Thanksgiving was small this year. We had the immediate family living here. We had whippersnappers #3 and #5 w/ boyfriends. We had my mother and father-in-law. These are all folks in our bubble. Whippersnapper #2 and her family spend Thanksgiving with her in-laws. 7+2+2+2=13. This was a small Thanksgiving. Whippersnapper #5 planned the entire menu. Cooking commenced the day before:
- Turkey (This was my responsibility.)
- Gravy (This was partly my responsibility.)
- Mashed Potatoes
- Brussel Sprouts
- Stuffing
- Crescent Rolls
- Cranberry Jell-O Salad
- Cranberry Sauce
- Baked Brie Bites
- Fall Salad
- DESERT: Apple Tartine & Pecan Pie
Prep
I have a pretty good recipe for smoked turkey. I used my OKJ Longhorn. I put lump charcoal in a charcoal basket and used cherry wood chips. I find the wood chips work best so the turkey doesn’t take on too much smoke. The target smoker temp was 225°. I used my FBX2D with the fan controller and I kept a smoke log. I think in the end it worked out well. I still have some experimentation to do with the FireBoard.
The Cook
We spatchcocked the turkey. It is easier to deal with and the meat is more moist and cooks faster in the end. We put the turkey in a disposable pan. We rubbed the turkey with olive oil and put on kosher salt and cracked black pepper. I normally would use butter. However, whippersnapper #4 has a dairy intolerance.
The turkey went on the smoker at 10:50 and came off at 16:30. The cook was five hours, 40 minutes. I used lump charcoal and cherry chips throughout the day. I had some trouble with the smoker temp. My charcoal basket sits on top of a fire grate. When I use splits, the ash falls below the grate. With the charcoal basket on top of the grate, the ash didn’t fall through. Over time, the air flow was choked off because of the ash build up in the basket. So I dumped all the coals out of the basket. I continued with lump charcoal and wood chips. The temps were much easier to control after that. I was able to maintain a fairly consistent temperature.
Results
My wife said it was the best turkey I’d done so far. I pulled it off the smoker when the breast was 167° and the thigh was about 172°. All the meat was very moist and juicy. We used the juices in the disposable pan to make the gravy.
spidersgalore 