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i wound up spatchcocking my bird on saturday, cutting the backbone out was totally doable just a bit more unnerving than i had thought it was going to be... i was also glad i had a good knife.
I then dry brined it.. a good amount of salt and some smoked sea salt also and a tiny bit of baking powder... let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight til sunday. injected it sunday about noon with juices that had seeped out from sitting.
i tucked the wing tips behind the bird and then went for the grill.
i smoked it for about an hour and a half at around 180*
then pulled it off the grill/smoker (traeger) and let it sit in the fridge until the grill got up to 375* or so and grilled it for about two and a half hours.
i pulled it off when it was 152* and it coasted to 165 after about 25 minutes of sitting.
it was fucking awesome.
crispy skin with tons of flavor, a nice subtle smoke taste throughout (i smoked with apple/hickory pellet mix) and EXTREMELY moist and tender.
major fail in not getting a pic as i took it off. butttttt here's the table.
i also cooked bacon/onion green beans, mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar, pecans & bacon, a ham, homemade gravy from homemade stock from the backbone and other "parts"
fwiw this was the quote as to why i didn't go with a wet-brine.
The Quick and Dirty Guide to Brining Chicken or Turkey | Serious Eats
The Food Lab: The Truth About Brining Turkey | Serious Eats
The Food Lab: The Truth About Brining Turkey | Serious Eats
How do you prepare/nuke/roast your bird?
Walmart has styrofoam coolers for $2 that will fit a turkey. I grabbed one of them tonight. My brine is in the fridge. Before I go to bed, I will put the turkey in the brine in the cooler and add a gallon of ice water. That will either go in the fridge or on the lanai. It will go in the oven tomorrow after brining for 12 hours. I call him Mr. Briney.
My other bird is going to get a sage/rosemary/thyme butter under the skin treatment. That one is going on the grill. His name is Turk Grillman.
Amy bought me a giant stainless bowl for my B Day so I'm going to make some dough and let it rise overnight. Tomorrow I will make another batch of bread maker dough. Should be an interesting comparison between rise all night and rise for a couple hours rolls.