BBQ Junkie

Smoked Turkey

Smoked Thanksgiving Day turkey with a BBQ rub.

This was one of my first smoked BBQ turkeys; the other one is on the bottom grate. I was trying to get out of doing the turkey all together just because of all the craziness that having a new baby brings, but my family wasn’t going to allow that. Plus, the baby isn’t that new anymore and I should be able to work within this so-called “craziness-”
I must say, that I was impressed with the results and nothing could have been easier. This was especially true of the clean up, no roasting pans to scrub! YAY!
My smoker (WSM) fits two small birds, about 12lbs. each. I like the smaller birds for a few different reasons. First, they cook faster. Second the meat to skin ratio is more to my liking. Third, the drumsticks are way more manageable. They’re smaller and you have four of them.

What I did:
Generously rubbed some BBQ seasoning all over the birds (nothing special, just some extra BBQ rub that I had in a jar).
Got my smoker up to temperature and added some hickory chunks to the coals.
Smoked two turkeys at about 230º for about 9 hours (the time will vary)
Placed them in an aluminum tray, wrapped them in foil and sent them to the in-laws.
Tada!!!

If I were to make some adjustments here is what I would do next year:

Brine: First off, the birds were still a little frozen the day before the smoking, so I ended up not brining them…which I usually do. The meat could have used a little more saltiness and moisture, but isn’t that what gravy is for?

Inject the bird: I didn’t bother to inject, but I should have. This would have delivered some additional flavor deep into the meat. Especially in the breast.

Gravy: find a way to get some pan drippings from the smoked bird and make the gravy. This is one advantage of doing an oven roasted bird.

BBQ Sauce: consider offering some as a condiment to the smoked bird. This seems a bit heretical, but it may be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving Day table.

Big Bob Gibson’s pork butt

Pork Butts about to come out of the Barbecue.
I’ve had the BBQ book Peace love and Barbecue for some time now and haven’t really dedicated myself to its content nearly enough. Today, the 4th of July 2006, I have. There is a recipe for pork butt included in this book that has garnered so much attention and picked up a few awards around the BBQ circuit that I had to give it a try.
I am speaking of Big Bob Gibson’s championship pork shoulder recipe.

I followed the recipe to the letter, except for the fact that I used pork butt instead of shoulder, and have found the results to be fantastic. I wouldn’t normally post a recipe from a book on this site, but his recipe is the worse kept secret in the world of barbecue. It can be found all over the Internet and television.
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Carnitas

Even though it isn’t BBQ, I figured that I could share this with you all since it is delicious and it does, after all, involve one of my favorite cuts of meat… the pork butt. My family has a tradition of cooking carnitas outdoors on Easter Sunday and feasting on tacos and downing a couple of cold ones. It’s a day that I am not the one responsible for the Q… and gives me some time to just kickback and enjoy the party.
Carnitas are traditionally cooked inside of a “caso” (large copper pot) and deep fat fried in lard until the meat is tender and a tasty crust develops. Pork butts aren’t the only things that are cooked in the lard, Brother X also likes to drop in a rack or two of spare ribs to boot… deep fat fried ribs, as if the ribs weren’t fatty enough. We chop up the carnitas and wrap them in a tortilla, sprinkle some cilantro and onions and a dollop of homemade salsa. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
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BBQ Pork Butt

I decided to BBQ some pork butt on Saturday for that night’s boxing match, Manny Pacquiao, from the Philipines, Vs Erik Morales, from Mexico. What a great fight it was. Morales was putting a whoopin’ on Pacquiao in the early rounds but Pacquiao eventually took out Morales in the 10th round.
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Have a great Thanksgiving

I am a little bummed right now because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Our kitchen, which is currently being remodeled, is preventing me from cooking anything for this festive occasion. This has been going on for the last few months and I have to say that it is interfering with my BBQ’n and blogging as well. But fear not, I have compiled a few recipes for you to try over the holiday.

This cranberry relish is pretty easy to make and is a nice alternative to the regular sauce. It is sweet with a nice little citrus zing to it.

see the recipe

If citrus isn’t your thing try this cranberry chutney. It’s sweet and savory at the same time. This non-traditional sauce goes very well with the traditional foods.

see the recipe

Found this recipe for sweet potato pie a few days ago. I love sweet potato pie, and I am a little disappointed that I won’t be making any this thanksgiving. So are the people at work, since I usually make a few to bring in to the office. If you click on the link you will find Elise who walks you through her first sweet potato pie.

see the recipe

Sylvie, over at Soul Fusion Kitchen walks you through making a turducken (a turkey stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken). For those of you who never had turducken, let me just say that it is a pretty tasty Thanksgiving dish.

see the recipe

All Star Thanksgiving smoked turkey

I was just watching part of Food Network’s All Star Thanksgiving and I saw that Alton Brown made a honey brined smoked turkey. The turkey looked delicious, but I wasn’t too keen on his presentation with the mashed potatoes. If you happened to think that the show was a bit rushed, like I did, here is a link the recipe.

Visit the website.

BBQ beer can turkey

Have you’ve heard of beer can chicken? Well, here is beer can turkey. A nice article from the Cooking For Engineers website that takes you step by step on how to prepare that glorious bird on your grill. And lets face it, deep fat frying was so last year… all of the cool kids are smoking their turkeys this year. Enjoy, and let me know how it goes.

read the article

Smoked turkey breast

I found a great step by step recipe for smoking a couple of turkey breasts in a WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker) courtesy of the Virtual Weber Bullet website. There are great instructions with photos that guide you from brine to BBQ. I will try to do a whole turkey soon, hopefully before Thanksgiving.

go to the website

Potato Salad

Great BBQ is always made better by adding a great side dish. Sylvie over at Soul Fusion Kitchen blog has a terrific recipe for Potato salad posted. While you are there read up on her and Ziggy’s (her pet dog) Los Angeles food adventures. Her husband has also been known to throw down some BBQ from time to time.

Soul Fusion Kitchen

Beer can chicken

What’s better than beer can chicken? Three beer can chickens, duh. The most amazing thing about beer can chicken is that it’s not a novelty; the chicken actually comes out quite delicious. If you have never eaten beer can chicken this is a great opportunity to learn how to make it. And, if you are a seasoned pro at this dish read on and find out how one man tackles this classic recipe to feed a family and friends.
I documented my brother-in-law, Big George, making this feast last Fourth of July. He has a couple of short cuts that seem to work very well. The chicken is always moist and the skin is always crispy. Enjoy.

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