On Dec 4, 12:10*pm, Alan > wrote:
> This was crossposted on alt.food.bbq.
>
> I have some insight. *This Thanksgiving was not my favorite because I
> undertook too much. *For 34 people I made a 21# turkey (brined for
> about 16 hours) roasted in the oven, a 19# turkey with pastrami
> flavoring (brined for 48 hours with black pepper, juniper berries,
> cardamom seed, mustard seed, allspice, salt and brown sugar) roasted
> on the gas grill and on the same grill, 12 racks of back ribs (which I
> thought were baby backs). *
>
> The grill is a Weber Summit 670 and it was not big enough for the
> turkey and the ribs. *It was big enough but not for indirect cooking.
> That was the first problem. * The turkey was almost on top of the
> right-most burner and the left edge of the ribs were over the
> left-most burner. * I did get a very nice rib rack holder for $10 at
> Home Depot that holds 6 racks. *I slow cooked both the ribs and the
> turkey at 225° and because of their horizontal size, I never got to
> try the smoker box on the grill.
>
> The other turkey was roasting in oven #2 at 325°. *After about 3 hours
> of cooking I checked it and one of the kids raised it to 400°,
> thinking it was empty and was preheating it for the hors d'oeuvres.
> Without the brining, both turkeys would have been as dry as the
> desert. *Then one of the kids' in-laws, who were supposed to get here
> at around 2:00, got here at 4:15. *Everyone loved everything but I
> couldn't look at it once it was all done. *I ate a few bites of one
> rib and a tiny piece of turkey and had nothing from the voluminous
> leftovers (and we gave away a ton of it) which my wife loved all week.
> I just hated this Thanksgiving and this was the first time I felt that
> way. *Usually I make Jewish brisket and turkey, so I stretched a bit
> this year. *It didn't help that everyone loved it, I couldn't wait for
> the day to be over. *Imagine how much worse it would have been if it
> rained. *Plus, the handles and support of one of the turkey throw away
> roasting pans fell apart and when I was walking into the house with
> the turkey from oven #2, I tripped on the water that leaked from the
> dogs drinking as some idiot put the bowl near where you walk in from
> the garage. *There should have been no dogs and two less people in the
> house and that reduction of people needing attention would have
> helped, especially as one of the extra two turned up the oven to 400°.
>
> I think starting 48 hours before with the turkey brining made me
> nauseous of the turkey smell. * There is too much turkey in my brain.
> So, in conclusion, the brining is great but sometimes it can be more
> than you need to do or more than you can take. *
>
> Alan

Wow, sounds like a helluva undertaking- hopefully next year will be
better. I brined my bird also, but instead of using 2 cups kosher
salt, I just used 1 of plain old salt. Even after rinsing well, it was
on the salty side...still edible, tho.