Found turkeys on sale for .59 cents / lb at Publix today, so I bought the smallest bird they had. Right around 16.5 lbs. Being the impatient person I am, I started thawing the frozen block of bird in water, still in the shrink wrap. It's heading to the fridge now, with the idea in my head of putting it in the brine tomorrow morning before I leave for work. I won't start cooking until early Friday morning.
Now.... I'm thinking I started thawing this thing too early, with the idea of it sitting in the brine for 24 hours. Any thoughts?
Also, my smoker won't seem to go above 250 degrees, so the oven is going to be involved in this one. Has anyone put theirs on the grill or in the oven to get it through the danger zone in time, THEN put it in the smoker? (I might have just answered my own question, just put it on the gas grill with a wood chip box and it'll be smoking the whole time.... Duh) I know people finish in there sometimes, but what about starting it?
Now.... I'm thinking I started thawing this thing too early, with the idea of it sitting in the brine for 24 hours. Any thoughts?
Also, my smoker won't seem to go above 250 degrees, so the oven is going to be involved in this one. Has anyone put theirs on the grill or in the oven to get it through the danger zone in time, THEN put it in the smoker? (I might have just answered my own question, just put it on the gas grill with a wood chip box and it'll be smoking the whole time.... Duh) I know people finish in there sometimes, but what about starting it?
