G
Guest
Guest
So...let's hear it. How did everyone's bird turn out?
I believe mine might have been the best I've every done.
My wife made the stuffing this morning and we trussed the 13 pounder together about noon while the fire was getting going.
I was figuring 4 to 5 hours to cook, but I hate sittin' around waiting on a bird, so I built some fudge into the timing (seeing as how it was the first time I'd cooked on this rig) and put it on the spit at 12:30 pm. Ran the temps up to 410 and climbing and left it for 30 minutes, then throttled my fire back to 325 and let it cook. Had to replenish the fire a couple times, but I had no problems holding the temps where I wanted them.
The spit worked great. I never had to baste because nothing much was making it to the drip pan...the spit makes the whole thing self-basting. I ended up with just enough fat to make my gravy and everything else stayed on the bird.
I never used the cheesecloth. The skin turned out fabulous -- dark golden brown, nice and crispy.
After 3 hours, I checked the temps and the bird was getting done. Since the guests weren't arriving until 5:30, I throttled the fire back to 210 - 250 degrees for an hour and a half in a holding pattern.
I set about making Bechamel Sauce for Julia Child's creamed onions and whipping up the gravy. Towards the end, I cranked the heat back up on the bird and put the extra pan of stuffing under it to catch some drippings for the last hour. Pulled the bird when thigh hit 180 and let it sit for half an hour before carving.
While I carved, my daughter sauteed some fresh asparagus and we served it all up.
The turkey and stuffing were fantastic and all the side dishes were right on the money. The creamed onions were to die for!
I'm beat, though. I basically prepped and cooked non-stop from 10:00 to 6:00 including an interlude to sharpen some knives. Now I'm ready for a nap!
The remote thermometer was the cat's meow for this kind of cooking. One probe through the side of the cooker to keep an eye on my fire and another probe in the turkey at the end (with the spit turned off!) to see when it was done. Very convenient to not have to be running outside every few minutes to check the grill!
I believe mine might have been the best I've every done.
My wife made the stuffing this morning and we trussed the 13 pounder together about noon while the fire was getting going.
I was figuring 4 to 5 hours to cook, but I hate sittin' around waiting on a bird, so I built some fudge into the timing (seeing as how it was the first time I'd cooked on this rig) and put it on the spit at 12:30 pm. Ran the temps up to 410 and climbing and left it for 30 minutes, then throttled my fire back to 325 and let it cook. Had to replenish the fire a couple times, but I had no problems holding the temps where I wanted them.
The spit worked great. I never had to baste because nothing much was making it to the drip pan...the spit makes the whole thing self-basting. I ended up with just enough fat to make my gravy and everything else stayed on the bird.
I never used the cheesecloth. The skin turned out fabulous -- dark golden brown, nice and crispy.
After 3 hours, I checked the temps and the bird was getting done. Since the guests weren't arriving until 5:30, I throttled the fire back to 210 - 250 degrees for an hour and a half in a holding pattern.
I set about making Bechamel Sauce for Julia Child's creamed onions and whipping up the gravy. Towards the end, I cranked the heat back up on the bird and put the extra pan of stuffing under it to catch some drippings for the last hour. Pulled the bird when thigh hit 180 and let it sit for half an hour before carving.
While I carved, my daughter sauteed some fresh asparagus and we served it all up.
The turkey and stuffing were fantastic and all the side dishes were right on the money. The creamed onions were to die for!
I'm beat, though. I basically prepped and cooked non-stop from 10:00 to 6:00 including an interlude to sharpen some knives. Now I'm ready for a nap!
The remote thermometer was the cat's meow for this kind of cooking. One probe through the side of the cooker to keep an eye on my fire and another probe in the turkey at the end (with the spit turned off!) to see when it was done. Very convenient to not have to be running outside every few minutes to check the grill!