Where did my turkey go?

[KevinG]

If they're not moving they're not fresh  ;D

[OU812]

If they're not moving they're not fresh  ;D

Aint nothing better than a fresh chicken, I raise my own.

[FLBentRider]

If they're not moving they're not fresh  ;D

Aint nothing better than a fresh chicken, I raise my own.

You mean they don't come from a store ?

::) ;D ;D

[KevinG]

If they're not moving they're not fresh  ;D

Aint nothing better than a fresh chicken, I raise my own.

You mean they don't come from a store ?

::) ;D ;D

Yea, I store em over in the corner in that covered area with the chicken wire around it. :D

[OU812]

If they're not moving they're not fresh  ;D

Aint nothing better than a fresh chicken, I raise my own.

You mean they don't come from a store ?

::) ;D ;D

Yea, I store em over in the corner in that covered area with the chicken wire around it. :D

Right now I store them in the freezer.

[KevinG]

Guess I should say I really don't own a chicken coop. HOA would have me booted if I did.  ;D

[bob_loblaw]

I am going to try this recipe.  One question though.  Step 18 where you bring the smoker to 165 and cook to an IT of 160.  How long should I plan for that to take?  Everything else is nicely timed out so any estimates would be very helpful, thanks.

[KevinG]

Unfortunately, I didn't write that down, but it will change depending on the size of the bird you use anyhow. If I remember right it took longer than I had anticipated, and with us sticking it in the oven that's going to throw things off too.

[bob_loblaw]

Thanks for the response.  I allocated 5-6 hours so hopefully that will be enough!  Fingers crossed.

[bob_loblaw]

Happy Turkey Day everyone.  I did all the prep as outlined, starting with the brine on Sunday morning.  Started smoking at 11 pm Wednesday.  I think it was windy or something, because the turkey took a lot longer than planned and so I cranked up the heat and turbo cooked to get from an IT of 133 to 160. 

However, still came out great, very juicy.  It did, however, taste more like a ham than turkey.  I am suspecting it is due to the cure in the brine.  It seemed like a lot of cure, but I wanted to follow the recipe as I had never done a turkey before.  Turkeys are readily available from now until xmas so I think I will grab another and try again modifying the amount of cure.  For those with experience, do I even need any?  Is there anything else that can cause that ham taste? 

Thanks again for the detailed recipe with pics Kevin, it made my planning very easy and really helped a ton!

[KevinG]

It is the cure that makes it taste like ham, unfortunately if you're going to slow cook in the smoker you need the cure.