TentHunter
Moderator
Apple Smoked BBQ Turkey Pie - Part 1 'The Turkey'
This is the first part of my entry for this week's contest.
Like Deb I'm taking the leftover Turkey route for this weeks contest. I'm making a BBQ Smoked Turkey Pie. I'll post the rest tomorrow, but for now here's the turkey.
I started with a fresh 13 lb. bird, no injections, no brine. It was spatchcocked, then both sides were rubbed with some Olive Oil and a herb mix of Sage, Rosemary, Cracked Pepper & a little Sea Salt.
It was cold and rainy so we setup the canopy over the cooking area. NO WAY was I gonna cook this in the oven just because of rain! I put a drip pan of hot water under the grate to create a humid cooking environment & loaded up my cast iron smoking pot with BBQr's Delight Apple Wood Pellets. The sweet smell of the Apple wood is mesmerizing, my son didn't want to leave the pit (and neither did I) but there was other stuff to do!
I setup 2 Digital thermometers: 1 to monitor Pit temp and 1 to monitor the IT of the bird. (How do ya like the Spiderman camping chair I used as a table? everything else was soaking wet from the rain, LOL).
A pit temp of 235 - 240° was maintained for about 2 hrs 45 min. until the bird's temp hit about 160°. The pit temp was quickly raised to about 325 for the last half hour to crisp the skin. That beautiful Chestnut brown color is why I love Apple wood smoke for poultry.
Because it was spatchcocked, even though it cooked at a lower temp for most of the cook, it was still done in 3.25 hours rather than the 4.5 hours it would have taken otherwise.
It rested under a foil tent while we transported it (and everything else) over to my Mom's house. I've done countless chickens, but this was my first smoked turkey and we were NOT disappointed! When we moved it to the serving platter a leg fell off it was so tender.
My mom who is on a strict low sodium diet absolutely loved that the applewood flavor meant I didn't have to add a lot of salt. Even my skeptical brother-in-law commented how moist the white meat was.
Mom commandeered a good portion of the leftover turkey (which made me feel really good
) so I was left with only 1 thigh and about 1/2 of a side of breast. Tomorrow I'll show you how that's being used.
To be Continued...
This is the first part of my entry for this week's contest.
Like Deb I'm taking the leftover Turkey route for this weeks contest. I'm making a BBQ Smoked Turkey Pie. I'll post the rest tomorrow, but for now here's the turkey.
I started with a fresh 13 lb. bird, no injections, no brine. It was spatchcocked, then both sides were rubbed with some Olive Oil and a herb mix of Sage, Rosemary, Cracked Pepper & a little Sea Salt.
It was cold and rainy so we setup the canopy over the cooking area. NO WAY was I gonna cook this in the oven just because of rain! I put a drip pan of hot water under the grate to create a humid cooking environment & loaded up my cast iron smoking pot with BBQr's Delight Apple Wood Pellets. The sweet smell of the Apple wood is mesmerizing, my son didn't want to leave the pit (and neither did I) but there was other stuff to do!
I setup 2 Digital thermometers: 1 to monitor Pit temp and 1 to monitor the IT of the bird. (How do ya like the Spiderman camping chair I used as a table? everything else was soaking wet from the rain, LOL).
A pit temp of 235 - 240° was maintained for about 2 hrs 45 min. until the bird's temp hit about 160°. The pit temp was quickly raised to about 325 for the last half hour to crisp the skin. That beautiful Chestnut brown color is why I love Apple wood smoke for poultry.
Because it was spatchcocked, even though it cooked at a lower temp for most of the cook, it was still done in 3.25 hours rather than the 4.5 hours it would have taken otherwise.
It rested under a foil tent while we transported it (and everything else) over to my Mom's house. I've done countless chickens, but this was my first smoked turkey and we were NOT disappointed! When we moved it to the serving platter a leg fell off it was so tender.
My mom who is on a strict low sodium diet absolutely loved that the applewood flavor meant I didn't have to add a lot of salt. Even my skeptical brother-in-law commented how moist the white meat was.
Mom commandeered a good portion of the leftover turkey (which made me feel really good
) so I was left with only 1 thigh and about 1/2 of a side of breast. Tomorrow I'll show you how that's being used. To be Continued...
