Turkey Dressing

[nagle8]

is there any way to stuff the turkey full of dressing before smoking??? or is this totally not desirable.

[nsxbill]

Sore spot with me.  I would rather dressing be cooked separately even if the bird is going into a regular oven.  I don't think the temps are high enough to prevent bacterial infection.  I won't eat dressing unless it is prepared outside the bird.

Bill

[Chez Bubba]

I wouldn't suggest it. Not only will the slow smoke not eliminate the potential bad guys, but breading will absorb so much more smoke as opposed to the meat, it's gonna taste pretty yuck.

Make your stuffing seperate and include a smoked onion or two in the mix. That'll give it the extra sumpin-sumpin & you won't have exploding orifices.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[Cruzino]

I agree that I only eat stuffing prepared outside of the bird.  It's probably safe to prepare (correctly) inside the bird but why take the risk???

But I do have a suggestion on the absolute best way to cook a turkey...

This Thanksgiving will be my first smoked turkey.  But I'm going to cold smoke it so it'll need to be cooked after the BS.  So, what we always did when I was a kid was to place the turkey into a paper grocery bag.  Staple the bag shut with normal desk staples or paper clips and then brush the bag with a cooking oil.  Place the bird/bag into a roasting pan and cook in the oven as you normally would.  

Now you may be thinking, "Won't the bag catch on fire?"  Nope.  Paper won't burn until it reaches 451 F.  (Remember the book?)  As long as you stay under 451, you'll be fine.  (Note:  Make sure the bag doesn't touch the heating element or it will catch on fire.  That was a memorable Thanksgiving about 10 years ago!)  

The bag does 2 things:
1) It traps all of the moisture so you get the juiciest bird you've ever had!

2) The oily bag touches the skin of the bird so that it comes out the most perfect brown color and quite crispy too!

Most grocery bags have some sort of printing on the outside (such as the store logo) but we've never had a problem with the ink transfering to the bird.  

Seriously, do this once and you'll be hooked.  We've converted a lot of friends to this unusual method over the years.

If anyone does this, please post your comments as I'd love to hear what you think!

[BigRed]

NAGLE8!

THE CHEIF COMMANDER OF COOKING IN MY RESIDENCE SAYS "NO WAY" TO STUFF THE BIRD AND THEN ATTEMPT TO SMOKE IT!!!IF YOUR LOOKING FOR THE VISUAL EFFECT FOR YOUR GUESTS, COOK THE STUFFING IN THE OVEN AND THEN STUFF THE COOKED BIRD AFTERWARDS. USE SOMETHING TO PROTECT YOUR HANDS SINCE EVERYTHING WILL BE HOT! GOOD LUCK WITH WHAT EVER YOU CHOSES TO DO!!!!


CRUZINO!

WE HAVE DROPPED USING THE PAPER BAG AND HAVE GONE TO THE TURKEY COOKING BAGS THAT ARE CLEAR SO YOU CAN SEE INSIDE. MY WIFE IS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT COLD HAVE BEEN IN THE BAG PREVIOUS. SHE ALSO PUTS FLOOR IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PLASTIC CLEAR BAG THAT HELPS WITH THE GOLDEN BROWN RESULTS. THESE CLEAR PLASTIC BAGS CAN BE PURCHASED AT PLACES LIKE KROGERS OR ALBERTSONS. HAVE FUN COOKING THIS T-DAY!

BigRED

[Cruzino]

If you get a brand new paper bag at the store and you don't put groceries inside it, it'll be as good as new and clean.  Even if there were any germs in the bag, the cooking process would kill them off.  Those bags are made to hold food and paper is often used to pack food so it is safe as long as you're not using a bag that was previously used or mishandled.

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