Garett Hemstock

Garett Hemstock

Smokin Food Reviews with Uncle Hemmy

Holiday Special – Uncle Hemmy’s Smoked Buttermilk Brined Turkey featuring Motley Que’s Wild Game Fixx

Uncle Hemmy’s Smoked Buttermilk Brined Turkey featuring Motley Que’s Wild Game Fixx

Uncle Hemmy’s Smoked Buttermilk Brined Turkey featuring Motley Que’s Wild Game Fixx

Spatchcock turkey has been on my list to do for sometime now. So I figured at Thanksgiving I’d give this recipe a try and it was a massive success. If you’ve never buttermilk brined poultry before, Christmas is definitely the opportunity. With this brine recipe and the smoking method you’ll be sure to wow all your guests this holiday season. There’s a video of mine on Instagram right now where I’m slicing into the breast and nothing but juice pours out, you could be doing the same thing at your Christmas dinner. And trust me when I say, people LOVE seeing this.. my video on IG has been going viral with over 7 1/2 MILLION VIEWS!!

Alright, let’s get to it, here’s what you’ll need:
 
20 pound fresh spatchcocked Turkey from your local butcher, a lot of the turkeys at the grocery store are pre-brined. If you purchase one from the bin at the grocer ensure it’s NOT pre-brined. 
*Brine*
8 litres of buttermilk
4 cups of water 
2 Tbs peppercorn
1/2 tbs fennel seed 
3 sprig of Rosemary
1 fresh pack of poultry mix (rosemary, thyme, sage)
5 bay leaves
1 head of minced garlic 
1 chopped yellow onion
2 1/2 tbs of wild Fixx ( @motleyque )
3/4 cup salt 
1 tbs garlic salt 
2 cups of ice 
 
*Gravy*
Turkey giblets 
Spine from spatchcocking
Turkey neck 
Rinsed herbs from brine (details near bottom)
 
 
Get all of the ingredients except for buttermilk and ice in to a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the ice to help cool. Once the brine is fully cooled, mix it with the buttermilk and soak the Turkey for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 24. You want to make sure you use a non reactive bucket or container, plastic or glass is best! Make sure the Turkey is fully submerged. Add in the neck, the spine, any trimmings and the giblets to the brine as well, you’re going to simmer these the next day for gravy. 
 
Remove Turkey from brine and rinse it thoroughly then pat it dry with some paper towel, make sure to remove all moisture. Lightly coat the bottom side with olive oil and lather with Motley Que Wild Game Fixx. Turn the bird over so the breasts are facing up, and lightly coat with olive oil again. Go to town sprinkling the entire bird with the Wild Game Fixx. Tuck the wings behind the breasts and adjust the Turkey over the rack and pan so all the drippings will be caught throughout the cook.. you’re gonna use this for the gravy. 
 
 
Insert a temp probe in to the breast, away from the bone. Place the pan on to the smoker at around 325 degrees with pellets of your choosing, I used whiskey oak for this one. If you feel the skin is looking a little dry you can lightly spritz with water. I didn’t use anything for this cook but every smoker may run a little different. Once the bird registers 160 in the breast remove it from the smoker and place the Turkey on a separate pan/cutting board to rest, loosely tent it with foil. Let it rest for 1 hour. The cook should be around 6 hours but every grill is different so leave yourself enough time. During the rest the temp should rise to 165, no peeking! 
In separate large pot, fill about 2/3 with water then add the rinsed neck, spine, trimmings and giblets to the water. Also rinse any of the solids/herbs from the brine and place them in the pot as well. Turn this on low, simmer for the duration of the Turkey cook approximately 5 hours. If at any time the water looks low, add more. You’re creating a Turkey stock for the gravy base. 
 
Now strain and remove the neck, spine and any solids from your stock pot and pour in the fat drippings from the pan the Turkey was cooked over. Bring this pot to a light boil and slowly pour in a flour/water mixture roughly 1:1.5 while you whisk quickly. Keep adding this mixture until you’ve reached the consistency you’re looking for. Drop in 1 tbsp of Motley Que Wild Game Fixx and then salt to taste. 
 
Enjoy and Merry Christmas !! 
 
Be sure to check my website out for exclusive discounts on some of the gear I use and all Motley Que products !!
 
 
 
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