Thanksgiving feast, so simple even Ron (Bullet) could make it.

[lanyard]

..... as in: getting meat, cooking meat, drinking as a life plan.

[lanyard]

Ducks are brineing now....

Tip: I buy apple cider vinegar by the gallon.

For this run I diluted with 50% water. Wish I had some cognac to pour in there....

Used pink Himalayan salt.... Heard it gets you bigger boners.

Will do a brown sugar rub and baste in bacon fat. Pretty thin skin on the early season birds.

Haven't shot a late season fat mallard in a couple years, maybe this weekend.

[Nershi]

Smoking meat is a disease, I was huge into it for quite awhile, ribs, boston butts,pork loins, Buck Board Bacon,briskets, beef clods, fish, rolled up fatties, went thru 2 electric smokers and a gas smoker which I give away(didn't like it at all) , thinking of going pellet grille now, bite the bullet and be done..........

and as far as cooking a turkey, my wife has always used her mom's recipe that called for rotating the turkey half way thru, used to piss me off because I said it made no difference the way these Turkeys are now, so one year I didn't let her rotate, no difference what so ever.........I thought anyways......cook until that red popper pops out and check with meat temp gauge...........really hard to screw up a turkey unless you way over cook it.......

I enjoy smoking those as well. Makes for a great Thanksgiving 'appetizer'.

[9manfan]

Smoking meat is a disease, I was huge into it for quite awhile, ribs, boston butts,pork loins, Buck Board Bacon,briskets, beef clods, fish, rolled up fatties, went thru 2 electric smokers and a gas smoker which I give away(didn't like it at all) , thinking of going pellet grille now, bite the bullet and be done..........

and as far as cooking a turkey, my wife has always used her mom's recipe that called for rotating the turkey half way thru, used to piss me off because I said it made no difference the way these Turkeys are now, so one year I didn't let her rotate, no difference what so ever.........I thought anyways......cook until that red popper pops out and check with meat temp gauge...........really hard to screw up a turkey unless you way over cook it.......

I enjoy smoking those as well. Makes for a great Thanksgiving 'appetizer'.

LOL.......I was kinda thinking someone might think that.....haha

[lanyard]

Got too hot, had damper too far open. Done in an hour instead if 2.5-3, grilled with smoke vs smoked....

[lanyard]

Turkey in dry brine now.... Should have done that yesterday.

[maplelakeduckslayer]

Looking good!

[h2ofwlr]

Yeah, and those old timers spend their days knee deep in cow shit...

Tips:

1) Wash your hands after handling the turkey and after using the bathroom. It's the number one way to reduce infectious disease/food born illness.

2) Wash prep areas afterward using a three step method: 1) hot soapy water 2) clean hot water 3) Sanitizer (diluted household bleach is fine, or heat surfaces to 165 degrees- dishwasher does this, your skin can only take up to 120 degrees)

3) Meat surface areas of the bird are most important. the inside meat temp is over regulated. Medium Turkey is damn good, but can be hard to get breasts and thighs to cook to right temps at same time, leaving the thigh raw at the joint. I typically pull the bird when the breast hits 150 to let it rest, then cut off the legs/thighs as whole units and finish them on the grill.

How's that?

There's a reason you don't see salmonella, e. coli, botulism, etc..... and the average age has increased significantly..... it's called hazard control. Salmonella and e coli are everywhere, but the risk comes when they colonize (some crazy PPM number is the "tipping point"). Add in that most Citiots have a far too sterilized environment and they can't take a little 'taint' on the meat.

Assuming you cook the turkey so the cavity hits 165 degrees for a sufficient amount of time, you should be clear of most colonization. For this reason, in addition to speed, cook the turkey un-stuffed.

It's not going to matter how good your meal is if you're sending people to the hospital.

Sorry if this is a buzz kill, but I certified in Hazard and Critical Control Point training (HACCP) at U of M Meat Labs and am formerly a licensed Food Safety Manager with the State of MN.

Prep vs Prayer when it comes to food safety.

I'm smoking two whole ducks for appetizers, should be a nice addition to this year's meal. Looks like we're feeding about 15.....

A **** dissertation.... Who has the time to read that! Not me!

[lanyard]

Meat no clean, you get sick.

Meat no cooked, you get sick.

Meat touch other things, you no clean, maybe get sick.

Maybe no big deal for Mr. in country. Big City people no touch poopy. Mr. need clean bird good, no get sick.

Me cook duck, happy happy.

https://youtu.be/miBKPwVtxFU

[shnelson]

Alton Brown didn't let me down this year.

Turkey was nice and moist, didn't taste like the usual shitbird that it is. Was well-received by the crowd, too.

Couple things learned -

Foil pans = no go, unless you like to puncture them and set off the smoke alarms.

Convection roast = cooks fast, but the breasts hit 161* considerably sooner than the thigh meat despite precautions taken. Will contemplate this for next year, maybe a bigger foil breast plate.

I skipped the aromatics in the cavity. We have carrot, apple & onion allergies in the family and didn't want to cause any issues.