The pressure is on

[jbsoonerfan]

Well, my Mom asked if I would cook the turkey this year for Thanksgiving. I LOVE to cook, but this is kind of stressful. I will be cooking for about 30 people, maybe more if we get some stragglers. My plan is to do 2 turkeys. I am going to brine them starting Monday. I plan to brine them for 24 hours and then inject them on Tuesday and put the rub on them. I will smoke them Wednesday and get them ready to be put in the roaster oven early Thursday morning to be ready by noon. Here is my question. Would you inject them with just a regular broth/butter combo or would you go with a garlic or cajun injection? I don't want to ruin our family Thanksgiving, but I want to make something good. Like I said, I'm kind of stressed about it. LOL

[Tennessee Boy]

I love to cook also.  One rule that I learned the hard way.  I never try something new when cooking for a group.  Especially if you’re talking about the main course.  I stick to what has worked for me in the past.  I experiment when I’m cooking for me and the wife.  

[12poundbass]

I agree with @Tennessee Boy keep it simple for the large crowd and experiment later on. I’d be the one to try something new for a crowd and screw it up and ruin thanksgiving. 

[flyfisher]

Since you are doing two birds, I would do one traditional and one cajun and see what the crowd likes. I personally never inject my turkeys if I brine them.  I'd also just smoke them all Thursday morning.  For me, I use a weber smoky mountain cooker and leave it wide open and the bird only takes a little longer than a normal roasting time and you get that smoke flavor that we all love on a turkey.

[VolFan]

I would keep it simple, and do it well. Butter and broth if you’re shooting up, but I also don’t inject if I’m hitting the brine. I get as much chopped and prepped and in the fridge as I can the day before, often in the vessel that it will cook in (turkey, yams, dressing, corn casserole). I use aluminum disposable pans where possible when it won’t affect the dish so there’s less clean up.  If you’re coming over, you’re bringing dessert and/or wine. I do crudités and a cheese plate instead of salad because you can pick and wander around before dinner and then save the table for the real food. 

[jbsoonerfan]

Thanks guys! I'm doing the turkey, mac and cheese, deviled eggs and a cherry cheesecake. My mom is getting to the point where she is ready for some help. She always refused because she has just always done it all but I think she is finally getting tired of doing it all.

[jbsoonerfan]

The turkeys went in the brine about noon today. We decided to do 3 breasts instead of two whole turkeys. Going to take them out about 3 or so tomorrow afternoon and pat dry. I will let them rest a few hours and inject them with a simple butter/broth combo. I will wrap them and put them in the cooler till Wed morning and fire the smoker up. Going to season them with a 4:2:1 (salt, garlic, pepper) blend and let them sit for a few hours. Then on the smoker they go. I plan to monitor the temp and when they reach about 150 I am going to wrap them in foil and add butter to the foil. When they get to 165, I will pull them and let them rest a while. I will then carve them and put them in foil pans. I plan to take them to her house Thursday morning to put in the roaster oven. Hoping for the best.

[VolFan]

That sounds like some good turkey!  If all else fails (and I’ve had some spectacular fails) there’s not much good gravy cant help.

[Tennessee Boy]

I cooked a turkey yesterday morning for our first Thanksgiving gathering at noon.  It was a success.  The key to a moist turkey is not to over cook.  I'm always a little scared that I might under cook it.   This clip from Seinfeld always comes to mind.

 

 

[TOXIC]

Sounds like you will be fine and are set to go.  If I were in your shoes I would have done the 2 full birds differently.  1 would have been a traditional smoked bird like you mentioned and 1 would have been done in the turkey fryer.  One of the moistest birds I have ever had came out of the fryer.  Side note, with all this talk about how expensive thanksgiving is going to be this year, my wife went into the local store and found a week long sale on whole turkeys.  She ended up getting 2.  I don’t remember the exact weights but one was around 19lbs and the other was 12-14lbs and she paid $9 for one and $5 for the other.  That sure offset any other price increases!  

[BassNJake]

When I was a kid we went to my aunt and uncles.

She cooked a traditional bird in the oven, he'd BBQ one in the garage.

 

BBQ was always the clear winner

 

 

[VolFan]

@jbsoonerfan How’d it come out?!?!

[jbsoonerfan]

It was great!!! Everyone was happy, or maybe they just wouldn't tell me it sucked LOL. I do think it turned out well. My wife even like it and she doesn't like turkey. Thanks for asking!!!