Turkey done three ways

[asudavew]

For Thanksgiving I cooked my turkey in my WFO.
Technique 1 - The process: I heated the oven, the night before, to pizza cooking temps.
I roasted the bird on Thanksgiving morning with the residual heat only. The oven was about 450-500f. I cooked it a bit to long, but the breast was still moist and slightly juicy.
For some reason I was thinking it had to reach 180f internal, what I should of been shooting for was 165f. I think if a 180f internal temperature was reached in my kitchen oven, it would make for one dry bird. But anyways... it was still good and here is a picture I previously posted.



So that's my first technique at cooking turkey. (it was also my first time cooking one in my wood oven) Overall, good bird, nice color, no smoky flavor.

Technique 2 - Fry that sucker.
Yep I gave it a try! (my first time and on Christmas day, no less...)
5 gallons of peanut oil, one big pan, an outdoor cooker, and one 13 lb bird. Heated oil to 350f. Then I very very slowly lowered the bird into the oil. The bird had to be dried be very well.(A wet turkey placed in hot fat would be bad!) 45 minutes of cooking at 350f resulted in a nicely browned turkey that was very juicy, full of flavor, and the internal temp was 170f or so. It was a big hit! So now I know why people go to the trouble of doing it. It is very good! I didn't get a picture of it before I cut it up, but here is one after it had been sliced. The color and moisture are visible though.






Technique 3 - Use the WFO, but fire it just before cooking.

I didn't have time on Xmas eve to fire up my oven, so I did it on Xmas morning.
I didn't want pizza temps. I wanted roasting temps. So I built a much smaller fire, and let it burn for about an hour. The inside temp showed 450f. At that point, I pushed the coals to the back of the oven, put the turkey in, and shut the door. The coals and unburned wood smoldered and smoked a bunch! The internal oven temperature dropped quickly(due to the outer part of the bricks wicking the heat away) After the first hour it was about 350f. I checked on the bird and it was very browned from heat and the smoke, so I covered in with foil. About four hours later, from initially putting the bird in, the oven had dropped to about 325f. And the turkey was at 167f. So I pulled it out. It was actually juicer than the deep fried turkey, and the meat had been infused with a nice smoky flavor.(this is how i will cook my pork butts and brisket from now on) Overall this was the best turkey in my opinion. Some of my guests, however, don't like smoked turkey, so the fried one was a big hit with them.



I thought I would post these techniques while they are still fresh on my mind, because I will probably forget by next year. I also imagine that new builders will want to know how to cook their holiday turkey next year.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday.

Happy New Year!

Dave

[asudavew]

For bigger pictures click on the following links and then click on the photos themselves.



http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/phot...ndex.php?n=931

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/phot...ndex.php?n=932

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/phot...ndex.php?n=933

[RCLake]

Dave, you are right - deep fryer a bird is a tasty treat. Did you inject a marinade before hand? The only bad thing I thought was that I then had 5 gallons of peanut oil to do something with.

[Acoma]

Dave, with all your recipies you are experimenting with for the WFO, you should rename yourself CHEF FB. The newbies can come to you for WFO ideas on meats, and you can verify the success

[asudavew]

Originally Posted by Acoma

Dave, with all your recipies you are experimenting with for the WFO, you should rename yourself CHEF FB. The newbies can come to you for WFO ideas on meats, and you can verify the success

Now that's a good idea!

How was your Christmas?

[asudavew]

Originally Posted by RCLake

Did you inject a marinade before hand?

The only marinade I had was butter based. And my wife detests butter... So no.. but it was still really good!

The only bad thing I thought was that I then had 5 gallons of peanut oil to do something with.

Yeah... but it can be stored in the fridge, deep freeze, or a cool dark place! Then it can be used again.

After it's useful life, off to the oil recycle center.
Good hybrid fuel!

Dave

[Acoma]

Dave, Christmas was just the immediate family. Me, wife and two little girls. We had relatives for dinner. I picked up a NICE prime rib and served it (med rare). It was a hit.

[sarah h]

Dave, turkey #3 is exactly what I want for next year's Christmas dinner, if not looooong before then - it looks amazing! I love the deep dark skin colour!
Actually, they all look good and I may have to try a deep-fried one too. I have the burner but I'll need to buy a large enough pot first.
What are you cooking for New Year's?

Sarah

[asudavew]

Originally Posted by sarah h

Dave, turkey #3 is exactly what I want for next year's Christmas dinner, if not looooong before then - it looks amazing! I love the deep dark skin colour!

Thanks Sarah! I was really happy with how it turned out.

The trick is to fire the oven the same day that you are going to cook the turkey, but don't fire it to pizza temps. I would suggest using maybe 1/3 the normal amount of wood, or even 1/2 the usual amount.

I didn't completely burn up every log. Two were still on fire!! So I just left them and the coals inside the oven..... When the door was shut, the fire went out, and the whole thing just smoked away!

But be sure to watch it closely for the first hour or so, and cover it with foil when it reaches the color that you're after. After that... just wait for it to hit 165f.

What are you cooking for New Year's?

I haven't decided yet...

We usually deep fry lots of pre-made goodies from the supermarket.

Like shrimp, chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, cheese sticks, etc. Homemade potato chips...

I'm not sure how the tradition started, but I always spend New Years eve with my children deep frying processed stuff..... They always look forward to it.

I am not sure what to cook in my WFO, but you can bet I'll be cooking something on New years day. Maybe, I'll stick with traditional corned beef with cabbage, and some black eyed peas for good luck!

How bout you Sarah? What do you have up your sleeves?

Dave

[asudavew]

Originally Posted by sarah h

Dave, turkey #3 is exactly what I want for next year's Christmas dinner, if not looooong before then -

I just had another thought...

You might give it a try with a chicken or two! It should work great on them, and the cooking time will be faster.

Also, it's that nice hot fire (500-550f, 260-290c inside the oven) at the beginning(and the smoke) that add the color.

And because it's a short duration fire, the outer part of the bricks start wicking the heat away from the inside part of the bricks, lowering the internal temperature of the oven to more moderate levels - 350f(175c) or so..... Thereby allowing the bird to cook all the way through!

And talk about juicy! No more dry turkey gagging for me!
(Have you ever chewed a piece of turkey breast that was so dry, you had to find something to drink just to swallow it?)

Dave