"The Christmas Turkey, '08"

This 19 pounder waited patiently in the freezer for about three weeks for its turn. During that three weeks I worried and stewed about my promise to the family to "smoke a turkey" for them for Christmas. I knew I was in deep trouble when I learned my sister and her husband had spent more than a hour or two researching the "best" wine for smoked turkey at a local winery, Fidelitas, where they are members. Trouble? The temperatures had dropped into the single digits, and it is no secret that the times needed for smoking meat in a Traeger escalate with lowering temps. I had no idea if it would take 4 hours, 8 hours, or 3 days to cook this sucker.

I researched the issue on google; at Traeger's website; with Konrad Haskins, my instructor at a recent class on smoking/bbqing; my buddy, Joe from Oly, who kinda got me started with the long, slow smoke style cooking and knows tons of stuff about cooking. No one could really answer my questions about whether or not to even give it a try. I even joined an online forum, "pelletheads," and found some pretty strange comments there.

On the morning of the smoke, out of desperation, I called the 800 number Traeger puts up on their website (I found it the night before, too late to call).

Bruce's first question was, "do you have either a 100% cotton, or 100% wool, blanket?" I folded the blanket and lay it over the lid of the smoker for insulation. (Note: Careful with this - that blanket ended up scorched like a fragile pair of laced silk panties smothered beneath a forgotten iron! But it worked.)

Then Bruce told me to get a remote thermometer ($17 at Target), stick it in the breast, put the bird on when the smoker's temp is 300 degrees. Keep it there until the breast hits 100 degrees on the remote, then turn the smoker down to "smoke" and keep it there until the breast hits 170 degrees when it will be done. Note: for all you Traeger users out there - when you turn the temperature down, especially to "smoke," you need to open the lid for about five minutes and keep a close eye on your smoker's temp.

Once the temp hit 170, I took the bird inside and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving it. Also brought in the drippings and made the gravy from them while the bird rested.

The turkey was delicious! Succulent, tender, moist, and smoked with cherry wood pellets, fabulously flavorful. The Gang raved about how good it was. Phew.

Note: So, here it is 11 months later and I'm reviewing this for preparation for next week's turkey and I see I didn't mention the time frame. Seems like it took about 9 hours. I'm thinking about smoking it the day before, then heating it up in the oven on Thanksgiving Day.

Note 2:  So, here it is - November, 2011, and I'm reviewing this for Thanksgiving.  The bird this year is a 22 pounder, a bit large for the smoker.  I won't be able to put the bird on a very high rack inside the roasting pan, so I think I'll just make the gravy in the kitchen oven, and when ready, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into it, mix, and then spoon off any grease as mentioned below.    

Turkey Preparation:

Brine for 12 - 24 hours, then wash thoroughly inside and out, pat dry with paper towels.

Separate skin from meat and spread the rub between these two layers.

Pour Italian Dressing over the exterior, mostly as an adherent for the rub, and spread the rub in all the nooks and crannies.

Brine*
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Rub*
Equal parts of each of the following -

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
White granulated cane sugar
Dark chili powder
Canadian, or Montreal Steak SeasoningPinch of Cayenne or Chipotle for heat, to taste (optional).

Gravy**
Put sliced yellow onions (about 2 to 3 cups), a cup of chopped celery, and a cup of chopped carrots along with 4 or 5 tblspns of olive oil in roasting pan, heat in oven at 425 degrees for one hour, or until the onions turn a nice golden brown. 

Place the bird on a roasting rack and set it in the roasting pan with the onions, carrots, etc. Place bird breast UP. Add 3, or 4, cups of chicken broth (not organic!), and optinally, chopped innards from the bird, and put it in the oven/smoker. Replenish liquid with chicken broth as needed throughout the cooking process.

Once done, pour into a bowl and spoon off the grease on top, then put into the blender and puree to a gravy consistency.  At that point, as my friend from Oly says, "Toss in some salt and pepper to taste, then start praising God that he put Joe on earth to be your friend."

Bring the gravy to a boil to reduce and thicken, if needed.  It is rich enough that you can add more stock, or broth, to make more. 

It is THAT good!


* recipe provided by Konrad Haskins.
** recipe provided by Joe from Oly.

Diego's Texas Brisket

My first attempt at brisket was a couple years ago. I had purchased a fairly cheap charcoal bbq unit and had been learning about direct and indirect heat, how to cook salmon on alder planks, how to use a charcoal chimney, and how to manage heat.

The brisket attempt was abysmal: completely black and charred on the outside and bone-dry inside.

I tried it again yesterday.

I bought a 13 lb. brisket; rubbed it with some hot, spicy, mustard; spread a rub over the entire surface; and once the temp was at 185-200 degrees on the smoker, I put the meat on the grille and closed the lid. For three hours. This temp heats the meat above the threshold temp for danger (140) and produces a most impressive smoke ring once the meat is done.

At the three hour mark, I pushed the temp up to about 375 degrees for one half hour where it develops a "crust;" then lowered the temp to about 275. At this time I also put the meat into a foil pan, poured in almost a quart of Coca-Cola (do not use diet-Coke - the aspartame is converted to formaldehyde at these temps), tented the meat with foil, and let it cook for about 4 more hours. When the meat reached 195-200 degrees, it was declared ready to take off the grille.

Covered with foil for another half hour, it was then cut across the grain and plated. The meat was sliced thin enough for sandwich style preparation on hamburger buns, choice of sauce was left to each individual.

The brisket was excellent, with just a bit of dryness which I am going to research and try to do a little better next time. I think the answer may be to cook it just a bit longer at the top temp.

Country Style Ribs

Country Style Western Ribs on my Traeger

Country Style Ribs, off the shoulder/loin area of the pig, are not really ribs; but they are fabulous when cooked correctly. It takes some care to smoke them to that fall apart tenderness that cannot be achieved if the cook is in a hurry. Been there . . .

Plan for five hours.

Ingredients:

3 - 5 lbs Country Style Ribs
2 C        BBQ sauce
1 C        Apple Juice, Beer, Regular Coke or Dr. Pepper
1/2 C     Vinegar
tsp         Paprika
tsp         Black ground pepper
tsp         Onion Powder
3 - 4 tbl Brown Sugar


Procedure:
1.  Smoke the meat for 30 - 45 minutes, hickory wood.
2.  Set temp to 225 degrees: cook about an hour, until the meat is 155 -160 degrees
     Blend the sauce ingredients, put on simmer until the next stage.
3.  Place the meat in a saucepan, pour the sauce in enough to cover the bottom of
     the pan, more is ok (good), foil and return to smoker
4.  Two plus hours, at 180 - 190 degrees, the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
     Replace the meat to the grill, layer with remaining sauce on each side 5 - 7 mins.
5.  Place meat on a serving tray, foil, let rest for 5 - 10 mins.

These types of ribs are done at 165 degrees, but they aren't tender.  The higher temps will melt the collagen in the meat rendering perfection in the tenderness.

Enjoy

Bourbon-Glazed Ribs

The recipe is on page 69 of Smoke & Spice, the pre-mo smoken' cookbook of the age. Yesterday was my second attempt at this "smokin'" meal, and I think it came out like, "wow."

I didn't use the rub in the recipe, the one that calls for paprika and chili powder. I used Traeger's "Salmon Rub." Salmon rub on a slab of ribs? I licked my finger and touched it to the rub and rubbed it across my tongue. Yeah, it was good, real good. I checked out the Traeger site and found since they developed this rub, they have found it works on pork, beef, veggies and just about everything else. Next time I use this recipe, I'll use it again!

The mop is fun! 3/4 cup bourbon and 3/4 cup cider vinegar mopped on at 1 1/2 and 3 hours. What I like is the odor of the bourbon and way it sizzles when added to the meat.

In the past I have tried to use intuitive judgement as to how to manipulate the temps as Smoke & Spice always calls for 200 to 240 degrees, and Traeger recipes move from a few minutes on "smoke" (140 to 180 degrees), to starting on medium (225 to 300) or high (325 -450). I've decided to go with the Smoke & Spice temps until I know better.

What I really like about this recipe is the sauce: it calls for butter, vegetable oil, onions, bourbon, ketchup, cider vinegar, orange juice, maple syrup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. The recipe is created for 3 slabs of ribs and that's probably close enough. Yesterday, for some odd reason, I was thinking last time it wasn't enough. Well, the reason is because rather than cook on low for "about 40 minutes" to thicken the mix, I cook it on low for about 4 hours, stirring frequently and getting it thick; like those bbq sauces you buy in the store.

At about 3 hours and 15 mins of smoking at 220 - 240 (as called for in Smoke & Spice) you apply the sauce at least once, maybe two or three times, until 4 hours. It carmelizes beautifully. I brushed the sauce on three times.

At 4 hours, I took the ribs off the smoker and into the kitchen where I let the meat rest for about 10 minutes before cutting the individual ribs and stacking them in a plate. Once stacked, I brushed on more of the sauce and had plenty left over.

Was it good? My oh my...it was simply, to die for.

Apple City Baby Back Ribs

Ok, so I have a little experience under my belt with the new Traeger Smoker. I've done ribs a few times and received rave reviews from family and friends. A few weeks ago, using a recipe from the Smoke & Spice cookbook, I put together one fine bunch of ribs called, "Apple City Baby Back Ribs."

The soak is made up of 1 1/2 cups of apple juice; the Rub has brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and dry mustard; and the mop contains 1 1/2 cup of apple cider or juice and 1/2 cup of cider vinegar.

Apple pellets light the fire and the smoke was heavenly to smell.

The ribs were, what can I say, marvelous. The apple brought out a flavor not many have tasted and it was worth all the effort.

All that being said, we agree the Bourbon-Glazed Spare Ribs are the BOMB!! Check the next post to find out more about them.