# Thanksgiving



## Boatboy24 (Nov 24, 2020)

And we're off! Turkey is in the brine. Let the games begin!


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## ceeaton (Nov 24, 2020)

Weather for Thursday not optimal for smoking a turkey, might have to do it in the oven, bummer.


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 24, 2020)

ceeaton said:


> Weather for Thursday not optimal for smoking a turkey, might have to do it in the oven, bummer.



I will probably go with the "Weber Outdoor Oven" (aka: Genesis).


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## Aiserock (Nov 24, 2020)

I'm going to attempt my 1st turkey breast smoke. I'll post pics as I progress, hopefully I'll learn something.


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## Aiserock (Nov 24, 2020)

Oh, I'm using a kamado grill... wish me luck.


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 25, 2020)

Roasted off a few heads of garlic this morning and just made up a batch of mashed potatoes with some of that garlic and thyme. Gonna be good tomorrow! I imagine there will be some roasted garlic burgers grilled in the next few days.

Weather is now saying rain will be between 4 and 9am here tomorrow. Perfect timing, as I'll be aiming to get the bird on around 10. After that little front rolls through, it's going to be 68 and sunny.


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## ZebraB (Nov 25, 2020)

Boatboy24 said:


> And we're off! Turkey is in the brine. Let the games begin!
> 
> View attachment 68677


What time is dinner. That looks like a really good brine


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 25, 2020)

ZebraB said:


> What time is dinner. That looks like a really good brine



Recipe, if you're interested: Whole Turkey - Apple Brine - The Virtual Weber Bullet

I've also used this when cooking in the oven.


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## NoQuarter (Nov 25, 2020)

Just pulled 3 turkeys from brine, going to let dry in fridge. Smoking 2 and frying one.
at 20-22 lbs each going to be starting smoker about 1:00 am. Even with spatch-cocking 2 for the smoker, still looking at 9-10 hours.
got sound system ready for an all nighter....Starting with some old Steve Miller, then maybe some Steely-Dan and Zeppelin...
Old school smoker is great but no automatic pellets, gas, timers...just a pile of split pecan.


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## ibglowin (Nov 25, 2020)

Looks more like sangria to me! LOL



Boatboy24 said:


> And we're off! Turkey is in the brine. Let the games begin!
> 
> View attachment 68677


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 25, 2020)

ibglowin said:


> Looks more like sangria to me! LOL



You have the first glass and let me know what you think.


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 25, 2020)

Garlic pre-roast this morning, cranberry sauce just getting started. The bird is out of the brine and drying in the spare fridge; cranberry sauce is done and chilling. In the AM, I make the stuffing (which doesn't go in the bird) and prepare the fire and gas grill (I'm going to give it 30-60 minutes on the Performer for some flavor, then finish on the Genesis, where I can lock in temps).


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## sour_grapes (Nov 25, 2020)

I stopped by the Boneless Chicken Ranch today and picked up this bad boy, errr, girl.





I had never before boned a chicken via the technique called "glove boning." Here, you separate the meat from the carcass without breaking the skin. Took a bit of time to get the hang of it, but now, I have a full, floppy chicken. I am brining it overnight. I will stuff it tomorrow according to a recipe from Marcella Hazan, where the cavity is stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, bread crumbs, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. 





Here is an actual photo of the Boneless Chicken Ranch:


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## NoQuarter (Nov 26, 2020)

Smoked turkeys going good..


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## winemaker81 (Nov 26, 2020)

I've smoked a bird the last few years -- this year it's in the oven. The extended weather report was iffy, so we planned for the oven. Christmas I plan on smoking ...

The bird brined overnight, this morning loosely stuffed the cavity with onion, celery, and lemon zest; added 1/4 cup lemon juice to the bird, pouring it in the cavity. The veggies don't do much for the bird, but once the bird rests 15 minutes I completely debone it and start turkey soup with the carcass and the veggies. The soup is cooked before we're done eating. This way we do 2 cleanups -- a preliminary in the morning and one after the meal.

IF anyone is hungry this evening, soup is nice and light to contrast the extremely heavy dinner.

Next time I smoke a bird, I'm going to cut it in half. That looks a LOT easier to deal with!


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## NoQuarter (Nov 26, 2020)

The fastest way to smoke them is to definitely cut out the backbone and splay it flat. This time I pulled out the breastbone too, a lot of work to do that. I used a stick of butter with a couple cloves of garlic, celery seeds and rosemary crushed with mortor and pestle. Loaded it between the skin and meat by the handfuls.
Wife makes the turkey frame soup as well. She usually freezes it for a few weeks down the road. Good stuff.


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## winemaker81 (Nov 26, 2020)

NoQuarter said:


> Wife makes the turkey frame soup as well. She usually freezes it for a few weeks down the road. Good stuff.


It can make a lot of broth -- depending on the situation, I often freeze half of for later use. Fresh soup is always welcome!


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## ceeaton (Nov 26, 2020)

Last of the showers blew through here a couple of hours ago. Looks like a green light for a turkey on the Weber Kettle today, I'm excited!

Might have a few beers just to make sure they are up to snuff for the meal later..


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## ceeaton (Nov 26, 2020)

Day is beautiful, but the wind has really picked up. Put the bird on about 30 minutes ago, temps in the bullet smoker were hanging at 215, so I wrapped the smoker (big Cabela's hot pad made for smokers) and opened the vents to 100%. Using a little apple wood, slathered the bird with bacon grease and tried to evenly coat with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Didn't do such a good job of evenly coating it.

Trying to kick a keg of beer, need to move another batch into it. It's a tough job, but I think I'm up to the challenge.


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 26, 2020)

Kind of a family joke, but we always say that you can't have a fancy dinner without a proper relish tray. My Mom always throws one out in good humor, usually just a couple olives and a few pieces of celery. I had to make one today and make sure she got a pic, since we weren't together.


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## ibglowin (Nov 26, 2020)

My 2020 Turkey is in the oven. I've had chickens with bigger breast than this guy!


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 26, 2020)

ibglowin said:


> My 2020 Turkey is in the oven. I've had chickens with bigger breast than this guy!
> 
> View attachment 68744



Somebody never missed leg day...


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## ceeaton (Nov 26, 2020)

Turkey turned out really well. Wrapped in foil at 150* and topped with 1/2 lb of butter. Breast temp ran a bit high at 180* waiting for my wife's sweet taters, the butter kept the breast really moist. Served with mashed taters, bread stuffing and green bean casserole (w/GF fried onions, of course).


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## ibglowin (Nov 26, 2020)

Ours turned out PDG as well. Was still a LOT of work esp for two people but the meal in itself was delicious and even the pumpkin pie was amazing!


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 26, 2020)

@ibglowin I can't see your pics.


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## ibglowin (Nov 26, 2020)

Boatboy24 said:


> @ibglowin I can't see your pics.


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## sour_grapes (Nov 26, 2020)

sour_grapes said:


> I stopped by the Boneless Chicken Ranch today and picked up this bad boy, errr, girl.
> 
> View attachment 68716
> 
> ...



Well, this turned out very nicely! In the end, we had that boneless chicken stuffed with ground beef and Parmagiano-Reggiano; green beans wtih cream and Cambazola topped with toasted walnuts; roasted cauliflower with butter, garlic, fennel, and marjoram; and Hasselback potatotes. Our guest brought rum and fresh eggnog for dessert. Yum. I am STUFFED.


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## Aiserock (Nov 26, 2020)

Just did a breast, came out really nice! I used cherry and pecan wood chunks for the smoking. 240F-ish, for roughly 4 hours on a 7 lb breast.


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## bstnh1 (Nov 27, 2020)

$4.54 Our .37/lb . 12 pound turkey for two done in the oven. Nothing out of the ordinary, except smaller turkey and no guests this year. We still put on the usual spread with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, marinated mushrooms, olives, etc. Cheesecake w/strawberries for dessert. Forgot to toss the rolls in the oven, so we went without! Won't be doing much cooking for the next week or so!


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## David Violante (Nov 27, 2020)

Thanksgiving was a tad different for us this year. At the beginning of the week I flew to Florida to pick up my son from school and drive home. We all thought he would be finished for the semester. He’s in flight school and still had a couple more flights to do because of scheduling and weather.

When it looked like I would be here for thanksgiving we made a plan to do pickup of a thanksgiving dinner for us. For reasons unbeknownst to us, that all fell through around 2pm. So... grocery store run it was. All closed except a local Spanish market. So, chicken breast, broccoli, sweet potato, roasted baby potatoes, and a pumpkin pie all from scratch. Cranberry relish from ocean spray. All in a college apartment. Yes the pie is in an oven safe skillet. 

We zoomed with family up in NY and watched Casino Royale. Loved every minute.


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## bstnh1 (Nov 27, 2020)

David Violante said:


> Thanksgiving was a tad different for us this year. At the beginning of the week I flew to Florida to pick up my son from school and drive home. We all thought he would be finished for the semester. He’s in flight school and still had a couple more flights to do because of scheduling and weather.
> 
> When it looked like I would be here for thanksgiving we made a plan to do pickup of a thanksgiving dinner for us. For reasons unbeknownst to us, that all fell through around 2pm. So... grocery store run it was. All closed except a local Spanish market. So, chicken breast, broccoli, sweet potato, roasted baby potatoes, and a pumpkin pie all from scratch. Cranberry relish from ocean spray. All in a college apartment. Yes the pie is in an oven safe skillet.
> 
> ...


What a great job of salvaging Turkey Day!!!


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## David Violante (Nov 27, 2020)

Thank you! It was really fun figuring out what we were going to do and how, doing it all together, and to be honest I really loved that Spanish market. What a great place~ today we’re doing seconds as quesadillas. Family tradition started by my daughter many years ago.


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 27, 2020)

David Violante said:


> Thanksgiving was a tad different for us this year. At the beginning of the week I flew to Florida to pick up my son from school and drive home. We all thought he would be finished for the semester. He’s in flight school and still had a couple more flights to do because of scheduling and weather.
> 
> When it looked like I would be here for thanksgiving we made a plan to do pickup of a thanksgiving dinner for us. For reasons unbeknownst to us, that all fell through around 2pm. So... grocery store run it was. All closed except a local Spanish market. So, chicken breast, broccoli, sweet potato, roasted baby potatoes, and a pumpkin pie all from scratch. Cranberry relish from ocean spray. All in a college apartment. Yes the pie is in an oven safe skillet.
> 
> ...



Well you certainly made some great lemonade with those lemons!


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## David Violante (Nov 27, 2020)

I’m kinda looking forward to leftovers today!


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## Chuck E (Nov 27, 2020)

I made 2 turkey dishes for our table.
First, I made a smoked turkey breast. Brined and smoked, as I do almost every year.

Second, I made turkey thighs confit. This is thighs poached in duck fat for 5 hours at 200F, then baked at 500F for 20 minutes to crisp the skin. Served de-boned and sliced at the table. Turned out fantastic. Used a recipe from Cooks Illustrated.


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## cmason1957 (Nov 27, 2020)

I didn't take any pictures. My wife and I decided to go away to celebrate our tenth Wedding Anniversary. We rented a VRBO near Hannibal, MO. We roasted two Cornish Game Hens, Roasted white and sweet potatoes, salad, several bottles of wine, topped off with a firepit. Very laid back, very calm, lots of fun for both of us.


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## ibglowin (Nov 27, 2020)

Happy 10th!



cmason1957 said:


> I didn't take any pictures. My wife and I decided to go away to celebrate our tenth Wedding Anniversary. We rented a VRBO near Hannibal, MO. We roasted two Cornish Game Hens, Roasted white and sweet potatoes, salad, several bottles of wine, topped off with a firepit. Very laid back, very calm, lots of fun for both of us.


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## ibglowin (Nov 27, 2020)

Leftovers are sometimes better than the main event on Thanksgiving.

Turkey, melted brie, fresh cranberry compote, and arugula on ho-made sourdough bread of (course).........


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## winemaker81 (Nov 28, 2020)

I always cook a much larger turkey than necessary -- nothing better than warmed up turkey & gravy poured over dressing! [this was lunch today]

I'll probably finish the soup tomorrow -- boiled the carcass right after dinner, have a gallon of broth in the fridge. If we run out of turkey (which is not only possible but probable) I'll grill chicken breast and/or boneless thighs. That plus 2 lbs of carrots makes for a good soup! [I've made all sorts of turkey vegetable soup, but growing up "chicken soup" meant lots of carrots cooked in the soup. 4 people could wipe out 2 lbs of carrots at one sitting.]


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## JohnT (Dec 2, 2020)

Hey mike,

care to share your sourdough bread recipe?


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