Thanksgiving is just around the corner

Don't have a set menu yet but have already gotten requests for SmokinOkies'holiday brined turkey breasts. A few years ago I did three different brines, Smokins, HiMountain, and one other that I forget now and Smokins won the taste test hands down. Without going into alot of detail now (my notes are up in the shop) I use apple wood in the 008 and finnish in the oven for a few minutes to get a little extra crisp on the skin. Comes out so tender and juicy!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Whalebone:
[qb] Don't have a set menu yet but have already gotten requests for SmokinOkies'holiday brined turkey breasts. [/qb]

Whalebone, thanks for the reply, I just printed Smokin Okie's Holiday brine, looks like it should do the trick. I'll give it a shot.

I'm sure I'll cook up the usual Holiday stuff, but wanted to maybe add something smoked. One Thanksgiving we had some smoked duck meat serverd over a crisp salad...Hmmm especially with some good woods'y mushrooms!!!

dan

Gosh thanks for the compliments.

Here's the link to Turkey 101 for starters.
Turkey 101

We'll be doing Turkey of course



a Spiral Cut ham
(now where is that photo???)

possibly a Prime Rib



and who knows what else, haven't thought that far, but thanks for the reminder:

Credit where credits due Smokin; BBayside, Just did a quick review of brining 101 and can,t find it but somewhere I read not to add the honey untill the mix cools to under 160 degrees. Does sumtin funny to da honey. I don't use the tenderquick because I'm just doing the breasts and they get out of the danger in time. Geez, I'm getting hungry now!!! May not wait till T' Day

Whalebone, thanks for the "Honey" tip. Yea, I'm getting kind-a in the mood for some "Pre-Holiday" cooking. I think I'll cook something up the 1st week of November...not too much, don't want to spoil the dinner on Thanksgiving day.

SmokinOkie, that Prime rib looks fantastic!!!! WOW!!!whew....gotta try that one of these days.

dan

Smokin' - That prime rib looks awesome. Do you have any pictures after you cut it? Also, did you wrap the turkey in cheesecloth, and were these both cooked in the Smokette, or an FEC?

thx!

Answers:

Brining 101:
Brining 101

After cut looks similar to this (this was actually a bone in rib eye, but same cut of meat)


Cheesecloth?
Go to the Turkey 101, that was in a Model 150. The Prime rib was probably a 150 and the bone-in Prime Rib was a FE.

More questions?

Read through Turkey 101 and let me know.

Russ

Somewhere I read in the forum that cheesecloth soaked in butter made the skin crispier????

Taking the smokette with me to work this Thanksgiving. Thought I would brine the Turkey in the icebox and transfer it to work in a cooler along with my smokette and wood. I'll be making a pan of dressing in the oven and thats probrably going to be it.....you never know when that 911 phone is going to ring, so you cant afford to have too many irons in the fire.
That's why I love my CS.!!!!!!!

Kevin's Cornbread Dressing:
1 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
3 raw eggs
3 boiled eggs
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup chopped,cooked turkey or chicken
3 pkgs. Martha White buttermilk cornbread mix
chicken bouillion for broth

1. Saute celery in skillet with two tablespoons of margarine over low heat until celery is tender
(approx. 30 min.)
2. Add onion to skillet and continue to cook for 10 min. Remove onion and celery and set aside.
3. mix cornbread mix, milk, and two eggs
4. Place greased 13x9 pan into pre-heated 400 degree oven for 3-4 min.
5. Remove from oven and pour cornbread mixture into pan and return to oven to bake for 20 minutes or until browned.
6. Remove from oven ..allow to cool..and crumble very fine.
7. Add chicken broth to cornbread until thoroughly saturated...about 2 1/2 quarts.
8. add celery and onion, mix, and cover and refrigerate. You can make this recipe up until this point the day before. and take it out of the fridge when ready to bake.


9. When ready to bake, add meat, boiled eggs, and one raw beaten egg. mix well, season to taste with salt and pepper and a dash of red pepper flakes.
10.Before baking, add more broth if needed (dressing should be very watery before baking or it will dry out.
11. Bake covered in a 350 degree oven, for one hour.......uncover, and continue baking for another hour or until browned on top.

Here's a cornbread dressing recipe you might try.


1/4 lb Butter
3 c Onions, chopped
1 T Garlic minced
4 ea Chicken thighs, cooked, chopped
1 lb Hot and spicy bulk sausage
1-2/3 c Milk
4 T Margarine
3/4 c Bell pepper chopped
2 ea Bay leaves
1 cn Chicken broth
5 c Cornbread, finely crumbled
3 ea Eggs
2 T Creole Seasoning
1 t Oregano leaves
1/2 t Thyme leaves
1/2 t Onion powder
1 ea Cayenne to taste

In a large skillet fry the bulk sausage until brown and crumbled; drain grease. Put sausage back in the skillet, add the butter and margarine with the onions, bell peppers, (you can use chopped green chiles instead of bell pepper if you like) garlic and bay leaves. Saute about until onions are clear, stirring ocasionally. Add the seasoning mix and continue cooking. Stir in the chopped chicken and chicken broth; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off heat. Add the cornbread, milk and eggs, stirring well. Adjust seasoning to taste at this point. If using cayenne pepper, use it sparingly until seasoning is adjusted to taste. Spoon dressing into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees until browned on top, about 35 to 40 minutes.
If using pressure cooker, cook chicken 30 minutes. I use a small food processor to finely crumble the cornbread.

Also you might use smoked chicken, that would give it some more flavor.

You want gravy with that. Here is a pretty simple and good gravy. If making my dressing add another cup of cornbread to recipe.

3 ea Chicken thighs, cooked and chopped
4 ea Boiled eggs, chopped
3 drops Yellow food coloring, optional
2 cn Cream of Chicken Soup
3 cn Chicken broth
1 cn Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 c Cornstarch
1 cn Chicken broth
1 c Unbaked dressing mixture
1 1/2 t Creole Seasoning


In a 4 quart saucepan, add 3 cans of chicken broth and food coloring to desired look. Add soups and creole seasoning. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch to 1 can of chicken broth and mix until smoothe. Slowly add to boiling broth, stirring constantly until smoothe. Add the chopped eggs, chopped chicken and one cup of dressing mixture. Simmer until gravy is desired thickness. More broth may be added if needed. Serve over cooked dressing.
Compensate dressing ingredients for using 1 cup of raw dressing mixture in gravy. If using 5 cups of cornbread, add 6 cups cornbread to compensate. Seasoning adjustment is all that is needed to compensate for the added cornbread to the dressing. Makes about 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of gravy. The cooking time for gravy is about 30 minutes total. The gravy is best when used within an hour of cooking. The soups start to break down some after that.