Hickory Smoked Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving to all my loyal readers out there.  I appreciate all 6 of you.  :-)  This year, in addition to my family, my job and my health, I'm thankful for my smoker...and I got to put it to use again today.

It is just the 4 of us for Thanksgiving this year.  With temperatures being in the 60s, I decided to smoke a turkey breast for our thanksgiving turkey.  Along with mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie, it's been a really great Turkey Day.

So, for those of you who have a smoker, here's what I did to smoke a turkey breast, which turned out to be one of the best tasting turkeys I've ever eaten. 

I bought a 6 lb turkey breast, which is just about right in terms of leftovers for sandwiches.  Last night, I made the following brine, which I found at my favorite smoker cooking website.  Smoker-cooking.com has all the tips and techniques needed to make great smoked food.  I used the techniques found on that website for the last 2 smoked meals I've made, and both have been great.

Here's the brine;

Ingredients:

1 gallon 1 cup 1/4 cup 1 Tbs 1 Tbs 1 Tbs 1/2 Tbs 1/2 Tbs 1/2 Tsp 1/2 Tsp 1/2 Tsp

water Morton kosher salt white sugar onion powder garlic powder paprika white pepper powdered ginger mustard powder powdered sage nutmeg

I boiled the water, then added the sugar and salt.  Once the sugar and salt was dissolved, I added the remaining ingredients.  After the brine had cooled to room temperature, I put the turkey breast in and refrigerated for 9 hours.

After 9 hours, I removed the turkey from the brine and washed the brine off.  I then let the turkey "rest" in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Next, I dusted the cavity of the turkey with the following rub (dry ingredients only).

1/8 cup 1 Tbs 1/2 Tbs  1 Tsp 1 Tsp 1 Tsp 1/2 Tsp 1/4 Tsp

vegetable oil onion powder paprika garlic powder kosher salt white pepper powdered ginger powdered sage

After dusting the cavity, I added the vegetable oil and put the wet rub all over the outside of the turkey.

Now, on to the smoker.  Again, I only had hickory wood, but I like hickory flavor, so no big deal there.  I got the smoker to 250ish degrees and held it there.  I cooked the turkey at that temperature for a little over 5 hours (gotta get that white meat to 160-165).  I added 2 handfuls of hickory chips every hour for the first 3 hours (the chips had been soaked in water since last night).  I also basted with butter 3 times over the 5 hours.

After 5 hours, I pulled the turkey breast off the smoker and wrapped it in foil for 20 minutes to let the juices settle throughout the meat.  I then carved and served. 

The turkey was really moist and very flavorful.  I liked it better than the Alton Brown Roast Turkey I made at Christmas last year, but my wife said that while this one was really good, she liked the Alton Brown Roast Turkey better.  So, I guess I have 2 turkey recipes to roll with in the future.

What I'm Watching

There are actually 4 new shows out this fall that I'm finding interesting, in addition to my usual stalwarts of "Castle" and "Psych".  "Psych" is still great, and "Castle" is holding it's own so far.  Curse my DVR for making me capable of keeping up on 6 series...now you know why the movie reviews and book reviews have slowed way down.

Here are the new shows I'm tracking:

"Terra Nova" - this new Monday night show on Fox focuses on mankind in the year 2149, and then 85 million years in the past.  In 2149, mankind has so destroyed the environment, that the earth is nearly unlivable.  But, a doorway to the past of a parallel universe has been discovered, and certain people get to go back and start over again.  One such family is the Shannon family.  I think this is going to sorta be like "Lost" but with dinosaurs.  Probably the most likely of this list to be removed from my DVR, but for right now, I'm sticking it out.

"Person of Interest" - this one is on CBS on Thursday night.  Starring Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson, this show is just great.  Emerson plays a billionaire who created a machine that is designed to spy on us and find probable acts of terrorism.  But, it finds everything, including normal crimes, which the government ignores.  Emerson programmed "the machine" to spit out a number to him every night, and he uses that number to find a person who needs help.  But, to help these people, he needs help, and that is where Caviezel comes in.  Caviezel plays an ex-spy gone underground who is looking for redemption.  This one is great...but then, anything with Jim Caviezel is great.

"Grimm" - I've got 3 of the 4 major networks covered with this one.  NBC has this show on Friday Night, which is a bad night for a show.  But, this is a really good show.  The main character is a Portland police detective who learns that he is descended from the Brothers Grimm, and it's his family's job to combat the things that go bump in the night.  There's only been 3 or 4 episodes so far, but they've been really good.  This show remindes me of the early days of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."  Lots of potential here, if it can survive the Friday night curse.

"Once Upon a Time" - Now I've got all 4 major networks covered.  "Once Upon a Time" is ABC's foray into the world of fairy tales.  In this show, all our well know fairy tale heroes and villains have been transported to Maine by a dark spell cast by the evil queen from Snow White.  These people are all miserable, and they don't remember who they are.  But, our heroine Emma shows up and things start to turn around in Storybrooke Maine.  A little bit more of a girly show than "Grimm" but really good as well, and enough action to keep me interested. 

I hope all 4 of these shows survive, and I hope that you can give them a shot now that we are nearing rerun season.  I would put them in this order if you have to choose:

1 - "Person of Interest"
2 - "Grimm"
3 - "Once Upon a Time"
4 - "Terra Nova"

And of course, don't miss out on "Psych" and "Castle".

Tebow Time!

So, five and a half games ago, the Denver Broncos made a change at starting Quarterback from Kyle Orton to former Florida Gators star and all around good guy, Tim Tebow.  For those who don't know, Tebow won the Heisman trophy as a sophmore at Florida and was also part of 2 National Championship teams.  Tebow is regarded by many as the Greatest College Football player ever.

Tebow is also a devout Christian.  His parents are Christian Missionaries to the Phillipines, and they homeschooled Tim.  In fact, while pregnant with Tim, doctors recommended that Tim's mom have an abortion due to the fact that they were expecting Tim to be still born.  Tim's mom refused to have the abortion and Tim was born alive and well.

In the 2010 NFL draft, then Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, traded up into the first round to select Tebow, much to the chagrin of the so called football experts.  The experts said Tebow's skills wouldn't translate to the NFL...his throwing motion is too long, he's not accurate enough, he runs too much and he's going to get hurt.  But, McDaniels took a chance because he liked Tebow's intangibles...his leadership skills, will to win and eagerness to work harder than just about anyone.

Well, late in the 2010 season, the Broncos were mired in a 3-10 season and they fired McDaniels.  At the time, Broncos fans were clamoring to see Tebow, so the Broncos threw them a bone and started Tebow the last 3 games of the 2010 season.  Tebow went 1-2 during those starts and showed potential.  Broncos fans believed Tebow was destined to be the QB for the 2011 season.

Then the NFL strike happened and Tebow missed the entire offseason of work with the new coaching staff and his receivers.  When the season started, Kyle Orton was installed as the starting QB because he was better in a "traditional" NFL offense.  Four and a half games into this season, the Broncos were 1-3 and getting spanked by the San Diego Chargers.  The Broncos switched to Tebow at QB and he nearly led them to a victory over the Chargers.  Tebow was named the starter, and won his opener against Miami, leading an improbable comeback from 15 points down in the final 5 minutes to tie the game, and then win it in overtime.  A week later the Broncos and Tebow got embarassed by the Detroit Lions.

At this point, the coaching staff made a change in the offensive philosophy of the team.  They abandoned the "traditional" NFL offense and started running a more "college" style offense that Tebow excels in.  The outcome of this change is a 3 game winning streak to get back to 5-5 and the Broncos are officially in the playoff hunt.  Tebow hasn't been great, but he's been good when needed, like last night against the Jets.  Tebow and the offense had been stymied all night, but with 5 minutes left and 95 yards to go, Tebow led the team down the field and ran the final 20 yards to score the go ahead touchdown, leading the Broncos to a 17-13 win.

Tebow's critics, and there are many, say emphatically, that he will never be a successful QB in the NFL.  They are saying the same things that they said about him when he came out of college.  His throwing motion is too long, his passes are too inaccurate, and he's going to get hurt running the ball so much.  And, to some degree they are right, he does have his flaws as a QB.  But there's another side to Tebow.  His teammates want to play better when he's in there.  Since he's been the starting QB, the offensive line as improved, and the defense has really stepped up their play.  I believe it's because they know that if they can just keep the game close, Tebow will find a way to win it at the end.

I don't know why so many people are critical of Tim Tebow.  His story is remarkable, and he's a genuinely good person by all accounts.  Everyone who know his says it's impossible not to like and root for him.  I know some people are turned off by the fact that he's out in the open about his faith in Jesus Christ.  I believe old school football guys don't want to admit that a guy can play the game the way Tebow plays it and be successful.  Whatever the reason so many people dislike Tebow, I for one don't think they should count him out.  Tim Tebow is a guy who has proven his doubters wrong every time. 

And frankly, how can you go against a guy that has the Bible as his playbook?  I couldn't resist throwing that one in there.  I don't think I've ever rooted as hard for a player to do well as I am rooting for Tim Tebow to do well.  I know that I've never seriously prayed for an NFL football player, but I do pray for Tim Tebow.  I think he's a young man who has been given great gifts and now he has a forum to do a lot of great things with those gifts...great things that go beyond the football field.  He's already building a hospital in the Phillipines.  Selfishly, I want to see him succeed as an NFL QB because I want the Broncos to win another Super Bowl.  But most importantly, I want Tim Tebow to be successful so I can use him as an example for my kids of what faith and hard work can lead to.  My 8 year old already thinks Tim Tebow is great and I want to see that continue.

So here's hoping Tim Tebow and the Broncos continue this run for the foreseeable future, and here's hoping the Denver Broncos leadership has the foresight and vision to continue to support Tim Tebow.

Finger Lickin' Good BBQ Chicken

My second foray into smoking meat products came yesterday when I smoked some chicken legs and thighs.  I did 10 legs and 8 thighs, which was just about the maximum amount of food I could fit in my little smoker. 

To make this chicken, I did extensive research to determine the best cooking methods.  I went to roughly 8 websites before deciding on a cooking method.  Giving credit where credit is due, I found the brine and rub recipe at www.smoker-cooking.com, but I'll duplicate it here for 1 stop shopping. 

First I made the following brine...combine 1 gallon of boiling water with 3/4 cup of salt, 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons Paprika and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper.  Ensure the salt and sugar is dissolved before adding paprika and pepper.  This is enough for roughly 3-4 lbs. of chicken.  I made 2 batches of the brine.

For separated thighs and legs, they only need to brine for about 90 minutes, so after chilling the brine, add your chicken for 90 minutes or so.  There are suggestions online for brine times, so just dig around...you can find everything for cooking online.  I brined my chicken for 90 minutes.

After brining, I rinsed the chicken and dusted with the following rub:

2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper

While I was preparing all this, I was also preheating my smoker.  I got it to 240ish degrees Fahrenheit.  I loaded the chicken, and then added 2ish handfuls of hickory chips to the coals for the smoke.  The hickory chips had been soaked in water for 4-5 hours.  After about 45 minutes or so, I added another 2ish handfuls of hickory chips.  Total time on the smoker was 1 hour and 20 minutes, which got the chicken to 140 degrees.

Then, because we were hungry, I moved the chicken to my gas grill to finish.  I had the gas grill set to 350 or so, and I let the chicken go for another 30-40 minutes.  I was having difficulty with my meat thermometer, so I may have gotten the chicken past 180 degrees, but dark meat is flexible, so it was still juicy.  For the last 15 minutes on the grill, I was brushing with my homemade sauce, which let the sauce caramelize nicely.

I served the chicken with extra sauce for those who wanted more.  The chicken was moist and delicious.  The hickory smoke added just the right amount of flavor, the rub and the sauce came together nicely, and finishing on the grill was a good move as it allowed the outside of the chicken to crisp, while still keeping the inside moist.  I served 4 adults and 6 kids, and there was nothing left over.  I cannot wait to make this again...it was a lot of work, but very worth it.

Business Class Movie Reviews

Ok, so as I believe I've said before, when I travel internationally for work, I get to ride in business class.  One of the nice perks of my company.  And, when flying business class, there is an opportunity to watch movies.

On this trip, I watched 3 movies, "Super 8" which I've reviewed before, and really liked the 2nd time, "Green Lantern" and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon".  Neither was a standout movie, but neither was terrible either.

"Green Lantern":  Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, who becomes the Green Lantern after he is chosen by his ring.  Apparently when another Green Lantern dies, the ring chooses the next Green Lantern.  Jordan is a test pilot and a sort of afraid of commitment "ladies man".  When chosen to be the Green Lantern of Earth's sector of space, Jordan is intrigued, but in the end he has to decide if he's ready to be responsible and do the right things in his life.

"Green Lantern" is not a bad movie, but it's just not great either.  I found it sorta disjointed in terms of the plot.  One other problem I have with this movie, and with movies like "Iron Man" is that my kids can't watch them.  Like Tony Stark, Hal Jordan is portrayed as a "play boy" and acts inappropriately in some situations.  Why can't more super hero movies be like "Thor" and "Captain America" where I really have no qualms with letting a 10 year old kid watch them?

I really like the Green Lantern as a hero, so I had high hopes for this movie.  Sadly, it fell short.  This one gets a 3 star rating.

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon":  The third, and hopefully final, installment of the Transformers movie franchise takes yet another plot turn in the series to introduce more robots to us.  Much like the cartoon, every time a new robot is needed, another plot twist happens, whether it makes sense or not, to introduce that robot. 

This time we meet Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy).  Sentinel is Optimus' predecessor as leader of the Autobots, but he's gone rogue and made a deal with Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving...Hugo's a busy dude).  Aided by their favorite human, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), Optimus and the Autobots have to stop the Deceptecons from enslaving the entire human race.

Despite some really good robot fights, "Dark of the Moon" falls short of the original "Transformers" movie, much like "Revenge of the Fallen".  The attempts at comic relief by Sam's parents and Agent Simmons (John Turturro) mostly fail and just end up annoying.  Nearly as annoying is the subplot of Sam trying to find a job and "matter again".  In addition to all that, the plot is weak, very weak.  But, cool robot fights have to count for something.  Thus, this movie gets 3 stars as well.

Oh, and listen for Sentinel Prime repeating the famous words spoken by Kirk and Spok near the end of "Wrath of Khan"..."The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

The First Avenger

I'm off to travel the world again this week.  I'll be in a whole other country until Friday.  Before I leave, I wanted to get this review out there for "Captain America: The First Avenger." 

I think Nuke described this best to me when he said that it felt like a prequel to "The Avengers" rather than a super hero movie.  I thought "Captain America" felt more like a war movie than it did a super hero movie.  Overall, it wasn't a bad movie, but it just didn't stand out like "Thor" or "X-Men: First Class". 

From what I know of the original Captain America story, I think this movie follows the story pretty well.  Captain America is played by Chris Evans, and he does a reasonably good job in this role.  The villain is Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving (a.k.a. Smith from "The Matrix", Elrond from LOTR and V from "V for Vendetta").  I really like Hugo, so I did like him as the Red Skull.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" is a 3.5 star movie.  While it's rated PG-13, there is no reason that I can see why an 8-10 year old kid can't watch this one...it's a pretty tame PG-13.  In fact, I'm going to let my son watch it tonight before I mail it back.

I'm Sappy

One of my favorite lines in the Sorcerer's Apprentice is when Dave and Becky are in Dave's lab and Dave goes on this monologue about how listening to Becky's radio show made him stop and see things he'd never seen before.  Then he says "I'm sappy" in a groaning voice.

I have those moments in my life.  I had one of those moments tonight.  Lately I've been on a country music kick, mostly Garth Brooks but some other stuff too.  This brings me to the Garth Brooks song "Standing Outside the Fire" and the following Youtube video:




This video really hit my soft spot.  I don't know if it's because my wife and I have a special needs child and I'm all too familiar with the father's role here (except for the yelling part).  You want your child to succeed and to try the things "normal" kids do, but are afraid of the potential negative consequences.  I'm also familiar with the elation when your child succeeds, like when our son won the spelling bee. 

It could be that...or maybe it's just that I'm a sucker for happy endings.  Whatever the reason, I felt the need to tap into my inner teenage girl and share this video tonight.  I hope you enjoy it.