Throwdown #24: Turkey


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
Congrats to Cliff Bartlett for winning Throwdown #23: Baby Back Ribs. Cliff has picked the next throwdown topic. You knew we'd get to it sooner or later...

Turkey!

It's that time of year for turkey...pre-Thanksgiving test turkey, Thanksgiving Day turkey, post-holiday turkey. Grilled on the kettle or gasser, or smoked in the WSM. Plain, self-basted, brined or salted. Whole, parted out, or just the bone-in breast or drumsticks. Low & slow or hot & fast. There are so many possibilities! You know you're gonna be doing a turkey on the grill at some point in the next few weeks...take some photos and enter them in this throwdown! :wsm:

Let's run this throwdown until Sunday, December 7 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.

This will be our last throwdown of 2014...we'll take a break in December because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. So enter this one if you can!

Good luck everybody!

P.S. Remember, don't be intimidated! This isn't a barbecue competition, it's just for fun and friendship! Try it, you'll like it! And make sure to see the simple throwdown rules.

P.S.S. Remember, only 10 photos for each entry! Photo collages (multiple photos grouped into a single file) are OK, but each photo in the collage counts towards the 10 photo limit.
 
OK - this is an old pic - but then for us Turkey is mostly for Christmas - we don't do Thanksgiving..

Performer rotisserie over Weber briquettes
Bird brined in sparking white wine (cheap champagne) overnight along with herbs and vegs
then regularly basted during the 5 hour cook on Christmas day

So beautifully moist it's now become an annual tradition

 
Great pick Cliff, I'm sure we will have some fantastic cooks coming up! Just think we will have to eat allll that turkey trying to get that perfect cook.;)
 
Stuffed Turkey Thighs

Hi gang - Well, I can't believe how long it has been. And how rusty my picture taking has gotten. I know I'll never be a top shelf (or even top third of the wall) photographer, but that's OK. For me it's more about the food and the process. That being said, some of what you are about to see are downright not good. All I can saw is Oops and Oops again. There may be more text than usual, as I'll be explaining the steps I didn't get pictures of.

We went crabbing on Sunday and caught a pair of keepers. Cindy had picked up a pair of turkey thighs on Saturday, I had left over lump from the crab, I've been wanting to post something for awhile, ta-da: Stuffed Thighs w/ Crab. Not so great picture #1 - the stuffing



clockwise from top left: mushrooms, red cabbage, chard, toasted almond, garlic, sage and parsley. These were all sauteed w/ butter and bacon fat

Missing picture #1: the boned and butterflied thighs

Missing picture #2: the thighs loaded with the stuffing, plus the crab meat and Mandarin orange slices

here they are rolled up and toothpick'ed.



and and a little later on Red Jenny, with Delicata squash slices



**Editorial error: only one picture of the food on the grill** whiny voice with violin playing in the background: "It was cold, and dar-r-rk."

back inside, resting



and served up with a green salad






if you look real close, and squint, you can see the (white) pieces of crab in the stuffing.

There is my sad tale of woe, thanks, and I'll see you around the fire!
 
Here it goes… My first Throwdown… I bought a few boneless Turkey Breast, injected them with Butter and Chicken Broth… But mine, I added some Cajun and Cayenne pepper… First time doing a Breast.. I have done a few tenderloins and cooked them the same way. This time I used the Kettle and indirect and added a piece of Peach Wood to the mix. Cooked them for about 2.5-3 hrs on a 325 deg grill.. Here are the pics…
2 breast..

2 Breast and a Fatty… (did not know I was going to use this as a throwdown)

Done..

Ready to slice.

Plated

Thanks for looking..
 
Chris Arnold said:
Weber5_zpse3585c6b.jpg
Click to expand...

Darian Hofer said:
TurkeyDay_03_zpsd9e416c1.jpg
Click to expand...

"Spinning is a winner every time."
 
I kind of laughed when I saw your choice Cliff, but I bet there are many here who had their best bird yet with at least a little influence from this thread. I know mine was better than ever! Nice entries so far...... I could name a few suggestions for additional contenders :)
 
Spun another one at my Brothers for Thanksgiving. We rushed it a little. Long story but Rum was involved. lol
25 pounds with some Apple and Cherry wood. Banked the lump to one side and spun for a little over 6 hours.
Great smokey flavor and so very juicy…Sorry for the poor cell phone photos.





 
Ill join :)

I made this turkey for Turkey Day 2014. Cooked it on my WSM 18.5. It was my first EVER cook on the rig. I bought it used on CraigsList, and was very intimidated. I did a practice run for the big day about 2 weeks earlier on my Spirit 310. I was fully planning on using that to cook the bird, then the WSM fell into my life haha.

Needless to say, with 10 people over for the big day, I was rather nervous. Was it going to be TOO smoky? Would it be dried out? Can I even get the WSM to the temps I wanted? What method do I use to start it...and on and on. Plenty of questions, but reading here on TVWBB gave me all the knowledge I needed for a successful bird. I used a ThermoWorks DOT air temp for an inside temp, and a ChefAlarm probe in the bird. Kept the temps about 340-350, and it was done in about 2.5 hours. Wow, it was easier than I thought!! The bird turned out amazing. Skin was perfect (a little Penzey rub), and had brined it for about 20 hours.

All in all it was a great first cook and could not be happier with the results!!!

 
Thanksgiving in San Berdoo

Thanksgiving in beautiful and calm San Bernardino.....

Not really...... Google the city (crime rate) and you will be surprised why I'm still here. Well at least where we live it's the "nice" area.

The temperature was great,beer was getting cold and my grill was ready to go.



Turkey was brined,injected and seasoned.




Maribel doing prep work.







Turkey is done after 3 hours and 20 min





Lets eat



Thanks for stopping by

Tony and Maribel.
 
Last edited:
Well here's my thread for this Thanksgiving.
Did a dry brine and let it set overnight in the fridge uncovered overnight. Used Meathead's Simon and Garfunkel rub + fresh mashed garlic and EVOO. Injected the breast with butter and Knorr chicken stock.

On the 22.5"wsm with some Hickory wood for smoke. Gravy tray on bottom rack.

Wsm ran between 275 ° - 300 ° the whole time. 6hrs later it was done!

Turned out very good and juicy. One of my better turkeys I've smoked. The gravy way spot on too!
Well another Thanksgiving come and go. I guess its time to start making preparations for next Thanksgiving!
Thanks for looking, see ya next cook!
 
Stuffed Thanksgiving Turkey

Here is my entry for Throwdown #24 - Turkey. This turkey was exactly 22.5 lbs, stuffed with Pecan Bread Stuffing. I grilled it on my 26" OTG. Took a tad over six hours to cook. Pulled at around 165 to 170 IT. Came out great. Here's the post.

22.5 lbs.





Couple of hours.








Scratch Green Bean Casserole done.



Almost done.



Stuffing.



Plated.



Thanks for looking!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top