Our Bird

[Rich G]

Lots of turkey pics, but 'tis the season, right? Our bird this year was a Foster Farms fresh turkey from CostCo that tipped the scales at 23 pounds. I brined it for just under 24 hours in the basic brine, and cooked it on the WSM22 @ about 300 degrees with hickory and apple. It took about 5.5 hours to hit temps, though I did have to dial the temp back a bit as it was finishing way faster than I wanted it to. Turned out great. Juicy, great flavor, and just the touch of smoke that I was looking for. Here's a few pics.

First, can't let Cliff have all the bread fun!

Just before coming off the WSM:

[

Carved up and on the serving platter (that's half the bird):

Plated up (sides are my wife's pureed broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes):

We had a great meal with about a dozen of our family who were in town this year. I'll be firing up the stockpot for stock/soup in about an hour or so.

Hope you all had a great celebration!

Rich

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

Beautiful turkey. I love the bread!

 

[Barb D]

Outstanding job on that turkey. O my god that bread is awesome. Rich and I use to do those big turkey cooks but now it's the 14 to 16 pounder for us.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Very nice plate there Rich. Got to get my bread game going, will be to trying a cold long fermentation to see if I can get a better rise next time.

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

Just had a big lunch and now I'm hungry again! Outstanding Thanksgiving cook, Rich. The bread is amazing. Hope the spring on those loaves didn't knock the lids off!

 

[Rich G]

Very nice plate there Rich. Got to get my bread game going, will be to trying a cold long fermentation to see if I can get a better rise next time.

Experimentation until you find what works for you is the name of the game, Rich. This loaf used commercial yeast, hence the super rise.....I've never gotten that kind of rise out of my natural levain. Good or mediocre rise, they all taste good!

Just had a big lunch and now I'm hungry again! Outstanding Thanksgiving cook, Rich. The bread is amazing. Hope the spring on those loaves didn't knock the lids off!

....ok, I TOOK the lids off these, but I love that part in the process where you go to pull the lids and there's the anticipation of what kind of rise you got.

R

 

[JeffG]

Rich

Nicely done Sir.
That bread, your bird and your carving skills on the bird are second to none. Wife's pureed broccoli, have to give that one a try.

 

[Michael C.]

Nice bird there, all that food looks very good, nice job!

 

[Ray Crick]

Great pics!