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BBQ Turkey with Cranberry Sauce

 


Not having traditional family winter breaks meals was fine.  Last week.  This week is a different story.  I unlike most people, love turkey.  Baked turkey, fried turkey, and especially BBQ turkey.  Ok, let me clarify.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE white meat turkey.  Dark meat is for making to casseroles or something else less glamorous. Not eating on a fork with gravy, not eating straight out of the leftover bag, and most certainly not for eating on cold turkey sandwiches.  White meat is the shnitz.  Having been gifted a turkey by a family member who had two whole leftover turkeys in the freezer from Turkey Day and being to big to cook in the oven, I settled on my favorite way to cook turkey.  BBQ.  

Modifications Made: Turkey
Normally BBQ turkey is rubbed heavily with olive oil and then coated with dry turkey flavor seasonings.  This time we used the gifted Tony Chachere's Butter Injectable Marinade that accompanied the turkey.  Tony Chacehere Original is my go to seasoning for most everything so I had to doubt this turkey would be great.

Turkey Instructions:
Follow the injection seasoning per poundage of turkey.  Prepare pit temperature to 200-225 and cook until skin in golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165F.  If skin in getting too brown, place aluminum foil over turkey to tent in extra heat. Now the hard part, let turkey rest for a solid 30 minutes off the pit but still covered tented foil to allow juices to return to the turkey.  Slice and enjoy.

Modifications Made: Cranberry Sauce:
Two simple modifications: reduced sugar by 1/4 cup and added 1 teaspoon of orange extract.

Scaled for Likability: Great
Better than great!  Traditional holiday turkey is meant to be served on the plate with a wide variety of sides.  Sides in my opinion deter from the turkey itself especially when the turkey is freaking fabulous and moist thanks to this injectable marinade.  Dry rubs are gone the way of the dodo for me.  I will spend the extra costs to purchase the marinade.  It is so worth the investment. All my plate needs is warm white turkey slices and cold cranberry sauce circles.  Yes, circle slices.  As in the stuff from the can.  Perfectly delicious.  

Tonight however I needed something new and with prodding by the table counterparts who fondly remembers loving homemade fresh Cranberry Sauce as a child, I gave it a go.  Besides, the berries were on sale 50% so there was really nothing to lose.  Nothing to lose expect 40+ years of not having the real deal and settling for canned.  Homemade cranberry sauce is the best thing in the whole world!  The BEST.  Little balls of wonder that pop when cooking, that make a dull plate pop with color, and accidentally pop into the mouth by the spoon full when no one is looking.  Never can I go back to the canned stuff.  Never.  Better to have none if fresh is not available than canned substitute.

To round out the new on the traditional holiday meal was pan fried fresh asparagus instead of canned green bean casserole or canned green beans swimming in bacon and onion.   Neither of which I enjoy eating to begin with as a kid and most certainly not as an adult.  Tonight's meal was a traditional holiday menu gourmet style.  It was fabulous!  Too bad I have to wait a whole year to have it again.  Boo-Hoo.


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