What's your "must have" Thanksgiving dish (outside of Turkey and stuffing)? I grew up with my mom making sauerkraut for every Thanksgiving dinner. I'm not a huge fan, but my signature dish is a four-blend macaroni and cheese.
Signature Thanksgiving dish
- Thread starter EweSeaEff
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I never make anything for Thanksgiving since my family always ends up somewhere else. This year we're going to my in-laws again and we will be having seafood paella for the second year in a row. I'm typically pretty traditional so I fought it last year. Turns out it's really good to eat on Thanksgiving day.
Last year I did two turkeys, smoked one and deep fried the other. Fried one won out but smoked one was delicious as well.
Honestly I'm not big on any "staples" that are served on Thanksgiving. They're ok.
I prefer really spicy food and virtually no Thanksgiving menus have anything with spice. I'd rather have a huge Indian buffet for TDay.
I do appreciate the uber expensive single barrel bourbon that gets served though.
I prefer really spicy food and virtually no Thanksgiving menus have anything with spice. I'd rather have a huge Indian buffet for TDay.
I do appreciate the uber expensive single barrel bourbon that gets served though.
Don't roast your turkey then. Inject and brine one, then smoke it. I've had turkeys cooked every way imaginable, including the overrated fried method. Nothing beats a perfectly smoked turkey. I make one every Christmas because my kids get irritated that we don't get one on Thanksgiving.
![[devil]](https://ct.yimg.com/mr/uploads/891/1681918.png "Devil [devil]")
I've never been a huge fan of Thanksgiving. Turkey is meh. It's good brined, but that's about it, other than that its just bland. I hate stuffing. I hate dressing. Never liked green bean casserole. And pumpkin pie is overrated.
So I guess, the only staple of Thanksgiving I really enjoy is the mashed potatoes. Yep. That's it.
So I guess, the only staple of Thanksgiving I really enjoy is the mashed potatoes. Yep. That's it.
I actually like stuffing on top of mashed potatoes.
But I'm with you- very overrated menu. At Christmas we do a huge Italian feast instead since no one wants turkey again.
I wish it was that way in my family. But my family is dead set on keeping tradition, so in one month I get stuck with the same overrated menu. At least I get to switch out turkey for ham.
My wife is tired of turkey at Christmas but the kids insist on it so I'll be smoking a turkey and charcoal grilling a beef tenderloin.
I brine my turkey with lots of cut up citrus , fresh rosemary and sage . 1/2 cup kosher salt , a cup of brown sugar . Then smoke it with pecan wood . Best turkey ever . The citrus is the key though
Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy.
When I am hosting or bringing dessert, Pumpkin Pie.
Bonus is watching football games Saturday/Sunday while enjoying left over turkey sandwiches.
When I am hosting or bringing dessert, Pumpkin Pie.
Bonus is watching football games Saturday/Sunday while enjoying left over turkey sandwiches.
What flavor chips do you use for your turkey? I have a BGE and I've always wanted to smoke a turkey. What advice can you give?
What's your rule-of-thumb on smoking time per lb.?
I typically like to use fruitwood chunks for poultry...apple, cherry, citrus. They are much milder and less acrid than hickory or mesquite and allows you to taste the turkey. I sometimes throw in a small piece or two of hickory if it's a large turkey.
I brine my turkeys overnight and add spices. I find that also adding cut onions really helps the flavor. I will also put some Weber Kicken Chicken spices all over the outside just before I put it in the smoker.
I typically use a 18-20 lb turkey. At 260 to 280, given the temperature outside and how it affect the internal temp of the smoker (when I'm not paying attention) it takes me about 8-10 hours. After about 5-6 hours of smoking, I remove the turkey from the smoker, put it in a chafing tin and wrap it with tin-foil. They always come out great.
I don't know how much grilling, BBQing and smoking you've done but having done a lot, I do want to offer up one thing. And I suspect @btbones would agree with me, but I have found the single most important thing to doing it well is achieving the correct internal meat temperature (I'm huge on texture) - large pork cuts are pretty forgiving but turkeys are not. Of course it depends on the type and cut of meat, but going over temp causes the meat potentially dry out and will change the texture. You can always add spices and sauces to flavor your meat after cooking it but you can never get back an overcooked or even undercooked chunk of meat. I typically use anywhere from 1-3 thermometers strategically placed in a large piece and pull the meat
immediately when it hits temp.
Sorry missed this yesterday. I use pecan . It's my favorite. Do you have the platesetter ? If so you can cook that bird at the higher temp after brining and I swear it is the best smoked turkey ever. Just make sure you rinse off the brine and pat the skin dry with a paper towel and put a light coat of bbq run on the outside after rubbing it down with olive oil, skin will be crispy and bird will melt. I use an instant read thermometer and pull when the breast is 160 and thigh is 180. Even though the cook is much shorter the bird takes on the same amount of smoke as poultry is a sponge for smoke. I do mine at 350 and pretty much follow standard per pound roasting times as a guide but check temp fairly often at the end to make sure you don't overcook. Cook to temp not time
Love this stuff. Found a big 'ol jar at Sam's and couldn't be happier.
But I do suggest spatchcock style with a whole bird at these temps . I can give you a simple way to do it if you choose
Thanks! I always cook to temp - I was just looking for an approximate for how long it usually takes. I'm familiar with ballpark times for a butt and other pieces, I've just never smoked a bird before so I'm not sure how much time I should allot. I'm obviously going to give this a try on a day not named Thanksgiving so that I can get everything down pat and not turn my family into guinea pigs.
What's your tip for spatchcock?
Instead of trying to cut the backbone out and all that bs I just split it down the breast and push it down flat like that skin side up . Don’t be afraid of doing it . Will come our perfect . Roughly 10 minutes per pound at 325-350 give or take
Exactly . It’s what me and my buddy call the lazy mans spatchcock . I do my chickens like that too .
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