I decided to do a project based on my distain of going to the deli counter and paying $12 a pound for cold-cuts. One of our family favorites is smoked turkey. Come to think of it, the kids have always had a passion for mocked chicken as well. I am sure they get their taste buds from their francophone mother, let's smear some gravy and cheese curds on it shall we. With turkey on my mind, I decided to try two different styles. Of course there is nothing on the internet giving me an idea on how we should proceed. So as Barb so often asks me "Are you going to pull this one out of your ass?! (well kind of maybe)."

 

The two approaches are going to attempt is a ground turkey Baloney and whole turkey breast. I picked up four turkeys (on sale for $1.29), and filleted the breasts. Josh had completed his usual chores around the house so he volunteered to help. He was drafted into dealing with the drumsticks. Was I FRACKEN NUTS???  It was like pulling teeth, I processed all four birds while he did 6 drumsticks and the constant distractions and yipping from a hormone induced 14 year old male... ARGHHHHH. I know he's showing an interest, I know he is learning and I know there are many dads who don't spend time doing this type of things with their kids, but still I would rather plunge my hands into salt after pealing off all of my skin, ah no matter.

We de-boned the turkey, saving all the skin, mixing it with what was primarily dark meat. Josh passed it all through the medium grinder plate, twice. In retrospect I probably would have like to par-freeze the meat and ground it one more time, in order to get it closer to an emulsion, next time perhaps. 

The mixture was a little on the dry side, so we added another cup of water, Barb and I  cased this into 90mm x 24 inch, 5 pound collagen chubs, and let them bloom for 24 hours.

   

For the turkey breast, we thought that this might be a little dry due to the lack of fat. To encourage moisture, I brined them for 24 hours using our simple brine, with the addition of candied ginger, juniper and allspice berries. After resting for 6 hours, they were coated with the following spice mixture.

Based on 10 pounds of turkey breast
1/2 cup tandoori spice,
1 cup sugar (dextrose)
2 tps. cure # 2.

These were also stuffed into our chubs, and bloomed for 24 hours. They did not look pretty; actually they look like fresh body parts off a recent episode of Dexter, (what the hell was I doing now) Where do I get these idea's from, I wonder if this is a side effect of all of that Black Pig Booze we have been making...

  

Now if you notice a difference in these pictures, it is because my little Cannon ELPH camera finally blew up and I'm taking these on my smart phone camera.  I love that little camera it has been so handy. Today, I found out the camera is fine, its the battery thats pooched. To replace the battery with an after market one it is going to cost $87.99. Are they #%$#%^ NUTS. I can get a 8 meg camera, 5 years newer for only $189. Somehow the math does not add up here unless you like getting screwed over by big box discount electronic stores (Sorry I digressed again)

The chubs were put into the Bradley smoker, and given 4 hours, of alder smoke, and another 6 hours, for an internal temperature of 150 (f).

 

Barb decided to let the nurses at CCTC do some tasting today, so we sliced up half of one of the chubs and brought that to the hospital. Feeding nurses, is like shooting fish in a barrel, easy to catch a compliment. This feeding frenzy can be a little dangerous if you get in their way. They did confirm, my sentiments that there was a bit too much salt, I chose to put in 2% by overall weight but it was a little on the heavy side. We are not dealing with beef or pork so it might be because of the delicate taste of the poultry. I probably would reduce this to 2.5oz. So on the next run we will grind a third time, add less salt, other then that, it came out perfect.

Now on to the tandoori smoked turkey!

This took a 14 hours in the smoker, I would say because there is really no fat involved in this method. I am really concerned about the moisture in this, turkey breast is notorious for being dry at the best of times, I'm thinking that 14 hours in a smoker and I might as well be making jerky.

  

After reaching 155 (f) I plunged the chubs into cold water for a quick bath, then allowed them to rest for 12 hours at 34(f). The casing firmed up nicely, they were a little difficult to slice due to the density of the turkey. Some pieces did fall apart as you will not get the same bonding as you do from ground products. Perhaps we will combine the two to see what happens.

Well the taste was incredible, the sweet tandoori was matched by the subtle flavor from the brine. The salt was in perfection and it was moist. Not juicy where you would be wiping off your chin but a nice pleasant texture. The spice infusion was a perfect balance and I could not have designed this recipe better, go figure.

I can't wait for our Black Piggers to taste these two projects, even my kids loved both approaches even without gravy and cheese curds.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

Cheers from the Big Dog