Turkey Day

[NewToy]

Just curious how many folks are frying their turkey this year? I've been doing them for 10 years or so and look forward to it every year. Also, the biscuits are fantastic fried in the oil. You have to watch out, folks will gorge themselves on the biscuits and have room for nothing else.

Happy Thanksgiving,

John

 

[riptides]

Will be offering smoked turkey, regular oven turkey, smoked pheasant, honey cured ham, and an orange glazed chicken roast. We start cooking the day before the big day. No fried food this year.

-Mike Z.

 

[Bird]

I was frying the turkeys when we lived down in the country, but before we moved back to town, the turkey fryer was one of the things sold in the garage sale. So I'll be smoking the turkey this year. A nephew is bringing a smoked brisket. And we usually have a ham; haven't decided yet whether to have one this year or not; probably will. But we're only going to have 14 to 16 people here for Thanksgiving dinner this year.

 

[kenmac]

Not frying the whole bird this year as no one eats the dark meat. We bought & are only frying turkey breast this year

 

[Rara Avis]

Just remember what the ALLSTATE TV AD says about frying your turkey...

Be Safe...

 

[NewToy]

Will be offering smoked turkey, regular oven turkey, smoked pheasant, honey cured ham, and an orange glazed chicken roast. We start cooking the day before the big day. No fried food this year.

-Mike Z.

We're doing a ham as well, one of the spiral jobs from Sam's Club. I was going to use the smoker to heat it up. Have you seen those pre-smoked fully cooked Butterball turkeys? I was wondering if they were any good or not.
Later,

John

 

[NewToy]

Just remember what the ALLSTATE TV AD says about frying your turkey...

Be Safe...

I'm certain there will be several folks standing outside near the smoking remains of their house due to the turkey frier. They are quite dangerous if you don't follow instructions regarding oil level, temp and leaving the thing unattended. Do you remember any of the stats on how many fires nation wide? I remember the ad thinking what a shame to burn yourself out on Thanksgiving.

John

 

[Bird]

John, you are absolutely right about the danger the first time or two that you fry a turkey. I know my first time, I had the right amount of oil, but with the moisture in the turkey, the oil preheated, and me letting the turkey down into the oil too fast, the oil boiled over. Of course, I was just inside the overhead door to my shop building, well away from the house, so I just had some oil to clean up later from the concrete floor. No way I'd fry a turkey close to the house.

And I can't remember whether it was a Butterball or not, but I did once buy a fully cooked smoked turkey at the grocery store and thought it was very good. In fact, it would probably have made more sense for me to do that than to smoke one myself, but you know, sometimes you just gotta try things to see how they work.

 

[JESSE1]

I've been buying smoked turkeys from Bearcreek Smokehouse for at least 15 years. In fact I'm going by there tomorrow and get a turkey and probably some elk summer sausage and whatever else looks good, which is really everything they make.

 

[Bird]

If I lived a little closer, I believe I'd have to visit the Bearcreek Smokehouse myself, Jesse.

 

[billbill1]

Sam's Club sells a smoked turkey that ain't bad, probably not as good as Bird's but a lot less work. They run 10-12 lbs. as I remember and aren't too expensive. I have baked them on the grill before, that's pretty tasty. Also, you can inject the flavoring like when you fry a turkey, bake it instead and it is very good as well. With just the wife and me, even a 10-12 lb. turkey and I get sick of eating it before it's gone.

 

[Bird]

Sam's Club sells a smoked turkey that ain't bad, probably not as good as Bird's but a lot less work. They run 10-12 lbs. as I remember and aren't too expensive. I have baked them on the grill before, that's pretty tasty. Also, you can inject the flavoring like when you fry a turkey, bake it instead and it is very good as well. With just the wife and me, even a 10-12 lb. turkey and I get sick of eating it before it's gone.

Now I like turkey, but you're right. You need a crowd or it lasts too long. You know Walmart, and I'm sure other grocery stores, has some 3 pound "turkey roasts". They have the ones that are only white meat and ones that are a mix of white and dark meat, and I've tried them and liked them. So if it were only up to me, that's what I'd have.

 

[JESSE1]

Bird, try one of the turkeys from Bear Creek Smokehouse. You won't waste any. They're finger lickin' good. They take Visa/Mastercharge!

 

[EddieWalker]

Greenberg Turkey is here in Tyler, where I live. According to Oprah, it's the best turkey ever, and in this rare instance, I agree with her. They have a method of flavoring the entire bird all the way through. Plus the cook it in such a way that it's moist all the way through. I've had about a dozen of them now, and ever single one has been amazing!!!

Greenberg Turkey

I'm going to pick ours up today or tomorrow.

This will be the first year that we host Thanksgiving at our place. Steph's Grandma used to do it, but space was limited and it was a big job for her to put it all together. Her husband passed away earlier this year, so we've decided that we would really like to have everyone out here and make it a new family tradition. We have the space in our workshop to sit everyone down together, even with more people then ever before. Our guest list is over 30 right now, with more expected to respond today and tomorrow.

This has always been my wife's dream, to have a place where her family could get together and create those lasting memories. I have a very small family, so this is allot of fun for me too!!!!!!

Eddie

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Will be offering smoked turkey, regular oven turkey, smoked pheasant, honey cured ham, and an orange glazed chicken roast. We start cooking the day before the big day. No fried food this year.

-Mike Z.

Makes me remember the good old days. One year, me and my older brother went all out. Our mom told us that we would have about 25 family members for Thanksgiving. We went out small game season and got rabbit and grouse. Turkey season, I got one, he got one. He shot his with the 12 gauge, 3" magnum. We used it for soup. I went with the old 12 double, one pellet in the leg, one in the wing. Couldn't get much luckier. We had a huge store bought turkey too. Between the family and the food, that was about the best Thanksgiving I can remember.

I had fried turkey at my mom's once. I couldn't believe how good it was. Got to get me a frier. I heard that the stainless pot is much better. Any preference?

 

[dmccarty]

I had fried turkey at my mom's once. I couldn't believe how good it was. Got to get me a frier. I heard that the stainless pot is much better. Any preference?

I just got this from Cabela's, Cabela's Premium Stainless Steel 7-in-1 Cooker/Smoker

Its a 7 in 1 smoker. I used in on Saturday to smoke/cook some pork loins. VERY nice and yummy. There is a 30 quart pot that has to be bought extra to fry a turkey.

I was real impressed with the product. We got the stainless steel pot and smoker/grill.

There is a fair amount of assembly but I would give it a 95% grade. Its the best instructions I have seen. The bolts/nuts are in little plastic bubbles with paper backing. The paper has the letter id for the part that matches the instructions. The only thing the messed up was the left out instruction on attaching the electric starter. This should have been done first. But it was no biggy to put on at the end.

The only other issue I had was the thermometer. It goes up to 700 degrees. When I was seasoning the smoker I went passed 700 and the red paint on the needle outgassed onto the thermometer glass. Its still readable just smudged a bit.

The reviews on the website were good.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

I think aluminum is considerably cheaper and works pretty well, but in my opinion, the stainless steel is the preferable way to go. I think you'll like yours, Dan. Of course, I like smoked meats (and smoked cheddar cheese), but for my taste, the best turkeys I ever cooked were ones in which I injected about a pint of Cajun seasoning and then fried. The first time I ever heard of frying a whole turkey, I thought that just wouldn't work, but then the first time I ever heard of "blackened redfish" I didn't think that sounded reasonable either, but I learned either one is hard to beat for good eating.

 

[NewToy]

I think aluminum is considerably cheaper and works pretty well, but in my opinion, the stainless steel is the preferable way to go. I think you'll like yours, Dan. Of course, I like smoked meats (and smoked cheddar cheese), but for my taste, the best turkeys I ever cooked were ones in which I injected about a pint of Cajun seasoning and then fried. The first time I ever heard of frying a whole turkey, I thought that just wouldn't work, but then the first time I ever heard of "blackened redfish" I didn't think that sounded reasonable either, but I learned either one is hard to beat for good eating.

A friend of mine turned me onto the blackened fish thing several tears ago. When we lived down in FLA we always had an abundance of fresh fish. Kingfish turns out real well blackened. I always used Chef Paul Prudhome's(sic?) blackened fish seasoning, delish! Puts off a good deal of smoke, outdoor thing only.
John

 

[MossRoad]

We have the family honors this year, so I'm cooking my turkey in a bag. Flour the bag and lay it in a roaster pan, lay in some sliced onions, carrots and celerly and slide the bird in the bag. Tie it closed, put a few slits in the top, stick it with a meat thermometer and you're done. It only takes a few hours for a large bird and all the moisture stays in there. We do roasts and chickens in the bag too.

Now, it's 10:30 in the morning and I just finished eating some biscuits and gravy and sampled some crock pot ribs (department carry in today), but reading this thread has made room for seconds... I'm outa here!

 

[MossRoad]

Almoset forgot... on every family get together we boil up some Polish sausage, then brown it on the grill in 2-3" pieces. Eat that with some horseradish. Oh, man!