Here goes nuthin'

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mtmcbr

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 24, 2014
23
10
Well here goes my first turkey on the MES. Have done plenty of chicken, normally pull it before it's done and hit it with the grill to crisp the skin. Today I think I'll just use the oven and save myself from the COLD!

Rub is thyme, sage, rosemary, sugar and pepper mixed in olive oil and rubbed under the skin and around the bird. I didn't inject this one, as I need a new injector it didn't make it after the last time I dropped it.

The drip pan is onion, celery, baby carrots, thyme, and savory (I ran out of sage), with apple juice and chicken stock. Only second time trying something like this to make a gravy, but last time it made a pretty dang good concoction.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and lot of yummy food!

I'll try to get post smoke photos up too


 
The food is for everyone else, the E. Williams is all mine!
 
Wouldn't be a Thanksgiving dinner without some sort of drama.... Apparently my smoker has decided to quit as of 20 mins ago. Seems the element is not heating anymore. Luckily I caught it and was able to move the bird inside after about 1 1/2 hours in the MES. Finishing it in oven and keeping fingers crossed for it to turn out well. Seems to have taken in quite a bit of smokey flavor though as it seems great. I'll be pulling back panel off MES tomorrow to check everything out. Have a sneaky suspension that wiring may be causing problem, but that will have to wait..... DANG!

Luckily I have my E Williams to get me through this.
 
For the little bit of crazy that happened earlier, the turkey is rolling right along. Just for giggles I fired up the charcoal and I think I'm going to sear the bird out there for nice CRISP skin. Its roaring at about 425 and I should have known to just stick with what I know. (I'm a charcoal guy at  heart). Have to smoke another one for tomorrow so I think I'll do it out there. Supposed to be a nice day. Sounds like a bourbon, cigar, and a day of firebox babysitting is in my near future.
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Everything turned out ok.. Had to do a little wiring on the MES and still haven't actually looked at the terminals to the heating element. Last time I fixed it I used High Heat foam insulation over it and I didn't feel like chipping all of that away. Smoked another 30 lbs of turkey yesterday and it was great. Most of those who ate it had never had smoked turkey and many of them said they don't normally eat turkey at all, but at the end of the night it was gone. All is well in my neck of the woods. Actually think I'll start a new thread, just put on 2 racks of ribs this morning!

Also sorry no Q-view with all the stuff that was going on I didn't get the chance to get pics, but I'll be sure to get some today!
 
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