I have some of those 1.29 lb Chicken thighs from QFC marinating right now, they will hit the Blackstone tomorrow weather permitting. Yeah, not a smoker thing, but at least it's outdoor cooking.

Maybe consider pulling it earlier next time . . . ?

An internal temp of 165 is the classic answer, but that's the temp at which the bacteria will INSTANTLY die. Check out Table 4 (page 38) here (also see screen shot below):
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default ... ndix-A.pdf



(And so we're not guessing at fat percentages, let's just use the worst-case scenario from that table.)

So . . . let's say that you pull the turkey at 150. Will it stay at 150 or above for 4.9 minutes? Hell yes it will, since it's going to continue rising for a bit, and it will take a while to cool down. Now of course we are assuming that you are temp-probing the coldest part of the turkey, so you might want to build in a little buffer for that, but I bet that you could pull it at 150 or even lower if you wanted to.

I cooked two turkeys over the Thanksgiving break. I pulled one at 155 and the other "got away from me" and went to more like 160. I didn't have any complaints about either.

What temp were you smoking at? I did a 12# Jenno on Tday - still working off it - it was an odd one - seemed like it had really small breasts and big legs - I swear 6.5# chickens had more meat on them..... Lower the temps and let it go longer - birds never dry out for me below 300.

I was kinda bummed when I did mine --- 10 degree difference between breasts (not split) and I pulled it at 160 - legs and thighs definitely needed to go longer. I always assume when the breast reads 160+ that the thighs and legs will be good - always worked before - but not this time.

MP, I'll take it out at 155. It wasn't dry, just not juicy like the chicken breasts I cook on it. I haven't had a dry turkey out of the oven. At least while my wife or I was cooking. LoL


JMB, 400 for 30 minutes and then 250 till 160 in the breast.

And yes, my turkey was the same. Decent thighs and drums but small breasts. Even the wings were disproportionate to the breast.

I have another 12# Jenny-O in the freezer also.


On the good side, I cooked those yesterday for tonight's dinner. The dark meat was great. The white meat heated up surprisingly well. I've had moist turkeys dry up on reheat. This one didn't do that.

Like I said it was a great experiment. Super low effort and decent result. It can only get better from here.

If you are spatchcocking it - keep it at 275-300 would be my guess. But small breasted turkeys may just be that way. Like I said - the thighs and legs on mine needed a lot more heat/time. I haven't tried the breasts yet - they went straight into the freezer.

Edit to add ---
Just thinking about the last three turkeys.... the first was a 'free range' pre basted name I never heard of out of CA and the second was a (I want to say) Honeysuckle or Kroger (I got it at QFC) --- I didn't do anything special for those and they turned out fantastic ---- juicy and smoky beyond belief - I couldn't get enough of it!!! This one was a JenneO.... I hate to be snobbish about brands.... but I threw ALOT of smoke at this one - plum/cherry/apple - and the the leg and thigh meat were just 'okay' --- you would have NEVER known how much wood I threw in the WSM --- It was actually kinda disappointing.... glad I didn't have to serve it to anyone... but hey, it was a freebee. It could be that I didn't let it dry out in the fridge seasoned overnight too --- this one was out of the bag and on the smoker in an hour.... not my preferred method.

I did the same. I patted down the skin to dry it and then threw on the rubs.


I wasn't aiming for a smoke ring. Mostly wanted a juicy turkey with that mild undertone of smoke. The skin was just right.

Maybe next time I'll cut the turkey in half again and do one low and slow and the other high then low like this one. Would make for a good side by side comparison.

I went to a party last night and needed to bring something to share, so I thought I'd try my hand at "shotgun shells."

I mixed two pounds of 93% lean ground beef, two pounds of hot (but not really...) Italian sausage, one pound of shredded cheese, and some of Harry Soo's beef rub. I used the KitchenAid stand mixer and added a little water to it, like I was making sausage.

Then I used the LEM jerky cannon to fill manicotti shells with the mixture, and then wrapped each one with a strip of bacon.

A little more rub on the final product, then a minimum of four hours in the fridge, about an hour in a 300-degree smoker, brush with BBQ sauce, give it another fifteen minutes, and they were done.

My takeaways?

- They were good. Not amazing, but good. I feel like maybe . . . and it goes against everything I believe to say this . . . but maybe the filling needs a little less meat? Maybe adding some cream cheese or something in there would lighten it up a bit.
- The Private Selection manicotti shells were easier to use than the Barilla shells. The PS shells are a little smaller, so you get better coverage by the bacon. They are also perfectly round; the Barilla shells varied in a shape a bit, which isn't a big deal but I had one that was so flat that I couldn't fit the jerky cannon muzzle into it.
- The jerky cannon worked like a CHAMP to fill the shells. I was able to get them packed very tightly without much hassle.

The two different kinds of shells, stuffed:



With bacon added (the one with twine didn't have any cheese, for someone that's allergic):



And the finished product:



So those ingredients made 42 shotgun shells . . . which is actually quite a lot, as each one is pretty dense and substantial.

Those are beautiful Steve! Would eat many...

Well shit, I guess I have something I have to try meow. Those look amazing Steve!

awesome steve, had many moons ago had some similar, as you mention cream cheese with it.



5 lbs of chicken legs going

Nicely done!

You say they’re a bit dense, so, a few thought pop into my head that may, or may not, help

When making traditional Manicotti with ground beef, generally they’ll mix, like 3 cups of shredded Mozz, with 1 container of Ricotta, and a cup of Parmesan, and a few tablespoons of Parsley.

So, your idea of cream cheese makes a lot of sense. The ricotta might add a little more airiness, if that helps, or even a combo of both.

Also, while Parsley won’t necessarily add a lot of flavor, it would help break up the heaviness.

Other things that come to mind is possibly adding small, diced mushrooms, or chopped pistachios/walnuts, to add texture and break up the heaviness, without upsetting the protein profile.

You could also possibly cook the bacon, chop, and put on the inside, so the pasta hits the tongue first, though that does undermine the wow-factor a bit.


(Note: Apologies to usrifle and Pabs, sorry to assault your Fungal-Phobia with my suggestions )

NWG, I like where you're going with the mushrooms and herbs . . . solid suggestions right there.

As for the bacon, I think it needs to stay on the outside. My understanding from watching YT vids is that the bacon wrap causes the noodle to soften, and areas that aren't covered by bacon can be tough or chewy. (Mine seemed fine even though there were some gaps.)

legs finally done

marinated since fri night, shoyu, garlic and hefty does of gochganjg sauce

Gotcha.

I wasn’t thinking about the pasta being uncooked

I think the ricotta/mozzarella/parm mix might be good, though.

I remember old school appetizers that had sausage and spray cheddar cheese, and it was just too rich.

Nice legs, cmica