Another year, another Thanksgiving. This year I am thankful for many things; health and family are top of the list, but rounding out the top five I’d add smoked turkey. Like my post last year, I’m going to recap my Thanksgiving so I know what worked well and what didn’t work.
And yes, I’m well aware that by writing this post, I’ve become this guy.
What Went Well
The bird. I received a Weber Smokey Mountain late last year and enjoy it immensely. My goal this year was to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving, and by jolly, it was delicious. But it was not without some heartache.
The first week of November I did a run through. It was a blustery day, and I had my wind screen up. I put the bird in the smoker, and proceeded to put away a few things outside. I heard a huge gust, and I immediately looked at my windscreen. It fell right on the smoker, and in turn, the smoker turned and spilled the turkey, water pan, and charcoal all over my patio. Mad as hell by this, the next weekend I made a reinforced windscreen with 2×4 feet and it has been steady through all the November winds here in Chicagoland.
Why am I telling you this? I encourage you to do a run through before the big day.
Now let’s get into what happened. I did have a lot of anxiety about smoking the bird, but it’s not that bad. I followed the turkey recipe in Meathead. Basically brine the bird. Then before you cook apply this rub. Other than my failed attempt, I now have two successful turkey smokes under my belt. For Thanksgiving, I accidentally used too many charcoals so my smoker was at 500 for a while. I like this because getting a smoker cooler is easier than getting it warmer. I closed the bottom vents 2/3 of the way and even the top vent a little, and the temp went down 100 degrees. Then I put the bird in and a little bit of water in the pan, opened the top vent again, and it stayed at 300 for the rest of the cook.
I have the 14.5 inch WSM. The turkey on Thanksgiving was 15 lbs and I do not think a bird bigger than that will fit. I had to really wedge it on the vertical stand. I also recommend investing in a vertical cooker that will fit a turkey. I had to buy a 2 pack (one chicken, one turkey), but it was absolutely worth it.
I cooked the bird at around 300 degrees and it hit 150 degrees internally about 2 1/2 hours. I then put it in a kamado (aka my cooler) where it stayed warm while we finished up the other dishes. Carved it up and it was bar none, the juiciest turkey I’ve ever had.
What Didn’t Go Well
It was actually a really good meal all around. I always can be better about juggling how dishes are reheated in the oven.
Something New
This year I did a lot of the usual staples: mashed potatoes and corn casserole. My wife is now dairy free, so we had to substitute not only butter with dairy free, but also cream cheese and sour cream for these dishes. The substitutes taste close enough to pass. No real complaints here.