A 4 day smoke!

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Lil Griff

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 19, 2005
Messages
20
Location
Corvallis, OR
Well, sorta. But a bit of exageration seemed appropriate for my first cook photographed for this forum.

It took me three days to get to this point:





He was a 25 pound bird with a 10 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. My biggest turkey to date!

Then, the next day, he looked like this:





He brined for 5 hours in a salt/brown sugar mix and then smoked for 3 hours in the WSM with a light salt/paprika rub.

I wasn't too pleased with him--he's older than other turkeys I've shot and was a bit more gamey and tougher. Next time, a stronger marinade and rub will be used.
 
This is my fourth smoked, wild turkey. The other three were all jakes, though. :oops:

The jakes did not taste gamey at all. I really think wild turkey (and pheasant) flavor is heavily influenced by their diet. Two were shot where they had access to cracked corn. They tasted great. Another was shot where it was eating the grape hulls from a winery. It tasted great--like it was premarinated in red wine. This one was older and came from a wild nut and insect diet. It tasted gamey. Still good, still mild (ever eaten wild duck?), but it was tougher and had a gamey flavor. My wife still ate it, so it wasn't bad. Just not as good, you know?

I'll get back to with more data soon--we're allowed three a season here!

Lil Griff
 
A lot of people here like to inject rather than brine. I haven't tried it, but it might be worth considering if you get another big, tough bird. Do you suppose gaminess is why we have the tradition of eating cranberry sauce with turkey? :idea:

Nice lookin' bird. I'm impressed! :D

--John 8)
 
Sorry it wasn't as great as you had hoped. I hate that gamey taste. Frying seems to reduce it some. That is the only way I eat dove.

I have always wanted to pheasant hunt. ;)
 
Lil Griff said:
I'll get back to with more data soon--we're allowed three a season here!

Lil Griff

So that means you can get 6 counting the ones on your wifes tag too? ;) ;) ;Know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, nudge nudge, know what I mean? (Monty Python).
 
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