The Backyard Barbeque Qzine November 2009 / Issue #5
BBQ Smoked Turkey

It’s that time of year again when turkey makes its appearance on the menu.  It is the traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece and it also shows up a lot on the Christmas dinner table.  We thought that we would concentrate on turkey recipes in this issue to showcase the versatility of turkey.  Now I hear you mumbling, saying that after the Thanksgiving meal everyone is tired of it but I’m hear to tell you that there is a turkey dish “life” after the holiday.

Now our take on turkey is certainly going to follow our theme of barbeque.  If you have not had a smoked turkey them you are missing one of life’s treats.  It will change your mind about the dry, tasteless bird that so many associate with the holiday.  We think it is better then the trendy “fried” turkey that has been so popular over the last few years.

You can smoke a whole turkey, turkey breast, or turkey legs.  You use the regular smoking techniques that are described on the website (and you don’t have to worry about burning your house down using a turkey fryerJ).  All of the smoked turkey pieces are quite good.

The trick is that you must use a brine to marinate the turkey before putting on the smoker.  You must also make sure that you air dry the skin once you take the bird out of the brine. 

Andrea’s Kitchen showcases a recipe that we use frequently when cooking smoked turkey.

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 Note From the Editor:

Welcome to the November Issue of Backyard Barbeque Qzine - our periodic E-zine, filled with great information on cooking barbeque and traditional southern style dishes!

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Have a Great Barbeque Day!,

TC Mcrae

In this issue:

•BBQ Smoked Turkey
•Andrea's Kitchen
•Review of the Cowboy Lump Charcoal
•Turkey and Dumplings
•Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Andrea's' Kitchen

Smoked Barbeque Turkey Recipe

Ingredients for Brine:

  • 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 gallon water, 2cups
  • 1 gallon apple cider, plus 1 cup
  • ½ cup kosher salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons peppercorns
  • ¼ cup onion powder
  • 2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle ground chili powder

Ingredients for Spice Blend:

  • 1 ½ Tablespoons season salt
  • 2 Tablespoons garlic salt
  • 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 ¼ Tablespoons course ground pepper
  • 1 stick room temperature butter


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 One Decadent Dessert:

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

You are gonna hurt yourself with this dessert.  It is derived from a favorite of southern style cooking, Sweet Potato Pie, only it’s in a cheese cake.  If you like both types of dessert then you will like this recipe.  This cheese cake is better than the varieties of Cheesecake Factory®.  That is how good it is.  Please try it and tell us what you think on the blog.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

"Q" Cooking Tip of the Month!

When brining a turkey always dry the skin when you remove it from the brine. It is highly preferable to let the skin "air dry" for at least a couple of hours before you put it on the smoker.
Review of the Cowboy Lump Charcoal

The past barbeque season gave us a chance to try several different charcoal brands. One of the brands that we were dissapointed by its performance was the Cowboy brand.

It burns much faster than other brands so if you use it keep that in mind because you will have to use more. Although it burned fast it was also fairly inconsistent in keeping the temperature up. What I found was that there was a significant amount of scrap lumber that was used to make the charcoal. Scrap lumber is a poor choice for consistent barbeque.

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Smoked Turkey and Dumplings

Ahh! Thanksgiving or should I say “Turkey Day” is with us again, we all get stuffed literally on the holiday meal and invariably there is turkey left over.  What to do with that extra bird is the question?  The answer is that there is a lot we can do with left over turkey.  We’ve put together a couple of very good turkey left over recipes that we think you will enjoy.

The first one is a favorite.  It’s a favorite because I like dumplings.  Turkey is a great complement to traditional dumpling recipes.  This recipe uses the dark and white meat plus plenty of vegetables.  Check it out…..

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