Thanksgiving Smoked Turkey With A Large Portion of Thanks!
Posted: Monday, November 22, 2010
by Bob Alexander
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
The whole smoked turkey I had last year was the best I have ever cooked, bar none. It's not bragging if it's the truth. Guests for Thanksgiving must have thought so too, for we had only few scraps left over for the cat.
I did something different last year. I decided to brine the bird. For years I had heard that this would somehow make the turkey taste better. I thought it would only make it taste salty. Was I wrong! It was wonderful!
My reason for not having brined the bird before now was simple. I didn't have a turkey brine recipe. I'm lazy and I thought brining would be a complicated affair. It wasn't. First I poured 2 ½ gallons of water into a clean plastic bucket. Then I added 1/2 cup of kosher salt, 1/2 cup of sea salt, 1 rounded cup of brown sugar, 4 shredded sage leaves, and 3 tablespoons of fresh thyme and two tablespoons of restaurant grade black pepper. After mixing this up I stuffed the turkey into the bucket, completely submerged in the brine. The bucket rested in the refrigerator about 12 hours.
This year when the charcoal is the correct shade of grey and the bird is on the grill and there is really nothing to do except admire the smoke that is coming from the smoker, I'll remember once again that I have much to be thankful for as this year comes to a close.
I thank God for the freedom to roast a turkey any time that I want, without out having to worry about incoming missiles trying to take out my smoker, mistakenly thinking that it's a weapon. I thank Him for the men and women who put their lives on the line each day to give me that freedom.
I'm thankful for all my children, whom each in their own way have contributed to the wonderful life I lead today. Fortune has smiled on some more than the others, but all of them have the promise of a better tomorrow no matter where they live in this country. This is something that cannot be said for many parts of the world.
This has been a year of repeated prayers by family, friends and folks that we don't even know from around the world. My wife is recovering now from an ongoing illness which at times seemed incurable. My thanks go out to all of those who remembered her in their prayers and especially to the One to whom those prayers were directed.
I'm thankful for my trip to Texas this fall to visit my daughter and my two grandchildren. Without that reunion, I would never have witnessed the excitement of the Ft. Bend County Fair and its chicken competition for the youth of the area.
Families all over the area are involved, encouraging their kids, from 6 to 16, to grow chickens to enter into the broiler and roaster contests. The most fun is listening to the parents who take this event more seriously than their kids.
It is easy to overlook the little things in moments of extreme thankfulness. A few blessings I try not to forget are clean water, running water, my tooth brush, tooth paste, gasoline no matter what the cost, beach clean-ups, food, and making it back from Texas with a new appreciation of chickens.
There are more blessings than any of us have time to recall, appreciate or deserve. We indeed have a lot to be thankful for; not only on Thanksgiving Day!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his outdoor cooking site at: http://www.redfishbob.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Happy Thanksgiving, Bob! I didn't know your wife has been ill - I'm so glad she is recovering now. I really enjoyed reading your article, it got me to think about the things I'm grateful for in my own life.
Great article Bob, May we be thankful everyday of our life and now I can be thankful for all odds and ends, chicken, fish, turkey, baby and people.
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