Barbeque Turkey For Thanksgiving

Barbeque Turkey For Thanksgiving

By:


There were no scraps left for the cat at last year's Thanksgiving dinner. The smoked Turkey was the hit of the day!

I did something different last year. I decided to brine the bird. I read somewhere that a turkey would taste better if it was brined before cooking. I had visions of my blood pressure rising due to all the salt in the brine mixture; it didn't happen. Was I wrong! It was wonderful!

Additonal seasonings are not needed because the brine seals in the flavors of the brine. Smaller turkeys are easier to smoke than large ones and they're more likely to fit in the brine bucket. The turkey fell apart when I took it off the grill because it was so evenly cooked and tender; it was so tender.

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 blessing of living in the USA and with all its opportunities. I also thank him for the chance to smoke a turkey without having to worry about a missile taking out my smoker because someone thinks it might be bomb. I thank the men and women of the military who put their lives on the line each day to give me the freedom to roast a turkey any time I want.

All my children are wonderful and I thank God for them. They have each contributed something the special to the life I have now. 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. Fort Bend County Fair and its chicken picking competition for area's youth.

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!

About the Author:
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.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , , , , , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Home-and-Family Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.