Worth-the-wait turkey

8 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 Turkey, 10-pound to 11-pound
½ cup Oil, Garlic-flavored
4 ounces Beer
½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 Garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Black pepper, coarse-ground
1 tablespoon Salt, kosher
1 pinch Cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Oil, Garlic-flavored
2 cups Turkey or chicken stock
1 cup Water
8 ounces Beer
¼ cup Oil, preferably canola or Corn
Barbecue Sauce (Optional)

Directions

INJECTION LIQUID

TURKEY PASTE

TURKEY MOP (OPTIONAL

The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the injection liquid ingredients in a small bowl. With a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture deep into the turkey in a half-dozen places, moving the needle around in each spot to shoot the liquid in several directions. Inject the greatest amount into the breast. With a mortar and pestle or in a mini-food processor, combine the paste ingredients, mashing the garlic with the pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add the oil to form a thick paste. Massage the turkey with the paste inside and out, working it as far as possible under the skin without tearing the skin. Place the turkey in a plastic bag and refrigerate it overnight. Before you begin to barbecue, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 degrees F to 220 degrees F. Cut a 4-foot to 5-foot length of cheesecloth and dampen it thoroughly with water. Wrap the bird in the cheesecloth and tie the ends. Transfer the turkey to the smoker, breast side down (you should be able to feel through the cheesecloth), and cook for 1¼ to 1 ½ hours per pound, until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F. Wet the cheesecloth down with more water at 30-minute intervals in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. After about 6 hours, remove the cheesecloth, snipping it with sissors if necessary, and discard it. When the cheesecloth is removed, baste the turkey for the remainder of it's cooking time, if possible, in your smoker. If you plan to baste, combine the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm the mixture over low heat. Mop every 30 minutes in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. When the turkey is done, remove it from the smoker and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with warmed barbecue sauce (such as KC Masterpiece) if you wish. This wonderful TNT recipe was taken from "Smoke & Spice" Cooking with SMOKE, the REAL Way to Barbecue, on Your Charcoal Grill, Water Smoker, or Wood-Burning Pit by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. Publisher is Harvard Common Press.

ISBN 1-55832-061-X

Posted to TNT - Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by KaylaD <azheat@...> on Mar 25, 1997

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