col klink

A brined and smoked turkey is just about the best way to prepare a turkey. The thing is, it should taste like a turkey. Have you read my course on smoking a bird? It should in no way taste like ham. It should be succulent with a plump texture and taste more like turkey than turkey. Somehow the smoking makes the turkey flavors come out even stronger. I've done side by side comparisons with roasted, fried and smoked turkeys and the smoked turkey wins (I throw big Thanksgiving parties). I haven't tried a good implementation of a Thompson turkey (or any for that matter) but I'm willing to bet that a smoked bird tastes better and is a helluvalot easier to do. Fifi, it sounds like you have the same problem as Jin. Do you like chicken? I understand not liking lots of foods for either textural reasons (raw fish), for taste (green olives, anchovies, natto), for religious or other beliefs (pork, cow, shellfish), but I have a hard time beliving that someone who can eat poultry, specifically turkey, not like a properly smoked and prepared turkey. It's absolutely divine. I grew up with horrible turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas so I know how bad a turkey can be, but I've yet to find anyone who says that they don't like my smoked turkeys or smoked turkey in general (let alone thinking they taste like ham).

Sounds like you add too much sugar. I've pretty much stopped adding sugar to my turkey brines because of that. As a matter of fact, I really only add sugar to my pork brines.

Your wish is my command.

Smoking is not a bad idea. I'm sorry Jinny that you've only had poor turkey in the past.

Does your gas grill have two zones or more that you can control independently? If so, turn one burner off and one on. The turkey goes above the unlit burner and the chips go above the lit burner (in a bin of some sort, on top of the lava rocks, you can make the bin from tin foil). Try and find an oven thermometer to use in your grill to make sure you're getting temps of around 225, it will probably take some figuring out to get the temp right. You can smoke it at 350, but the less time your bird spends in the smoker, the less smokey it will end up. And don't worry about not getting crispy skin, once your bird gets close to the final temp (~160F), turn up both sides of the grill. With the skin over direct heat, the skin will crisp up in about 5 to 10 minutes. But beware of flare-ups. Turkeys have a lot of fat that will render out and drop down on your coals (especially at the end of a smoking) and will definitely flare up over direct heat. The major problem I have with gas grills is that there's nothing you can do about the flare-ups except for move the meat. With a Weber charcoal grill, you can just set the top back on and since there's so much less air moving the the grill, the flare-ups will be snuffed out. Gas grills require a substantial amount of oxygen and that's way you'll see big air gaps in the back and holes on the side. Anyways, I'm assuming that you're going to smoke up a commerical bird which does have a lot of fat. If you're smoking a wild bird you have nothing to worry about since they're so lean. What do you mean by butterflying the turkey? Spatchcocking?

I second Matthew's opinion. When I was in Chicago back in October, I was very lucky to have some!

Naked sushi! "The Pioneer Square establishment considers it hip to serve sushi on top of scantily clad women."

I would assume that it would taste of pine and I'd certainly never try it. As to it being dangerous, I'm not sure but I wouldn't do it. Cute pooch Stone!

They add a 20% service charge and then have the gaul to ask for a tip? Is it that they can't figure out how to include their costs in the meal itself or are they trying to avoid sticker shock?

You mentioned that you wanted less work than the Weber (which isn't really that much work) and less work would be the Smokey Mountain. Smokey Mountains aren't completely "no work" but they are when you compare the amount of work with what I have. The reason I picked the Chargriller was it was the cheapest smoker that used actual firewood. My buddy already had a Smokey Mountain and made great 'que with it. I reasoned that if you can do great 'que with coals and chips, an actual hardwood fire would be even better, and I was right. However, the amount of work involved is dramatically more than a Weber kettle or a Smokey Mountain. However, if you're looking for a "one thing can do most of it" and the amount of work isn't an issue the Chargriller is your best bet -- it can grill (in the box there's a false bottom for charcoal) as well as smoke.

Smoker, You might want to switch to firewood with your Chargriller. I have the same model as you do, but I have never used charcoal. Although I'm not surprised you had a hard time keeping the temp up. Unlike a grill, the coals are a good distance away from the meat and the firebox bleeds heat relentlessly. A hardwood fire is going to burn hotter than a charcoal fire will and you need all of this bleeding so it doesn't get too hot. If you're using charcoal, it would be more effecient to put the coals inside the barrel and not in the firebox -- in which case you can follow the instructions for smoking with the Weber kettle. Also, if you don't want to switch to firewood, try using lump charcoal which burns hotter, is easier to light and easier to control. Do keep in mind that at this time of the year, you're going to need more fuel to compensate for cooler temperatures.

You can smoke it all up on the first day and save the rest for two weeks later. It would probably be safer to freeze the remainder but I've had smoked brisket last two weeks in the fridge and still be all right. As to reheating, how are you planning on serving it? For sandwichs? I like to eat my brisket hot and I reheat it in the oven at 350 until it's ready. Usually not much longer than 20 minutes to a half hour. If you want to smoke but you're finding the Weber too much work, go with the Weber Smokey Mountain. They require hardly any work at all.

I really dig goat. I treat goat like a red meat roast and only cook it to about 130 -- it remains tender and tasty. Throw a dry rub of your choosing on the shoulder and roast at a hight temperature (~400 F) to give it a nice crust. Pull the roast out when the internal temp reaches 125 and let it rest for 15 minutes. Let the roast rest on a plate and deglaze the pan with red wine and add assloads of garlic. Reduce, take off the heat and monte au beurre.

Thanks for your tips everyone. I wasn't able to try them out last night (I left the canister out on the counter too long ) but I'll be trying it tonight.

(I'm sorry if this has been covered before, but I couldn't find it by searching) I'm trying to make a plum sorbet and I based my recipe off of the one in the cookbook that came with my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. Initial recipe: Lemon Sorbet Simple syrup: 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water 1 1/2 lemon juice 2 tbsp lemon I switched the lemon juice with 1 1/2 cups of plum wine (13% alcohol) and added 1 1/2 plums, processed. I know I have the ratio off because after 45 minutes twirling, the mixture hadn't set -- although it did taste good. Do I need to boil off the alcohol first? or do I need to add sugar?

From the sound of it, that's cold smoking i.e. smoking under 100 F (or even better < 80 F). This type of smoking is done in a smokehouse with a tiny fire and meat is hung to dry for days, a week or even longer in combination with curing. For oldworld authenticity, you have to build a smokehouse and it's no simple task. Luckily there's a nice little book on building theme: Build a Smokehouse. Most of them involve building a pit for a fire and a trench that feeds the smokehouse with the now chilled smoke. However, cold smoking can be done with old refrigerators, a hot plate and wood chips but I haven't set one up yet. Alton Brown has designed one out of three high school lockers.

Dude, the blowtorch is totally cool. I bought mine at a metal works shop in the industrial district of Seattle for about $20 (with attachments, it was a kit). I totally embarassed myself though when I picked it up. I had just walked around the place for an hour picking up sheetmetal and angle iron to build a new smoker, checking out the place. Industrial size castors, shitloads of plate steel up to 2" thick, you know, big manly stuff when before we leave I check out the shop and find the blow torch amongst the rest of the burly welding supplies. All these guys are walking around in their heavy duty work cloths all grimy and dirty and I say "cool! this would be perfect for creme brulee!"

Don't say that! Here's a less high-brow version: There once were two painters from Paris In love with a lady named Maris; "Come lunch with us, lass, And show us your ass, And we'll do what e'er you dare us!" Okay, the 2nd line I'm not happy with--couldn't find another good rhyme for Paris and dare us. Thought for second line - There once were two painters from Paris Whose desires might oft embarass, Dumpling, that rocks! That's much better than mine. I confess, I was in a hurry to get to a meeting I was already late for. And Pan, yes, I teach British Lit and composition and occasionally world lit and literary theory. Batgrrrl (yes, Batgrrrl, not the colonel--I forgot to log him out before posting!)

I miss Armandino. That lamb prosciutto is to die for.

Depends on how you want to smoke it. Hot smoking is no problem in the Webber but cold smoking really isn't feasible. I've smoked a number of large cuts of salmon and I've found that cutting them up into 4 oz strips yields a smokier fish. Of course, brining before hand helps too. You can use the same brine as in the course (1 cup of salt and sugar per gallon of water). You may also want to lower the temp of the Weber to 175 F instead of 225 F to allow a longer time for the fish to be in the smoker.

Er, yah, mussels. You caught me.

Here's the last of my postable pics from the gathering. MatthewB, I'm emailing the negatives you requested shortly. Lady T's delicious custard pie. Gothic Americans. This is from the brunch that Alex set up the morning after (thanks again!). Specifically, this is Lady T's special apple pancake. Another shot of the pancake. You're posting the recipe right? Unfortunately I missed a great number of shots of other food and for that I'm truly sad. For instance Fresco's curried musslel potato and apple salad, Guajolote's spinach salad with bacon dressing, his beet salad or his bell pepper dish (there is a pictures of the peppers beforehand though), Alex's butternut squash with spinach, bacon and basil (please post the recipe!) or Nero's pastry pillows. Sorry folks! Hopefully others were just as busy taking pictures. It was truly amazing the amount of food presented there on Saturday and amazing how it all came together so smoothly without any tensions what so ever. I just have to say that this was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait for the next party. I was really surprised with the friendlyness and especially the hospitality of everyone involved. Thank you so much Michelle and Matthew for hosting, thank you so much Alex for hosting and letting me crash at your house, thank you Guajolote's parents for also providing beds to other folks and thank you from the bottom of my heart Guajolote for the meat tour of Chicago -- meat rocks!

As promised, here are some more pics: Everyone sitted for dinner. The prime rib! Behold it's magnificent glory! Guajolote's daughter Iris longing for the prime rib (apparently she ate nothing else). Two low-down G's gettin' crazy! NeroW and Maggie opening up the seriously fine cognac. Getting ready to take tasting notes on the canned wine. Lady T about to clobber Mr. Nero for attempting to put the Wine Clip on the seriously fine cognac. Alex showing off Aurora's fan-freakin'-tastic carrot cake.

Almost there! But until then, here's some more: (by the way, if there's a picture of anyone and they don't want to be pictured, let me know and I'll alter them). The liquor table. MatthewB working on some dangerous side cars. Could you post your recipe Matthew? Mr. Nero enjoying his side car with lamb salami garnish. The carved up duck (purchased live, from a Halal live poultry shop in Chicago). It was very, very lean with very little muscle tissue -- somewhat of a dissapointment despite the breast meat being tasty but not smokey. Two lamb legs and some fresh sausages on the bullet. The tray of Jim Dixon's roasted cauliflower. Of course it was finished before dinner was ready. Final preperations. Smoked legs of lamb, smoked fresh Czech sausages and lamb sausage.

Let's hear it for meat! The prime rib after it was salted and peppered (that's a 1/2 baking sheet). Lady T blessing the beef before it hits the Weber kettle. The prime rib on a 22 1/2" Weber kettle. Heartlanders and their neighbors working in Michelle's kitchen on the upcoming feast. The artisnal bell peppers from the farmer's market. Aurora enjoying the smoked corned beef brisket. Smoked corned beef brisket, cured lamb sausage and liverwurst (later on lamb salami was added). The prime rib after 5 hours of smoking on the kettle. The in/famous wine clip. Later on there were side by side tests with freshly opened wines.