California Birds Have an Attitude

Here in sunny Southern California the birds have an attitude.

This girl spent a lot of time at the beach without sun screen.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 4-5 Hours

Traeger

Pellets: Oak

Directions: Turkey

We are going to do another turkey on Thanksgiving, but just a little different. We are going to cut this one open down the backside and spread her out flat on the grill with her insides down. I will get more even cooking and more smoke infusion. Before putting her on the grill I will coat her with olive oil and a good rib rub. (Use your favorite rub, we use a Cajun rub.)

Then, bacon weave on top of your bird. This will add tons of flavor and helps keep things moist. Just lay the bacon strips directly onto the bird.  If you want it to look good, try to lay it out in a basket weave. It won’t change the taste however you put the bacon. But, it is always nice to hear to ooooh’s and ahhhh’s when everybody sees your work… Have fun with it…

Cooking Directions: Traeger

Open the lid and set the dial to “smoke”, after about ten minutes shut the lid. Give it about 10 minutes to heat up.  Then, turn it up to the “High” setting. Patti has lined the drip pan with foil for me, it makes for an easy clean up. When you come up to heat 400-450 (10-15 minutes) set your thermostat to “Medium” 275-300F. Place your bird directly onto the grill and just let it hang out and get happy for 30 minutes or so. Your goal here is to quickly get the bird up to around 100 degrees.

After 30 minutes and an internal temp of 100 is reached turn the digital control down to “smoke”. 180 up to 225 degrees is where you want to be for 3 hours or so. The beauty of cooking in this low heat is that you can play with the time. If you want a more intense smoke flavor just leave it in the “smoke” setting longer. This is the time that you put your stuffing and anything else you want to bask in the smoke on to the grill. I put ours in a big cast iron skillet.  Anything oven safe will be fine. Patti likes to cover the bottom of casserole dishes with foil. It keeps the bottom and sides of the dish cleaner.

After 3-4 hours turn the heat up to “medium” around 300 degrees for an hour or so, until your internal temp reaches 170 degrees. Be sure you use the thickest part of the turkey for your heat reading.

When your bird is ready, pull and let it set for 15 minutes before carving. Or, if you are still waiting on late comers, put the thermostat back to the “smoke” setting.  Put a piece of foil over the bird to keep it from browning too much. You can hold it there for an hour or so with no problem. Then you’re ready.

Note: I use a spray bottle when cooking on the grill filled with a Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke mix that keeps things moist and adds tons of flavors. (Mix is 3 parts Worcestershire with 1 part liquid smoke)

Directions: Gas Grill
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4-5 Hours
Grill: Low Indirect Heat

Preparing Grill:  Low Indirect Heat

Preheat your grill to low heat (200-250) and turn off one side so you will be cooking with indirect heat. Add your wet hickory chips over the fire and oil the grill. A cooking spray is easiest for this. (Note: you can add your hickory directly to the grill or you can use foil smoke packets.(Two handfuls wet chips and one dry, fold foil into a packet, poke holes in it with a fork and you’re good to go.)

Note: I use a spray bottle when cooking on the grill filled with a Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke mix that keeps things moist and adds tons of flavors. (Mix is 3 parts Worcestershire with 1 part liquid smoke)

Preparing Charcoal Smoker

Get the smoker ready. You will want your temperature at around 200-250 degrees. Remember, you are going low and slow here. This will take all day (4-6 hours). Make sure you have plenty of cold beer.

Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste.

Take it and run with it….

Enjoy,

Ken & Patti

Hey, if you are interested in learning more about Traeger Grills or for fine meats and sausages for your grill, go see Jacob. He is a Sausage Meister and we are not kidding. If you get a chance, go and see him. It will be a fun day trip. (Take an ice chest; we always fill up a big one.) Or check him out @ www.tandhsausage.com or call him 760 471- 9192.

(Note: These are not paid ads, just special folks that have been good to us.)