Printable View
So, since Thanksgiving is coming up and Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I'd start a similar thread to the Beer (and BBQ) one.
So, what are the plans for the holidays?
For Thanksgiving we're going to brine and smoke a turkey. We're planning the same for Christmas dinner (in-laws are coming for a visit).
Any fun recipes, tips or techniques to share?
Of course, we'll have to post pictures once cooking time comes.
We host a pretty good crowd for Thanksgiving, so pretty much like last year:
Father-in-law: one fried turkey
Me: one roasted turkey (parsley stuffed with butter/oil/spices under the skin)
one smoked turkey (in a pan with strips of bacon draped over the top)
one smoked wild hog ham (gotta get back out - last one in the freezer)
The ladies handle all the sides: green bean cassarole, jalapeno cornbread, coffee can bread, mashed potatoes, pies, etc.
Probably be a good time to debut my first attempt at that bacon explosion as well.
Gets crazy around cooking time, but will try to remember to take pics.
I <3 brewing
On Tap:
Happy Holiday Ale <--Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
Connoisseurs Nut Brown Ale
Maple Syrup Dark Ale <--2lbs Pure local maple syrup
Aussie Pale Ale
Fermenting:
Magellians IPA Hop Bomb <-- Extra fresh dried hop flowers in the fermenter
Imperial Nut Brown Ale <-- This one will be special
Uncommon Honey Steam Lager <--My first lager (cold temp ferment)
Big River Brown Ale
mike,
Do you or have you tried brining? That would really enhance your roasted and smoked turkeys. I would agree that this will be a good venue for the bacon explosion. You might try doing more than one and vary the "filling" ingredients. I've done different cheeses, bbq sauces and peppers, etc.
mikey,
Man, I'd love to come visit and sample those beers. I'm a big fan of Winter Ales or Lagers. Nut brown ales are a big favorite of mine too. That Maple Syrup ale sounds pretty good! Let us know how they turn out. You have any food plans for the holidays?
I bagged a deer this last weekend. That's on my list of holiday meats. :D
Oakie -
Thanks for the comments! I am still trying to figure out a way to ship beer to my friends around the country without costing too much in shipping. So far the best I can do is $15 just for shipping for one case of beer.
I suppose it would not be hard to send a sampler six pack. :)
The Happy Holiday Ale is interesting to say the least! I thought the spices were way too strong at first but they have mellowed with age. Now it's a smooth dark beer with a cinnamon aftertaste.
The Maple Syrup Dark is carbonating now so I should have a taste update soon. It smells SOOOOOOOOOOO good. Nothing out of the ordinary, just like good dark beer.
The hop bomb was really fun. An IPA or India Pale Ale was originally designed with extra strong alcohol % and extra hops to help last through the long voyage by ship to India from Brittan. Recently my Local Home Brew Store gave me some extra hops, locally grown and freshly dried. I threw them in late-addition style with the fermenting brew to give hoppy smell but not bitterness.
The Imperial is made using the richest, most luxurious ingredients, and lots of them. Beer fit for a king. It was fun to make and I cant wait to try it.
mani,
Congrats. I want deer so bad. I've never been much of a hunter, but I'm starting to prep myself for teaching my boys once they're ready...probably a couple years. My in-laws are coming out for Christmas and supposedly they are planning to bring a 1/4 deer and work with the boys on cutting it up.
We were talking about deer this morning and how the backstrap can be a lot like a tenderloin. I was wondering what it would be like to cook it up like I did some pork tenderloin this year. Sweet and savory brine, then indirect cook on the charcoal with some wood chips. I have an excellent brine recipe I used on pork that would probably be good with the deer if you wanna try it out. ;-)
mikey,
$15 for a case huh? Ummmm, how many to a case?
Hey guys, I find that brining any poultry before cooking, especially smoking, makes all
the difference in the world - but I brine even the turkeys that I roast.
(this is GREAT - from Alton Brown: )
His gravy recipe is pretty darn good too!
I just read an article the other day about using Ocean Spray Cranberry/Pomegranite with salt to brine the turkey ( and it supposedly turns out GREAT (but the meat is pink))
(I don't know if you have to be a member to read the newsletter) -- lots of great smoking advice here.
My wife is DEADLY allergic to all poultry, so we will likely smoke a ham this year. My daughter will make a turkey so I can have some, but we won't probably cook one ourselves.
Okie, I think I still have one of your pork loin brining recipes laying around here. We've processed into stew meat, ground burger meat, and steaks. Im also going to try making some jerky. You must be well liked man to have some bring you a quarter deer. :D
If you have any big pieces of the deer left you might try brining. I'd imagine you could do some of the steak type pieces, but shorten th time quite a bit. Everything I've seen so far, the recipe would be a bit different than the pork loin. More savory tastes like soy sauce, worcestershire, etc. and less fruit type.
Well, the in-laws are mainly bringing the deer quarter to let "papa" teach the boys about cutting it up. But, yeah, it is really nice of them to bring that much meat. I guess I've been a good son-in-law this year...he he!
Brining practice run today...
Thick cut pork chops soaked in an apple cider and brown sugar brine. I put a brown sugar and savory spices rub on them and we're grilling them at a friend's house. I'll try to get some pictures. The brine smelled soooooo good!
When you smoke a turkey, which end do you put your lips on?
Deep frying an 18 lb bird here...right after the traditional thanksgiving wakesurfing
Brrrrr, it might go down to 73 degrees
And how do you keep it lit?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed G
Either end works find, but it is tough keeping it lit. Also, it's hard to find papers large enough to roll it in. But, solving the challenges is well worth it. :p
Here's 3/4 of the Thanksgiving meat ready for the smoker - two wild hog hams and 1 of the two birds (the other was traditional oven roast). The "after" pics are on another camera.
The hams were treated to a wild game brine, dry rubbed, seared, then smoked for 8 hours. Musta been good, cause only enough leftovers for 5 chopped bbq sandwiches tonight.
This bird was brined with Cranberry/Pomigranite juice (thanks for the link tg). Yes, the skin was a scary pink, but smoked up just fine (no papers - just a good ole Brinkman water pipe) & looked "normal" when done. No, the meat wasn't pink - just real tasty.
I've been slacking on posting my pictures and write up. I promise they're coming. How bad is it that I start thew thread and haven't contributed...LOL!
Wow - that cranberry brine really did turn that bird pink. Glad it worked out, you say it tasted great?
Yup, the cranberry bird was the favorite. Here's the "after" pics of the meat: roasted turkey (note the parsley, garlic, etc under the skin), smoked wild hog hams, and smoked cranberry bird.
One more of the serving table (see, the cranbery bird meat wasn't pink afterall). Plenty for 16 family members from 3 yr old neice to 96 year old great aunt.
OK, here's my pictures and the scoop on the set up. I brined with the same brine as last year. The bird was then filled (not stuffed) with some apple, celery, carrot and onion all coated with olive oil and savory herbs. The drip pan is set up with similar items plus some chicken stock and white wine. The dripping are used for gravy after cooking and can be done as an aus jus style or thick gravy style. The bird was brined for about 14-16 hours, then cooked on the smoker. It turned out very good. Of course, no meal would be complete without some good beer and wine.
http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...picture015.jpg
http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...picture018.jpg
http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...picture019.jpg
http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...picture020.jpg
Turkey looks awesome, Okie. What kind of wood did you flavor it with?
I primarily cooked with hickory, but I threw in apple chunks throughout the cooking to add some additional flavor.
Good lookin' bird, Okie. Did you pick up much flavor from all the goodies in the pan below?
A half full glass and a full bottle - what else ya gonna do while that tasty turkey is resting in the background???
Exactly....good eye!
It didn't seem to pick up much flavor but that wasn't really the idea. The pan of goodies served the roles of moisture for the cooking area and collector of yummy juices. I strained off the liquid and used it to make our gravy. I had more than enough so I put some in containers in the freezer so I have some stock to use for other things down the road. The juice had an awesome flavor between all the goodies inside and the drippings from the turkey.
Good stuff guys!!!
We did the traditional thanksgiving meal with stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, etc..... (no pics, nothing exciting)
For Christmas, I threw a couple whole chickens on the spit along with some chopped potatoes and veggies in a foil pan, and green beans with some good seasoning (see beer thread). The chicken on the left is seasoned with Pineapple Head and Arizona Heat, and the chicken on the right is seasoned with Three Little Pigs Poultry seasoning
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/photo-50.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/photo-55.jpg