Happy "Smoked" Thanksgiving Turkey

Well Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family, friends, and loved ones. I hope you had your tummy filled with delicious food. This year I was able to smoke a turkey for our families.

I started off with 14-15 lbs turkey and brined it for at least 12 hours in the following solution in a cook grade 5 gallon bucket.

2 Gallons of Water

2 Cups Kosher Salt

3 Cups Sugar

1/4 Cup Liquid Crab Boil

4 TBS Black Pepper

1 TBS Dried Rosemary

1 TBS Thyme

1/4 Cup Molasses

1/4 Cup White Wine (not Cooking Wine)

1/4 Cup Worcestershire

After brining, I washed the bird well, both inside and out with cold water and set it aside so I could dry it off. Once the bird was dry, i began to separate the skin from the meat,being careful not to tear the skin. I prepared a rub to lightly season the bird.

2 TBS onion powder

1 TBS paprika

2 tspn white granulated sugar

1 tspn celery salt

1 tspn pepper

1 tspn powdered sage

I lightly applied the rub both on and under the skin. I didn't make a lot of rub for that purpose.

I then heated up the smoker to 225 degrees and put the turkey in breast side down. I used a mix of apple and cherry wood for my smoke. After about an hour I then flipped the bird over breast side up for the remainder of the cooking.

After a couple of hours, when I thought the breast and wings looked brown enough, I wrapped them in tin foil to prevent burning. After about 7 to 8 hours, and the internal temperature of the bird reached 167 -170 degrees, I pulled the turkey out of the smoker, wrapped it all in tin foil and placed it in the microwave to rest for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, I unwrapped the turkey and carved up all the meat. It was moist, it was juicy, and it was delicious.

Roaring Lambs. By Bob Briner

Growing up in the evangelical church, many people can fall into the belief that to really minister, to really be effective for Christ, you have to go into full time, professional ministry.  And the rest of us that aren’t in the ministry just support those doing the real work of God.  There is also the belief that some professions and occupations are lost to the world and that we should avoid them.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Bob Briner reminds us that we are the salt of the earth.  For a lot of us that phrase has lost its true meaning.  When we hear about someone who is “the salt of the earth”, many think of someone who is a rather dull, slow, conforming individual – a hard worker, maybe honest but pretty tame, a loyal churchman who seldom does anything outside of the church.  But the salt that Jesus has in mind is stinging, biting, cleansing and preserving and is anything but dull, anything but tame.  Throughout history salt has been used as both a flavor enhancer and a preservative.  It doesn’t stop something from spoiling, it just keeps it good for longer.  That is what we are as Christians, a preservative to this world.  How many times have we heard people complain how TV, film, politics, media, art, and the theater have nothing of value and that they are corrupt?  But as Briner raises the question, how many Christian are encouraging their children to pursue a career in those professions?  How can those professions stop from being spoiled without a preservative?  Christians need to be that preservative.  We have all been placed in a career and been given a talent for a reason.  Can’t a Christian be an excellent businessman? Can’t a Christian be an inspiring painter?  Can’t a Christian be an honest, effective Congressman?  Though Briner focus is on different media outlets and seems a little dated, the message is the same in any profession.  We are the salt of the earth, and we need to preserve it.  We need to do everything with excellence for the glory of God.  I encourage any Christian to read this book if they are serious about becoming a more effective witness for Christ.