Fried vs Smoked Turkey

If you are making grits in the microwave, then they aren't really grits.

 

If it's a smaller turkey I don't spatchcock it, kinda need to with a bigger bird.

And brining is a must either way. Water, salt and brown sugar.

 

Oven roasted for the win.

 

for the win in the dry/bland competition maybe

 

My grandmother always oven roasted. She was worried I was going to ruin the turkey by frying it but she didn't want to have to bake one herself so against her judgment she let me take the reins. I was craving the turkey and she said, "you don't want all that skin on there." I told her it was a fried turkey and that was the best part. She took a bite of skin and said, "yeah leave that on there".

 

fried is good, but as a chef I prefer old school roasting, everybody seems to want to try and reinvent something that was never broken

 

This should cover it:
brine
inject
rub
sous vide 12 hours
smoke 2 hours
fry 15 minutes
microwave 17 seconds

If it sucks, slather in BBQ sauce

enjoy!

 

or just put salt and pepper on it, oil the skin and let it do its thing, people paid 225,000 dollars last Christmas to eat a normal roasted turkey and a spiral ham

 

That sure as hell doesnt mean that they have any brains or good taste.

 

What?

 

I just cook food on a yacht, I don't make the rules or prices, It was a 10 day charter, not one dinner, LOL!! It would have to be the best fucking turkey ever for that price!!!!

 

Fried whole bird and smoked breast each Thanksgiving.
For the smoked breast, mix up 2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 4 cups water. Mix until all disolved. Inject. Melt down a stick of butter (unsalted...learned that one the hard way 1st time). Inject. Leave it sit for an hour. Cook at around 300-325. Low and slow doesn't really matter with poultry.

For the fried, I do the same injections.

a) if deep frying, don't forget to remove the bag of giblets!!!!
b) if deep frying, don't be like my neighbor and show up with butter smeared on the outside of the skin. I told him we could have saved a step and he could have just dumped the stick of butter into the hot oil and he didn't understand what I was trying to say. He's an otherwise smart person...he should leave the cooking to his wife.

 

There's only one way to settle this, I'll hold a turkey judging contest.
Everyone can overnight me a generous sample of their bird and I'll take it from there.
Don't forget the stuffing.

 

Obviously over cooked. Plus stuffing