my buddy Chris to help us out. He found a 15.3 lb. bird for us and we decided that would be close enough so we purchased it (thanks for the help Chris!). So we brought it home and on Monday evening I moved it from the freezer to the refrigerator to start the thawing out process. We also went to Sam’s Club to pick up a spiral cut ham for those who do not care for smoked turkey. I also got a 5+ pound roasting chicken out as I hate to smoke just one item at a time (since it uses so much charcoal you really need to consolidate as much smoked meats as possible). After two days of thawing out I made my brine on Wednessday night for both birds. In case you don’t remember the basic brine process here is the recipe for that:

So I brined both birds for about 7 hours overnight on Wed. The turkey I placed in a cooking bag in my Igloo cooler on ice and the chicken I put into a gallon ziploc bag in the fridge. Thursday morning I got up at 3:30 a.m. in order to get the smoker going. While waiting on the smoker to come up to temperature I prepped the turkey in my usual manner of placing minced onions and garlic mixed with butter and placed under the skin of the turkey (in between the skin and the meat. I have found this to be the best placement of the seasonings as the skin acts as a barrier between the heat and the meat and helps to force the flavors into the meat itself. If you place the flavorings on the outside of the skin it tends to run down the side before it can truly penetrate the meat. I also stuffed the cavity with quartered onions to help hydrate the bird from the inside. Then I sprinkled paprika and black pepper on the skin of the turkey (you do NOT want to add salt as the brine has made it quite salty already). The chicken I just did a dry rub on as I figured I’d be freezing it after it cooked.

Onto the fire for the turkey over a roasting pan with a couple of cups of water in it to catch the drippings and to help hydrate (birds tend to dry out in a smoker, hence the need to brine and to take other means to hydrate). Shut the lid and leave it shut for the first 7 hours of cooking. The only thing you should be doing during this time is maintaining your target temperature of 200 to 230 degrees F. I usually start with a hot fire to help seal the meat and then maintain around 230. After 7 hours I opened the grill long enough to place the chicken in (on an empty beer butt cooking ring). Then shut it up for the next 5 hours, just maintain your temerature. Occasionally add a chunk of your flavoring wood (I used hickory this time as I did not get any apple wood for this meal). After you have checked your meat for doneness (the temperature should be a minimum of 175 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh, do not touch the bone when you check it), remove the birds and let them “rest” for at least 15 minutes before you carve them. This allows the juices to flow back into the meat as during the cooking process the juices are trying to travel out of the meat. Once you have let the bird rest you may go ahead with the carving process. But this is beginning to sound like a tutorial and I really just want to share our T-Day meal with you all so here is the rest of the menu that we had…

If you remember I said we also had a spiral cut ham that we heated up and placed the included glaze onto. Maybe next year I’ll do one with pineapple like my dad used to do years ago. Will have to remember to ask mom how dad did that so I can get it right. Jean and I also fixed some brocolli/rice/cheese casserole, a wild rice and oyster dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade sweet potatoes, hawaiin sweet rolls, sweet pickle rolls. Michael made a cheese ball with triskets, Nikki and Tim brought the green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and cranberry sauce. Grandma Dar brought a couple of pumpkin pies, regular dressing and oyster dressing. Jean also made a scrumptous apple pie too! As you can see, we had PLENTY of food to eat.

Tim said the blessing and we all had our fill of goodies to eat. Had a great evening of visiting with each other and of Emma entertaining us all. Looking forward to our Christmas dinner which I think is going to be held in Atlanta at Nikki and Tim’s. I truly hope that your Thanksgiving was as enjoyable as ours was. Please take some time to enjoy each others company and to reflect on what you are thankful for! Here’s some pictures of our evening. Hope you enjoy them!

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Related posts:

1. Grilled whole Chicken
2. Student Center Pictures
3. Looked too good not to try! Recipe time….
4. T-Day, 2007
5. Memorial Day Weekend events!

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