Christmas turkey

[derekmiller]

Yeah, I am hoping for a 22/24lb. See what happens....

[derekmiller]

Well she aint running around anymore 25lb hanging in the shed
But she has a "sister". The missus bought a 12lb just for me to smoke, , so going to follow the apple recipe on "the virtual bullet". Our Xmas will be on the 23rd, so hopefully will give some feedback then.
Really looking forward to this.............

[keith157]

Nice timing Turkey is at it's best around 10-14 days, more then that and it gets a bit strong.

[derekmiller]

Turkey:

Brine:

Apple Brine For Turkey (courtesy of the Virtual Weber Bullet website)
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2 quarts apple juice
1 pound brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
3 quarts cold water
3 oranges, quartered 4 ounces fresh ginger, unpeeled and thinly sliced
15 whole cloves
6 bay leaves
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Substitute 3/4 cup Morton Kosher Salt or 1/2 cup table salt for Diamond Crystal.

Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve. Boil for one minute, remove from heat, let mixture come to room temperature, then refrigerate to 40°F.

In a large non-reactive container, combine the apple juice mixture with the remaining ingredients. When adding the oranges, squeeze each piece to release the juice into the container, then drop in the peel.

Put the turkey in the brine breast side down. Place a heavy plate or bowl on top to keep the bird submerged, if necessary.

Brine the turkey for 24 hours. You may wish to stir the solution 2-3 times during the brining process. I'm not sure if this is necessary or if it actually does anything, but I like to do it anyway.

Since brining does not preserve meat, the turkey and the brine solution must be kept below 40°F throughout the entire brining process.

We used half a cup of of table salt, and because of timings we only brined for 12 hours

Turkey in brine:

[derekmiller]

Fire lit:

Turkey on:

We smoked with apple and cherry wood for the first two hours, then left to cook for another 1.5 hours

3.5 Hours later..

[derekmiller]

"should be more pics, but cant get them under 269K"

FINISHED.....

Was a fantastic piece of meat. It was a cheap barn reared . Of out 8 visitors, 2 reckoned this was better than the free range bronze we had cooked in the oven.
Bit disappointed with the skin, but as Keith has mentioned, not sure this is possible at this temperature.
Will be doing this again.

Derek.

[keith157]

Well, I have a small turkey in the freezer so might give that brine a go. As mentioned earlier we had a Kelly Bronze.....We were sceptical, but have just this morning I picked the last bits off the carcass and honestly there was still moisture in the breastmeat . The carcase is slowly burbling away to produce some nice stock for the freezer.
So Mr Miller, Derek, Del me old mucker are you going to give away the secret of this turkey farm?? (I am prepared for minor begging & pleading if necessary)

[derekmiller]

So Mr Miller, Derek, Del me old mucker are you going to give away the secret of this turkey farm?? (I am prepared for minor begging & pleading if necessary)

I hate hearing grown men cry..
Franklins of Thorncote, they will also have turkey for Easter.

[keith157]

Cheers

[PeteW]

We're going over two my mum's for Christmas dinner, but I do fancy trying to smoke a little bit of turkey for me and the wife/kids some time this week. Don't need a whole one obviously, so what would be the best part? I'm thinking some legs would be better a crown for low/slow? Also, any idea where's the best place to pick up some bargain turkey around Boxing Day or will everyone have shifted it all by then?