California Horse 'n Home

    This year my husband prepared the Thanksgiving turkey and I must say, as did all our guests, this was the best turkey we’ve ever had. I thought you might like to check out his recipe. 
    However, getting him pinned down on exact measurements of ingredients is like getting a politician to tell the truth – it doesn’t happen. He just kind of uses his built-in “cooking-sense” as he goes along. I’ve asked him to do his best and make an attempt at leading everyone in the right direction. Oh, there’s one other thing: Rarely is anything he prepares considered easy.

So here it is in all it’s glory – in his own words.

Uncle Hubie’s Ultimate Turkey Recipe

    There are four main stages in preparing Uncle Hubie’s Ultimate Turkey and it can take up to two days or more to fully prepare (frozen, thawed or fresh).

1) Brining    2) Smoking    3) Roasting    4) Resting

    It all takes a bit of preplanning, especially for the brining process. You’re going to need a container that you can keep the turkey covered with the brine mixture and keep it cold. I found a “party” cooler or ice-chest to work just fine and simply used a plastic trash bag for the bird and brine. Then added a couple bags of ice to keep it properly chilled. Due to the size of our turkey I allowed it to set in the brine for about 20 hours. 
    Start with a fresh (my favorite) or thoroughly defrosted turkey and remove the stuff from the cavity. Determine how much water will be necessary to completely cover the turkey when in the container - kind of like a trial run.

BRINNING PROCESS

    Our turkey required a little over two gallons of water to completely cover. Here is how I prepared the brine: I took a pot and added two cans of chicken broth then filled it up with water – about a quart or so. I added the following ingredients (all measurements are variable): A palm full of whole cloves; 2 tablespoons dried rosemary; 2 tablespoons dried thyme; 2 tablespoons ground cumin; 1+ tablespoon smoked paprika; 4 cloves of garlic (I pound them once with a mallet to squash a bit). I then bring the mixture to a boil for a minute or two then turn off the heat. I add about a cup of brown sugar and mix it up really well. Set it aside to cool (I let it set for about an hour or two then put the pot in the fridge to get it down to a cool temperature). The idea is to get the various flavors to join hand-in-hand as a team – like family.

    In another large pot (it might take two) I added the remaining water. To this I added 2 or more cups coarse sea salt and almost 2 cups of sugar and stirred it all up until completely dissolved. Between the two mixtures I now have the brine.

    Now we take our turkey after rinsing it really well, inside and out (remember, we removed the goodies inside the cavity) and place it in the “brining” bag. It then goes into the cooler and I add all the brine to the bag and shake it around really good to make sure it’s all mixed up well. Then take the ice and add to each side of the cooler as necessary to restrict the brine contents so it completely covers the turkey. Tie the bag if necessary and add additional ice on top as needed to keep it cold.

    You’re now free to go about your normal life until the brining process has completed. You might want to make sure you have enough ice in the cooler to keep it all cold. This wasn’t a problem for me because I put the cooler in the garage and it was about 45 degrees during the night and not more than 60 during the day.

    Once you’ve completed the brining remove the turkey and rinse it really, really well with cold water – I can’t stress this enough – rinse it really well paying strict attention to the inside cavity.  

    Pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels. Mix the following stuff for a dry rub: 1 tablespoon salt; 1 tablespoon pepper; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon ginger; 1 teaspoon chili powder. Add a little rosemary and thyme, maybe some pakrika – get creative and let your soul decide. Mix all the stuff up and thoroughly rub it into the turkey (don’t forget the cavity) and let it set for a few minutes to adhere to the skin. Next you’ll brush on some extra virgin olive oil to coat the entire turkey. Note: I take the wing tips and tuck them up underneath the turkey so they aren’t hanging out and overcooking. This “chick” is now ready to smoke.

SMOKING PROCESS

    I smoked this bad bird for two hours on our three-burner gas Char-Broil Red Infrared grill. You’ll need to make adjustments depending on the type of grill you’re using – one thing is the same for all grills – you’ll be using indirect heat. About three hours before, I soaked eight large hickory wood chunks (2”x2”x3”) and had three cups of chips for extra smoke as needed. You’ll also need some type of container to catch drippings and a rack to place the turkey on. 

    I fired all three burners on the grill and brought the temp up to about 500. I’m going to use the right side burner for the wood chips and place the turkey on the left (indirect heat). I now turn off the two left burners where the bird will be setting. I put the “catch-can” under the grills on the left, add three wood chunks and some of the chips to the right side, place the turkey (which is now on the rack) on the left side and shut the lid.

    The idea over the next two hours is to make sure we have “smoke” at all times and the temp inside the bbq is in the 300 range. You’ll probably need to add chunks and chips numerous times along the way.

    At the end of two hours I found the bird was somewhat browned. Which was just fine. I'll finish it up in the oven.

ROASTING PROCESS

    I’ve got the oven preheated to 500 and I put the turkey in to get just the right browning I want on the outside – which took about 15 minutes or so. Prior to all that I’ve got our roasting oven plugged in and preheated to 350. I quartered two apples, one onion and have two cinnamon sticks ready go. I pull the turkey out of the oven, baste it with drippings from the smoking process, add the apple/onion/cinnamon into the cavity, stick in my trusty digital thermometer which I’ve set to 130 (the thermometer is placed into the breast area) and put the bird in the roaster. For this size turkey it took about two hours to get to our desired temp.

RESTING PROCESS

    The resting process is as important as all the other steps in getting a fantastic result – don’t leave this out. You’re going to need something to completely cover the turkey – I used a lid from an old bbq, which worked great. If you only have aluminum foil available you’re going to need to double or triple it up and get it so it really seals over the bird. Anyway, whatever method you use, when the turkey has hit it’s temperature remove it from the roaster, cover it up and let it set for at least 15 minutes before carving.

    Well, that was about as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4. I’m not trying to tell you how to carve your turkey but here’s what I did (we serve in kind of a buffet style because there’s not enough seating for everyone at one table): Chop off each of the legs and wings, there’s always someone that wants a whole leg, and slice up the remaining leg. Cut off one complete side of the breast and slice it into serving size pieces. Lay it all out on a large serving platter so everyone can have at it.

    Not bad. It only took about 32 hours! But, man, it was worth it. I just finished up the last of the white meat yesterday – oh, what a great sandwich.

Your chef in charge – Uncle Hubie

Ps – The turkey was only a small part of this Thanksgiving – there’s still mumblings going on about Mary Jo’s dressing and other side dishes – but the real blessing was in sharing with our family – God bless our kids our grandkids and God bless America.

Mary Jo Placka
951-707-7832  cell        951-780-0856  home
License #01707120
Land of the Hawk Realty
17679 Cajalco Road, Lake Mathews, CA 92570
(we're next to Lake Mathews Feed, across from the Fire Station)
951-940-9401