21lb Easter Turkey

[Ben Leyhew]

I did the apple brine for 24 hours. Lit two full chimneys of kingsford and also had some unlit in the charcoal ring. We had some thunderstorms early Easter morning--rainy and windy early, but gorgeous by sunrise. I cooked this hog at 400 for 3 hours on my 22.5 until the breast meat hit 165. Foiled it, stuck it in a cooler for a few hours while I was at church. Carved it up when we got home. The turkey simply melts in your mouth. I used one small chunk of apple and one small chunk of cherry as the smoke wood. It had a real nice, but very light pink smoke ring.

 

[Ron G.]

That's one of the neat things about Turkey:

BIG does not necessarily mean bad.

Some friends of my folks raised a big ol' Tom on their "hobby farm". It ate acorns and corn and went around 40 lbs pre-pluck-and-gut. Mom cooked it as a simple oven-roast / baste in its own juices. (On the bottom rack, this sucker filled-up the entire oven.) One of the best yard-birds I've ever helped to eat!

Glad to hear that you & your family had a great feast, Ben! (I'm getting a sudden craving for some turkey sammiches!)

 

[Chuck_B]

Ben the bird looks awesome! Nice cook!

 

[Mikey NY]

The bird looks great. How was the skin? I did a big bird at 225 the the skin was like rubber.

 

[Ben Leyhew]

The skin was perfect right after I pulled it. However, due to my schedule I foiled it in a cooler for a few hours. At that point, it got soft from the rest period and I tossed it as I carved the bird. I don't eat the skin anyway. Anything above 325 and a light coat of oil should keep that skin crispy.

 

[Jay(olliecaboose)]

The color looks perfect! Great job!