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Who else has given up on turkey?

9,926 Views | 101 Replies | Last: 4 mo ago by Bruce Almighty
Ryan the Temp
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This year I finally told everyone I'm done making turkey for holidays. It's just too much hassle for too little payoff. If I'm going to put in some work, I'm going to smoke a brisket. At least the payoff is vastly superior to turkey.

I might smoke a couple chickens for those who want something other than brisket, but no frickin' turkey.
Irish 2.0
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Ryan the Temp said:

This year I finally told everyone I'm done making turkey for holidays. It's just too much hassle for too little payoff. If I'm going to put in some work, I'm going to smoke a brisket. At least the payoff is vastly superior to turkey.

I might smoke a couple chickens for those who want something other than brisket, but no frickin' turkey.
I'm not doing a full bird. I'm smoking a couple turkey breasts on the pellet grill.
Farmer1906
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Disagree. Turkey is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. You smoke it right, it shines. I get rave reviews every year. The dry oven-roasted ones with no flavor are worth giving up on.

DiskoTroop
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My aunt decided it was gonna be a tamale thanksgiving this year. I have to say I'm a little jealous… I do love a properly smoked turkey, and what's more, all that goes with a turkey dinner, but home made tamales sounds great.
StewRo
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Gave up on it a few years ago and we just cook what we want to eat. Has been brisket, lamb chops, gumbo in the past. Filets and baked potatoes this year.
Farmer1906
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Irish 2.0 said:

Ryan the Temp said:

This year I finally told everyone I'm done making turkey for holidays. It's just too much hassle for too little payoff. If I'm going to put in some work, I'm going to smoke a brisket. At least the payoff is vastly superior to turkey.

I might smoke a couple chickens for those who want something other than brisket, but no frickin' turkey.
I'm not doing a full bird. I'm smoking a couple turkey breasts on the pellet grill.
Where do you buy the breasts?

The only ones I ever find are breast roasts and not always great.
Irish 2.0
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Farmer1906 said:

Irish 2.0 said:

Ryan the Temp said:

This year I finally told everyone I'm done making turkey for holidays. It's just too much hassle for too little payoff. If I'm going to put in some work, I'm going to smoke a brisket. At least the payoff is vastly superior to turkey.

I might smoke a couple chickens for those who want something other than brisket, but no frickin' turkey.
I'm not doing a full bird. I'm smoking a couple turkey breasts on the pellet grill.
Where do you buy the breasts?

The only ones I ever find are breast roasts and not always great.
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-fresh-all-natural-turkey-breast/372404
Ryan the Temp
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Farmer1906 said:

Disagree. Turkey is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. You smoke it right, it shines. I get rave reviews every year. The dry oven-roasted ones with no flavor are worth giving up on.
Biggest bird I've smoked is a 7 lb chicken. Maybe I'll change my mind if I practice a turkey once or twice..
Farmer1906
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Ryan the Temp said:

Farmer1906 said:

Disagree. Turkey is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. You smoke it right, it shines. I get rave reviews every year. The dry oven-roasted ones with no flavor are worth giving up on.
Biggest bird I've smoked is a 7 lb chicken. Maybe I'll change my mind if I practice a turkey once or twice..


You should. It's way easier and cheaper than brisket.

Aaron Franklin did a 3 part video about a decade ago that will walk you thru it.

DiskoTroop
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Ryan the Temp said:

Farmer1906 said:

Disagree. Turkey is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. You smoke it right, it shines. I get rave reviews every year. The dry oven-roasted ones with no flavor are worth giving up on.
Biggest bird I've smoked is a 7 lb chicken. Maybe I'll change my mind if I practice a turkey once or twice..


Smoked Turkey Breast

Brine 24 hours

Pepper or otherwise season as appropriate, but no more salt! Brine is enough.

Smoke 230*F-275*F until ~135*F internal.
Wrap in foil with 1 stick butter, melted.
Replace probe, skin side down until ~150*F internal.
Rest 1 hour in warmer/yeti.

Slice and serve

For a slightly more BBQ shop style turkey follow the process above but try this:

Rodney Scott
Ingredients
Dry Rub
* 1/4 cup kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons black pepper
* 2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
VINEGAR-PEPPER MOPPING SAUCE
* 3 3/4 cups white vinegar
* 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1/4 cup cayenne pepper
* 2 tablespoons black pepper
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
HTownAg98
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I prefer to do braised turkey legs over cooking a whole bird.
https://www.seriouseats.com/red-wine-braised-turkey-legs
aTm2004
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Farmer1906 said:

Disagree. Turkey is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. You smoke it right, it shines. I get rave reviews every year. The dry oven-roasted ones with no flavor are worth giving up on.


Same. My company gives us turkeys each year, so I cook it because I don't want it taking up room in my freezer. I started smoking it on my Kamado Joe about 6 years ago and they've all been great. The only one that sucked was the one I cooked in 2020, but I was forced to do that one in an oven due to everyone cancelling because doo-sh canoe Fauci told them to, so we headed to a buddy's lake house and had Thanksgiving with him. Remember that turkey in Christmas Vacation? That's about what that one looked like. I probably used a cup of gravy to get my turkey down. My mom asked how it was, and I told her it was awful and dry...like the ones I remember as a kid. She then asked "you mean the ones I used to make?" Damn.
Ryan the Temp
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Quote:

You should. It's way easier and cheaper than brisket.
Yeah ... that $71 I just spent at HEB was fun.
aggiedata
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I got these at the HEB on 99 and Champion Forest

They are tough to find this week.


Irish 2.0
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What do you season yours with?
aggiedata
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Irish 2.0 said:

What do you season yours with?


I believe FunnierPhideaux turned me on to this one, plus I add coarse cracked black pepper.

My test run a few weeks ago turned out really well.




Matsui
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I do the Martha Stewart roasted Turkey recipe. She uses a cheesecloth soaked in butter. It's consistently outstanding.
coastalAg
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A smoked whole turkey will yield enough meat for a full dinner, leftovers for the weekend, and a whole bunch of turkey stock for your fall soups and gumbos.

Well worth the effort in my book, but opinions seem to differ.
Irish 2.0
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Damn that looks nice! Mind sharing your cook process?
aggiedata
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Irish 2.0 said:

Damn that looks nice! Mind sharing your cook process?


Sure.! I combined several methods for the pellet smoker. I cut back on the butter but you could add more. I found lower cook temperature works better with texture on my test runs.


Irish 2.0
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Thank you kind sir!
aggiedata
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Well, I stand on the shoulders of others on here. TheFunnierPhideaux inspired me. Several months ago I read a post about guys smoking these once a month instead of buying lunch meat and saving money with better product. So I bought a rectec .

Now the pressure is on to deliver smoked turkey breast for 14 in laws on T-day!

Irish 2.0
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aggiedata said:

Well, I stand on the shoulders of others on here. TheFunnierPhideaux inspired me. Several months ago I read a post about guys smoking these once a month instead of buying lunch meat and saving money with better product. So I bought a rectec .


Long term investing! I like it!
Bruce Almighty
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I love Turkey. Smoked on Thursday, turkey hash on Friday, and then use the rest to make a kick ass weekend pozole.
htxag09
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Bruce Almighty said:

I love Turkey. Smoked on Thursday, turkey hash on Friday, and then use the rest to make a kick ass weekend pozole.
Agree, I love turkey, too. One of the meats I always get at BBQ joints.

I also think there are multiple ways to cook good turkey. I've had damn good roasted, fried, sous vide, and smoked turkey. My favorite is smoked, but it's possible to roast a turkey without it being bland and dried out....

My mom used the turkey drippings to make noodles The broth turned into a gravy consistency. She passed away so I've taken on that torch. But those noodles over a good turkey are one of my favorite things to eat.

Turkey sandwiches with homemade rolls are also a pretty kick ass leftover
DiskoTroop
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aggiedata said:

Irish 2.0 said:

Damn that looks nice! Mind sharing your cook process?


Sure.! I combined several methods for the pellet smoker. I cut back on the butter but you could add more. I found lower cook temperature works better with texture on my test runs.





168*F??? Chicken!!!! Try the 135*F wrap temp, then cook to ~145*F with a 20 min hold!!! You'll never go back……..




Seriously though, glad it's working out for you. I love my pellet smoker and lord knows I shouldn't eat so much beef and pork so having a poultry alternative that's that good makes a big difference.
aggiedata
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I am chicken! Maybe I'll go lower when the pressure is off. I got a ton of kudos at 165. Now I just want to repeat it for the big day. If I put it in the warm oven to rest , I can see it meeting the threshold, but I don't want to tweak it now.
DiskoTroop
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Fair enough. I haven't done dark meat yet at all on my pellet smoker so I'm a little nervous too. The breast meat is gonna be lights out, I know that. But the dark… we'll see. (Disclosure: I don't do the dark to 145*F!! It's different.)
aggiedata
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TheFunnierPhideaux said:

Fair enough. I haven't done dark meat yet at all on my pellet smoker so I'm a little nervous too. The breast meat is gonna be lights out, I know that. But the dark… we'll see. (Disclosure: I don't do the dark to 145*F!! It's different.)


Question for you: have you done two turkey breast at once on a smoker? Any considerations to doing that?
Farmer1906
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aggiedata said:

TheFunnierPhideaux said:

Fair enough. I haven't done dark meat yet at all on my pellet smoker so I'm a little nervous too. The breast meat is gonna be lights out, I know that. But the dark… we'll see. (Disclosure: I don't do the dark to 145*F!! It's different.)


Question for you: have you done two turkey breast at once on a smoker? Any considerations to doing that?


Just make sure they cook evenly. If one part of the smoker is hotter or colder, you might end up with some being over or under done if you pull them together. You should probe them individually anyway. One just may take a little longer.
aggiedata
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Thanks! I got two probes with the rectec 700. I'll make sure to watch each separately.

Looking forward to the smoke (and the eating!
DiskoTroop
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aggiedata said:

TheFunnierPhideaux said:

Fair enough. I haven't done dark meat yet at all on my pellet smoker so I'm a little nervous too. The breast meat is gonna be lights out, I know that. But the dark… we'll see. (Disclosure: I don't do the dark to 145*F!! It's different.)


Question for you: have you done two turkey breast at once on a smoker? Any considerations to doing that?
I have. Nothing different as far as I can tell. Just ensure you're cooking to internal temp, not time vs weight calculations.
Hwy30East
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My wife and kids decided they wanted steak. So, thick Ribeyes it is!
aTm2004
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Reverse sear a tritip. You'll thank me.
Cyprian
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We take a break from it every other year on average. This year I'm doing lamb shanks, & the wife a bunch of tday goto sides/desserts.
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