It’s Thanksgiving Day, 2002 and I’m doing my holiday turkey on the Bullet. The day is partly cloudy, 48°, and breezy. Those of you who tuned in may have seen a
first– this cook was webcast live from my patio via Earthcam TV.
The night before, I brined the 11.7 pound bird using a previously prepared and refrigerated solution containing a gallon of chicken broth into which I dissolved 1 cup Kosher salt, 1 Tbsp. Black peppercorns, 1/2 Tbsp. candied ginger, and 1/2 Tbsp. allspice berries, the last three of which I ground in a mortar to speed their dissolution.
At 10:00pm, I placed the bird breast side down into a 3 gallon plastic bucket. This bucket originally contained tropical fish food, so I know it’s safe to use. I poured in 1/2 of my gallon of brine solution, and 1/2 gallon of ice water. I continued to add equal parts brine solution and ice water until the bird was completely submerged. The good thing about this bucket is that it will easily hold a 10-14 pound bird, and it will fit
in my refrigerator.
At 10:45am Thanksgiving Day, I lit a Weber chimney-full of charcoal, which took about 30 minutes to get going. While I waited, I removed the turkey from the brine, patted it dry, brushed it entirely with canola oil, and sprinkled on some rub. I also
steeped a quartered apple and half a large onion, and placed them in the cavity. At 11:15am, I poured the lit charcoal into the charcoal ring and added another Weber chimney-full of unlit briquets. When they got going, in about another 30 minutes, I assembled the Bullet, putting
the foil-covered water pan in place– empty– and leaving out the middle cooking grate. With the bottom vents each open halfway, the temperature quickly rose and stabilized at 425°. I closed the vents down to 50/50/0% to try to bring the cooker down to 350°.
At 12:00noon, the cooker had dropped to 350°, and I placed the bird on the top rack. I inserted my Polder thermometer probe into the thickest part of the breast, not touching bone. I placed 2 chunks of apple and 2 chunks of pecan wood on top of the coals.
To monitor the cooker temp, I modded the Bullet the day before by installing a short length of aluminum tubing into one of the bolt holes on the side of the cooker.
This is a great little mod, because you can monitor the temp at the top grate, but without having to drill a hole in the Bullet. The inset shows the detail of the tube and clip which secures it.
Opening the cooker and placing a 53°, 11.7 pound object inside really had an effect on the temperature. The Bullet dropped to 250°. In the next half hour, it rose to 300°. In an effort to get it up to 350, I set the vents 100/100/30% open. At 12:45pm, the bird registered 96° internal.
By 1:30pm, the temp had dropped to 280, and I set the vents all to wide open. This was a bit frustrating because we were to take the finished bird to friends’ house for dinner at 3:00pm. At 1:45pm, I stirred the coals to try to rejuvenate the fire. I also took the opportunity to baste the bird and cover the wing tips with foil to prevent their burning. The
bird registered 120° internal.
By 2:00pm, the temp was up to 300°, but if I was to make my deadline, I really needed 350°. At 2:15pm, I added 10 unlit briquets on top of the coals. By 2:30pm, I was up to 340, and by 2:45pm achieved 350. I phoned our hosts and told them we would be pulling out of our driveway at 3:00pm rather than into theirs– it wasn’t a problem. At
3:00pm on the dot, the bird hit 161° internal. I spot checked the other breast– which coincided– and the thigh, which registered 185. Whew!
I wrapped the bird in heavy foil, placed it in towels in a dry ice chest, and off we went. Ninety minutes later, when I unwrapped the bird, it was still steamy hot. The aroma permeating the room got everyone’s attention. I don’t think it could have turned out any
better. Our host had also done a turkey– soaked overnight in Louisiana crab boil, and then deep-fried. While the fried bird was very tasty, most guests– and the host himself, who is not a smoked turkey fan– preferred my smoke roasted bird. (Yeah!)
What made this meal extra special— besides the great company and great food– was the wine selection. We started off before dinner with appetizers and a 1999 Sterling California Vintner’s Collection Chardonnay Central Coast. With a salad of baby greens tossed with red grapes, pecans, bleu cheese, and a balsamic, terragon, and chervil vinaigrette, we chose a 2001 Kendall-Jackson California Sauvignon Blanc. Dinner consisted of the two birds, various sides including ambrosia, oyster dressing, candied yams, baked macaroni and cheese, the ubiquitous green bean casserole, and a German-style warm potato salad I make using sweet potatoes instead of white. With dinner, we had a 1990 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley — which complemented the smoked bird nicely– followed by a
1991 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Unfortunately, the 1990 Robert Mondavi Napa Cab Unfiltered was a goner, even though it had been properly cellared. Win some, lose some…
After dessert and coffee, everyone headed home stuffed, with plenty of leftovers in hand.
What have we learned? Once again, you gotta roll with the punches– expect the unexpected. Even though I had plenty of fuel left at the end of the cook, I still had to kick the fire in the butt with some extra coals to hit my target of 350°. With the vents wide open, the temp should have run too high rather than low. In retrospect, I failed to consider the breeze pulling some degree of heat out of the cooker. This was my first cook with an outdoor temp in the low 50’s– a much different animal than a sunny 80° day. I’ll be ready next time, though…
Next time, smoked cheese.