What started out as a small gathering for Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago ended up turning into quite the event. As usual, my inlaws were hosting and since we were only planning on about five or six people, it didn't seem like such a big deal. I think the plan was just to have a traditional meal, but then @mrsbozz's sister texted the group and said they would be willing to come up from Ohio for Thanksgiving if uncle bozz (not my real name) was going to smoke a turkey breast.
Now, I'm sure they were probably planning on coming up anyway, and asking for smoked turkey was just a good excuse. Also a nice way to inflate my ego.
We quickly shifted our plans and it was set that along with a traditional turkey I was going to smoke a turkey breast or two. We still did the traditional turkey because understandably, some people prefer dark meat and as tasty and juicy as a smoked turkey breast is, you still don't get the dark meat.
Plus, the turkey breasts are only about three pounds each, so if you figure maybe half a pound of turkey per person (which is super easy to eat when it's this good), you really don't get more than six servings out of one breast.
Then, due to some unexpected circumstances which I have alluded to in the past, but I still can't talk about here, it was decided that basically all of the siblings were going to attend Thanksgiving. Suddenly our small gathering of 5 to 6 people turned into a full meal for fifteen people. We quickly realized I should probably smoke four turkey breasts as well as the full turkey.
My father in law has a grill we bought him several years ago that is a bit fancier than the one I have, but it is still a Weber Kettle, so the basic concept is the same. You can see his gas grill in the background that I try to touch as little as possible, but I have used it in the past.
While everyone else was inside watching the football game, I started getting things prepared with the grill and the turkey breasts.
Really, the only difference with his grill over mine is that it comes attached to a cart and has that side and bottom shelf that mine does not have. Beyond that it is the same size and has the same hinged grates that my cheaper model has. If you already have a nice prep area, I'm not sure the added cost is really worth it between the two.
As I said, we picked up four of the turkey breast for me to smoke. These Butterball brand come in a couple different flavors. You can get the plain, savory herb, or cajun. We got two cajun which you can see on the left and two savory herb which are on the right. I've tried taking the netting off before grilling them, but they kind of fall apart on the grate, so I have started to leave the netting on and take it off after the fact.
I had my drip pan ready with a glass of water to fill it as well. My bourbon was poured, and my Chef IQ probes were already in two of the turkey breasts. I also had some hickory and apple wood on hand for the smoke flavor.
I was a little worried there wasn't going to be room to fit all the birds on the grill, but I was able to make it work. The important thing is to not get them too close to the coals so you don't over cook half of one of them.
About an hour and a half into the cook I moved them around a bit and I even took one of them off because it had already reached that 165 degree Fahrenheit temperature I was looking for.
After about two hours it was time to serve them. My brother in law sliced them up and dinner was served. I didn't get any photos after this because I was too busy filling my face. I'm glad we ended up going with four breasts, I think anything less would have been too little. There were some leftovers, but I think most people snagged the smoked turkey to take home and snack on later. It basically got wiped out entirely.
Now here's where it gets interesting... At one point someone mentioned that fact that we should be having brisket at Thanksgiving instead of turkey. My brother in law then mentioned that he had a brisket in his freezer. Finally, it was decided without my consent, that I would be doing a test run of smoking a brisket for Christmas with the plans that next year I will then smoke a brisket for Thanksgiving.
I've only ever done a brisket once before and I don't feel like it turned out that great. I'm pretty nervous about this, but you better believe I will be taking photos so I can post about it!
Be sure to check back after the holidays to see how I did!
So in otherwords: Bozz Saves Thanksgiving! 😃
Good luck for the coming Christmas brisket!
I don't know about "saves", but I definitely contributed!
Those came out looking really good! The hickory and apple should have added some really nice smoky flavor. Great job!
What kind of bourbon were you drinking for the occasion?
Thanks! I think everyone was really pleased. My brother in law texted me a couple days after they got home and said he couldn't remember if he told me nice job on the turkey. I have a feeling he was finally getting around to eating his leftovers and it popped in his head!
I think that bourbon was Buffalo Trace which is one of my favorites if you can get it at retail price. I wouldn't pay much over $30 for a bottle though. Later that day my other brother in law made a beer run and picked me up a bottle of Old Forester 1910 which is another one of my favorites.
Old Forester 1910 is really good stuff! I like Buffalo Trace too, not nearly as good as Eagle Rare but for the price it's excellent stuff!
I like the 1920 Prohibition blend as well from Old Forester, but it's such a high proof that I don't usually use it as a daily sipper. I agree with you on the Eagle Rare. I am milking my bottle to the very last drop.
A family union with some delicious foods.
Yes, I wish I had thought to take a photo of the full spread. It was quite impressive. I will have to be sure to do that at Christmas.
Good cause
Thank you! It was really just for our family, but they enjoyed it!
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Families, eh? What can you say? 😁
For sure! I just hope they don't end up being disappointed!
They look nice @bozz. Nicer than I thought they would look. Id say they tasted even better.
They were delicious!
Brisket... very soft and tender, yum!!! I could have that any day!
And with Bourbon too!
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I actually prefer Tri-Tip over brisket personally, but really I'm not going to turn either one down. I just hope I don't screw it up too bad!
No, you won't @bozz! People (those who don't know grilling) just make so much of it. But I prefer Tri-Tip to brisket too. It's a different muscle and much more flavorful.
There are many ways to do brisket! But you gotta love a brisket that is easy to make. You place it on the grill... and you don't have a lot of interaction with it! You cook it all night. then wrap it up and increase the temperature a little bit. After which you rest it up for a long time, till you are good to go! Don't forget to tell us how your brisket turned out, okay?!
!BBH
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I definitely will! That resting it for a long time is quite new to me. I'll have to research that more.
Hmm... I rest the brisket for 2 to 3 hours. Keep it wrapped. while resting. Minimum of two. Depending on the brisket, I grill it for 12 to 16 hours.
But it is your brisket, and you do what you want to do with it. There are many ways to skin a cat!!!
Good luck, @bozz !
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@bozz! @silversaver888 likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @silversaver888. (8/20)
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the Turkey breats look so good and I am sure you will do the Brisket so well and everyone will love it
!pimp
Thanks for joining the Wednesday walk
Have a great day
I hope so! Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Good luck with the brisket... Will you do a test run?
Apparently this Christmas is the test run for next Thanksgiving!
aha ah well I am sure it will be great!
@bozz! @silversaver888 likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @silversaver888. (6/20)
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