We really should get it figured out well in advance who will be the designated grill masters if we ever have a TUD reunion
Well, if we go by seniority, @BadMoonT2 wins in a landslide.
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Now, as a dedicated Toyota-owner for decades, I’d like to point out that my two decade old pickup truck is still running at 250,000 very hard miles… But I do see your point 
I love my Traeger, and it was a wedding present from my Dad (he and my brother both have them). I probably would have chosen a Mark if I’d done the buying myself! That being said, I have nothing to complain about with my Traeger. It’s a beast.
Sam, my trick for brisket is to do it “burnt ends” style… 10 hours might be nice, but I haven’t found that necessary. What we do is brine (pretty much do that with all smoked meats, excluding hot-smoked salmon and including cold-smoked salmon, obviously), dry thoroughly, mustard (yellow, boring kind), dry rub (my own version), smoke on low (about 165F for my Traeger) for 3-4 hours, then turn it up to 500 until it’s at 190F internally. In the winter that process usually takes about 7-8 hours, and same takes 5-6 hours in summer (ambient temperature definitely affects speed).
Unlike pork shoulder or chicken, I want the outside of my brisket to be burnt and crispy. The long cold smoke gets a super-nice smoke ring on it, and the high-temp finish get’s it burnt and crispy on the outside. Shred it with forks and sauce it (I’m a salt, vinegar, and red pepper purist when it comes to finishing sauces) and it’s the best damn sandwich filling (or salad-topping for me) on the planet.
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I had an '83 Toyota that I dragged 600,000 miles out of. And an '87 with 450+. I completely stripped every non recognizable piece of garbage from under the hoods of them and installed manual choke Weber carbs… there was one remaining vacuum tube under he hood for the vacuum advance timing. The legendary 22R Toyota engine stripped down to a real engine again-- it was a thing of beauty
Thanks for the brisket tips I will put it on the to-do list
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Don’t misunderstand. We are dedicated Toyota owners. When we gave up the one with 300,000 miles, we promptly replaced it with another.
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Actually I believe @Brian_BSC may beat me on seniority around here. I remember getting some good ideas for D friendly BBQ from him before I even got a smoker.
Didn’t know there were so many smoking enthusiasts around here. I agree smoking is a great way to prepare turkey. Nice spread @Sam19 !!! Agree @David49 hard to beat burnt ends, most of my recipes aren’t sweet except for burnt ends. Even though I use real BBQ sauce I get only a minimal spike from burnt ends ??? YMMV
To do this years turkey I used my Weber Smokey Mountain without any water in the pan in order to get higher heat. My goal was to run my smoker at 325 to do a hot and fast cook. Some people claim that since a turkey is not a tough cut like a pork butt or brisket, low and slow is not necessary. Hot and fast gets done faster which helps keep the breast moist.
Other things I did this year to combat the breast drying out were to inject with a butter/spice mixture. I also spatchcocked the bird which helps it cook faster and more evenly. To spatchcock cut out the back bone with some stout poultry shears then flip over and press down on the breast till you hear a crack, the bird will now lay flat.
Lastly I put a pan containing chicken stock, celery and red bell peppers under the bird on the lower rack. This caught the drippings from the turkey as it cooked. This was then defatted and poured over the meat just before serving. I had a bowl of this ajous on the side in case anyone wanted more (they did). The final result was moist just as I had hoped.
I got most of these ideas from an article on the amazing ribs website, well worth the read
Here’s a pic after one breast and one leg and wing had been removed. It really looked good while still on the smoker just before took it off, but I forgot to snap a pic 
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If we have a get together, we can both operate the smoker… but I’ll handle the knife work;)
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I’m working on a different way (to me) to carve poultry, where you completely remove the breast and then slice it against the grain. Obviously still a work in progress. 
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A turkey breast is like a fine piece of wood: you should always cut with the grain! 
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Has anyone seen the Top Gear episode (from a few series back) where they try (and fail) to kill a 1987 Hilux? Of course you need the PROPER diesel engine for the full effect (none of this petrol rubbish). That way you can start it straight up after it’s been submerged by the tide for 6 hours.
I’m getting a Weber Smoky Mountain as a birthday prezzie. It was supposed to be a surprise but I happened to be at home when they delivered it. Looking forward to firing it up.
I have 1 at home and another 2 at work that we use for cookouts. I think you’ll be very happy with it. About the only drawback is that a cold wind will suck the heat right out of it. There’s even a website dedicated to the WSM, lots of good tips and modifications.
WSM in Winter (kinda looks like R2D2 
)
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When your car breaks down . . . may the horse be with you.
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Is there any appreciable difference between the traeger and the Pit Boss grills? Pit Boss is what’s available on amazon prime… which is my only real lifeline to the civilized world up here
Well, it looks like Pit Boss grills you get more grill surface for the buck than you do from Traeger. Looks like they are otherwise comparable in function and features, although I don’t know about PB build quality.
Traegers are bomb proof, and they do a wonderful job for everyone I know that has one. The one thing I’d check before making a choice is that you can get the pellets of your choice either locally or through Amazon Prime. These kinds of pellet smoker/grills do not have the ability to use any old pellet, including those of competitors or generics. The pellets are usually cut specific to the drive mechanism of the smoker/heat unit.
So, if you can get the pellets (and we go through a lot of pellets), try the PB and see how it is! It’s a Canadian company is about all I know
I’m definitely in need of some kind of pellet grill-- I’ll see what’s available in anchorage too next time I make the trip…
After 12 days of eating nothing but Thanksgiving leftovers, I am stopping. I am done. I am going to stop all at once.
I’m just quitting cold turkey.
Sorry!
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