Fried turkeys and such.

[digi7alph0enix]

I might try smoking one next year. I've got plans to pick up an electric smoker in the new year, mainly for smoking bones for my dog lol.

 

[the_owl]

I get the farm raised/grass fed non gmo bullshit birds. Spent $100 on two turkeys this year. Not frozen.

 

[Slojack]

I am a big proponent of turkey frying.

Do you brine your bird first? I'am not totally sold on it; there is definitely a slight juiciness improvement, but it's hard to say if that is because of the process or the bird etc.

Injected it. Used good ol fashioned beer. Juiciness elevated.

 

[kronin323]

Happy Thanksgiving everybody...

Just saw this thread...

As far as frying turkeys goes, I've never done it firsthand but my family did it for a few years once upon a time, before I took over the hosting... so I've seen it done and tasted the results. And yes, they're good...

But I smoke mine, which isn't part of this topic so I'll save it for the WOYP thread...

Brining, though - absolutely. I brine all my poultry and it makes a big difference.

With turkey, though... as DP mentioned, many turkeys have that "contains up to a 5% solution of..." thing, or are described as "self-basting"... your basic Butterball turkey is like that, really that's the brand that started the trend... those turkeys are already brined.

So, as DP also mentioned, brining a pre-brined turkey can overdo it. But, it's not impossible, you can brine a pre-brined turkey - the weber smoker enthusiast site I visit had that very subject as a topic this year. Basically you have to adjust your brine so it's milder, to avoid making it too salty. But that way you can introduce additional flavors. If you want to read more about the topic, here's the link:

Whole Turkey - Brined Butterball Self-Basting - The Virtual Weber Bullet

But otherwise, brine it yourself or buy a Butterball? Frankly, I've gone whole-hog, found me a fresh all-natural turkey, made up a fancy apple brine, brined the thing, smoked it in cherry wood... meh, it was good but nothing exceptional, I've had better.

Really just buying a Butterball and smoking it in good ol' mesquite (or however else you choose to cook it) gives you the best results with the least effort. The one I did this year turned out awesome...

And there is one disadvantage (other than fire risk) to frying - no drippings. I'll take a pan and throw in the neck and giblets along with some aromatics (celery, onion, carrot) and some chicken broth (to keep it from burning) and put it on the smoker rack below the turkey to catch all the juicy drippings and rendered fat. Then I pour it through a strainer into a pot, supplement with more chicken broth and add a roux and I end up with gravy that blows away anything you can get pre-made or from a packet...

Speaking of, think I'll go have some leftovers...