Are you frying your turkey this year? If so, The Shat would like a word.

[Jstas]

TL;DR? Grease, oil and fire are dangerous. Don't burn your house down, stupid.

[EndersShadow]

Yup, LOVE that SF has finally started getting some good commercials out there lol....

[steveinaz]

NEVER, I'm a traditionalist dinosaur, and I like it that way....oh, and leave my turkey leg alone, it's the only rule I have in my house.

[Jstas]

NEVER, I'm a traditionalist dinosaur, and I like it that way....oh, and leave my turkey leg alone, it's the only rule I have in my house.

I will be cooking the turkey outside this year again. But not with any sissy fryer crap.

I'm usin' one of these!

[nguyendot]

Classic...lol

[nspindel]

I followed Alton Brown's (of foodtv fame) method of cooking the turkey last year, and everyone told me it was the best turkey they've ever had:

1) Brine that bird - it's an absolute must. Google a recipe online, or this year I'm using Williams Sonoma's brine mix. 1 hour per pound at least. Make sure you use kosher salt, not table salt. After brining is complete, rinse the turkey very thoroughly.

2) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Yes, that's right FIVE hundred.

3) Stuff the bird as you please, I use apples, lemons, cinamon stick, onion, and rosemary.

4) Baste the bird with canola oil.

5) Pre-fit a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil over the breast only, form it into a dome shape that completely covers the breast. Put it to the side, you'll need it later.

6) Put the bird into the 500 degree oven (without the aluminum foil) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the skin should be nicely browned and sealed.

7) Take the turkey out, turn the oven down to 350, place the aluminum foil over the breast, and back in with a thermometer until 162 degrees. The aluminum foil will slow down the cooking of the breast, so that you don't overcook the breast in order to cook the dark meat thoroughly.

8) Cover the entire turkey with foil and let it rest 30 minutes before carving.

The result will be the juiciest turkey you've ever had, with the white meat not overcooked at all. No, the brining doesn't make it taste salty.

However you go about cooking your turkey, have a great Thanksgiving!

[Libertyc]

Smoked turkey is great. I will never forget the 1st time smoking it, it took until 11pm to finish. I will only smoke a turkey breast now.

[steveinaz]

I will be cooking the turkey outside this year again. But not with any sissy fryer crap.

I'm usin' one of these!

THAT is gonna be gooooooood. Damn, now I'm hungry.

[maximillian]

A little Tim Allen at 1:20? Thanks. That was good.

[codyc1ark]

I smoke 2 or 3 birds a year, good 12/14 hours at 220 on a side fire box smoker, it'll never be better. I also have started brining my birds for 24 hours prior to hitting the smoker, best way to go for a tender bird.

Good luck!

[seeclear]

I have used this method as well, and it does make a good bird. However, I would say that #3 is a little deceiving, AB does NOT recommend stuffing the turkey in the traditional sense of bread stuffing...he uses a loose filling of aromatics like you suggest, but filling it UP prolongs the cooking time too much to end up with a juicy bird. FWIW

I followed Alton Brown's (of foodtv fame) method of cooking the turkey last year, and everyone told me it was the best turkey they've ever had:

1) Brine that bird - it's an absolute must. Google a recipe online, or this year I'm using Williams Sonoma's brine mix. 1 hour per pound at least. Make sure you use kosher salt, not table salt. After brining is complete, rinse the turkey very thoroughly.

2) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Yes, that's right FIVE hundred.

3) Stuff the bird as you please, I use apples, lemons, cinamon stick, onion, and rosemary.

4) Baste the bird with canola oil.

5) Pre-fit a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil over the breast only, form it into a dome shape that completely covers the breast. Put it to the side, you'll need it later.

6) Put the bird into the 500 degree oven (without the aluminum foil) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the skin should be nicely browned and sealed.

7) Take the turkey out, turn the oven down to 350, place the aluminum foil over the breast, and back in with a thermometer until 162 degrees. The aluminum foil will slow down the cooking of the breast, so that you don't overcook the breast in order to cook the dark meat thoroughly.

8) Cover the entire turkey with foil and let it rest 30 minutes before carving.

The result will be the juiciest turkey you've ever had, with the white meat not overcooked at all. No, the brining doesn't make it taste salty.

However you go about cooking your turkey, have a great Thanksgiving!

[danger boy]

brine really does make a huge difference in the overall taste. i do the brine all the time with chicken.. and it's so good..

[Jstas]

Smoked turkey is great. I will never forget the 1st time smoking it, it took until 11pm to finish. I will only smoke a turkey breast now.

Gotta start it REAL early.

The last time we had a BIG bird for dinner, it was about 16 pounds. That would have been about 16 hours of smoking. So my dad started at about 6am and smoked it for 8 hours at about 225 degrees. Then we pulled it out, had the oven at like 375, covered the bird in tinfoil in it's aluminum pan and finished it for another 3 hours in the oven.

Also, alot of people make the mistake of stuffing the bird for the smoker and that you can't do. The stuffing just adds weight and density and takes longer to cook. Rule of thumb, for every pound of meat, you need an hour in the smoker at 200 degrees. So a 6 pound brisket would be about 6 hours at 200 degrees. Best to get a thermometer and go by internal temps.

[Jstas]

THAT is gonna be gooooooood. Damn, now I'm hungry.

We started doing it this way like 10 years ago now and everyone likes it alot. So that's how it's been going down every year.

Just using my smoker this year 'cause we are doing dinner at my house so my mom has time to go do the gig at the nursing home for my grandmom.

[cnh]

That's a great piece you have there, John--we're all a little envious. I also like the Alton recipe above, except that I will never brine a turkey--not that that doesn't work. I'm also not the greatest cook, but I have prepared a pretty good turkey or two in my time. The secret has been something perhaps even less healthy than a lot of salt, 'butter'. Certainly cook the bird at 350, but I hover over it for hours basting the S#$%! out of it....with it's own droppings and butter, lots of butter which keeps the breast and everything else 'moist' with no need for foil. When I get going, I must be giving it a good basting every 15-20 minutes. This technique is NOT for those on Cholesterol meds! Mine is on the lower side of normal.

So I'd probably stick with A Brown's approach above if butter is too much for you. But, I figure, once a year is not going to take me out and then there is the 'taste'. I find if you don't want something to dry out on you, you just have to take charge of it and not just let it sit and cook.

Hope you all have a Great T-Giving!

cnh

[Jstas]

Eh, you cook your bird anyway you want.

I haven't had a need to brine it in the smoker. In fact, once the bird goes in the smoker, I don't even open the cooking chamber door. Comes out just peachy.

If I was doing it in the oven, I'd probably brine it if it was a big bird. Otherwise, not really worth it. In a deep fryer, because of the way the brine breaks down the proteins and holds more water, I would certainly brine it because it would enhance the effect of the hot oil on the outside of the bird and help retain moisture through the rest of it.

So cook it any way you want. We're not having a big family event this year so we're only getting about a 9-10 pound turkey. I'll light the fires around 6-6:30 and start cooking around 7 AM. 10 hours later, about 5pm, turkey will be done and ready to hit the table around 5:30. Gonna miss some football but hey, family is more important.

[Face]

Nothing beats deep fried turkey.

[codyc1ark]

Nothing beats deep fried turkey.

Except a smoked, brined, turkey.

[EndersShadow]

Nothing beats deep fried turkey.

Deep fried Oreo's, twinkie's

[fossy]

the best turkey I've ever had was cooked in the oven in a brown paper bag with butter rubbed on the inside of the bag ... and yes , I stayed at holiday inn a few years ago... definatly hungry for turkey after reading this thread ... smoking , deep fryin ..... yummy

[headrott]

Shatner Rules!

Greg