Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day at the McCormack's

For the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, one usually thinks of dressing stuffed and oven roasted turkey; mashed potatoes with giblet gravy; candied sweet potatoes; glazed carrots; cranberry sauce and such. We experiment with foods that might be considered non-traditional or add new twists to traditional favorites. One "twist on an old favorite" has become an annual tradition, Ale Braised Yams with Chipotle Butter...

sweet potatoes (the red skinned, orange fleshed variety commonly called yams) cut into bite sized pieces, briefly sautéed in chipotle butter, splashed with a cup or so of pumpkin ale and braised until fork tender, then basted with the liquid remaining in the bottom of the braising pan (plus additional ale and melted chipotle butter if necessary) and broiled briefly until the taters are lightly browned on top.

Mmmm, mmm...good stuff. But, kinda spicy hot so we usually offer traditional sweet potatoes as well for non-chileheads. Another twist on a Thanksgiving tradition is smoked, rather than oven roasted, turkey...

Smoking the annual Thanksgiving Day turkey

If the turkey is frozen, I thaw it in the fridge at 40 degrees fahrenheit or less. It usually takes 2 to 3 days. If it thaws too soon, I figure I can leave it in the fridge for another day or two before worrying about spoilage.
I remove the innards from the cavity and reserve 'em to make gravy and broth. I then clean the turkey inside and out and mix up some brine. My typical turkey brine consists of 3/4 cup salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar and any spices and herbs I consider suitable for poultry (sage, savory, marjoram, whatever...) and maybe some quartered onion and a couple of garlic cloves peeled and crushed per gallon of water. A couple of gallons is usually enough. The easiest way to measure how much brine to make is to place the turkey in the brining container (I use a 5 gallon food grade plastic bucket), cover with water, pour off the water and measure the volume. I brine the turkey at 40 degrees fahrenheit or less in the fridge overnight (minimum 8 hours in the brine).
When I'm ready to start smoking the turkey, I get a fire going in my offset firebox smoker. While the smoker's heating up, I remove the turkey from the brine, wash it inside and out and then rub it down (including under the skin) with orange chile oil...
Orange peel, crushed whole garlic, crushed dried red chiles and achiote seeds added to peanut oil with some added sesame oil, heated to 250 degrees fahrenheit and kept at that temperature until the flavors and color are infused in the oil...
and whatever other seasonings seem appropriate for poultry. I cut an orange in half, squeeze the juice over the bird, toss a quartered onion and a couple sprigs of fresh sage and rosemary in the cavity and close it up by pulling the legs together and trussing with stout cotton twine. I insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to hit bone.
By now, the smoker should be getting close to cooking temperature. When it reaches 300 degrees fahrenheit, I transfer the prepared turkey to the smoker. Opening the door lets some heat escape, so it's necessary to bring the temperature back up and then try to keep it around 275 degrees fahrenheit for the duration of the smoking and cooking. I don't gauge the temperature by the thermometer built into the top of the smoker, I use an oven thermometer set on the grill along side the turkey. When it reaches 275, I quickly check the reading on the built-in gauge. Even though it isn't an accurate grill level reading, I can use it to tell if the smoker is getting to hot or too cool without repeatedly opening the door, which would increase the cooking time for the turkey.
I make up a basting liquid using a little melted chipotle butter blended with olive oil and ale or white wine, and baste the bird every hour or so to keep the skin from drying out. If the skin seems to be drying out despite the occasionally basting, I place a blanket of foil over the top of the turkey and remove the foil during the last hour or two of cooking to crisp up the skin. When I baste, I also check the grill level thermometer to make sure I'm maintaining the desired 275 degrees. The cooking time can vary, but I usually count on 35 to 40 minutes per pound. Since I don't like the idea of tending a fire on Thanksgiving Day from well before sunrise and on into the evening after sundown (thus possibly facing a hungry crowd of family and friends that hoped to eat sometime in the late afternoon), I try to keep the size of the turkey at 18 pounds max. I get the turkey on the smoker by 6:00 AM and plan on 12 hours cooking time but try for 10 hours, adjusting the heat up towards the end if necessary to meet my serving time goal.
While the turkey is smoking, I prepare the dressing. Stuffing the turkey before putting it in the smoker would not only increase the cooking time but also increase the risk of keeping food within the cavity in the temperature danger zone (40 to 140 degrees fahrenheit) too long. Instead, I make up a dressing usually using crumbled cornbread and sautéed country style sausage, chopped onions, apples, water chestnuts and pecans. Some broth for moisture plus salt, pepper and appropriate spices and herbs (fresh and/or dried) makes it ready for the oven. To approximate that cooked-inside-the-turkey flavor, I place a turkey thigh over the dressing, cover with foil and cook until the turkey thigh is done. I've seen it suggested to place the pan of dressing on a lower rack under the turkey to catch the drippings while the turkey cooks and smokes. While I like my turkey smoked, I'm not too sure I'd like my dressing smoked as well...but, I may have to try one day just to find out.
When the thermometer says it's time (about 175 degrees), I remove the turkey from the smoker using a meat hook and place it in a roasting pan to carry to the cutting board. I let the turkey rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
When Thanksgiving Day is over and as much meat as possible has been removed from the turkey carcass, I make what I call smoky broth. I simmer the carcass, leftover skin and bones along with some onion and poultry seasoning (but no additional salt) for 3 to 4 hours. Strained and transferred to suitable sized containers, the broth can be frozen for later use. It's great for cooking dried beans for most any use, but is particularly good for making smoky BBQ beans.

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