Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  This Thanksgiving, I decided to smoke a turkey using a popular recipe from the Cookshack forums. 

 The first part of the recipe is to brine the turkey 24 to 48 hours ahead of time (preferably closer to 48).  

Smokin' Okie's Holiday Turkey Brine: 

• 1 gallon water
• 1 cup coarse kosher salt
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons black pepper
• 3 - 4 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon Allspice
• 1 ounce Morton’s Tender quick (optional)

 Instructions:
Heat water/salt/sugars to rolling boil.  Take off burner, add other ingredients.  Once the brine has cooled down to room temperature, put the turkey in a non-reactive container large enough to hold the turkey and brine.  Once the turkey is added, pour the brine over the turkey so that the turkey is fully submerged in it.  Let sit in fridge for at least 24 hours and preferably up to 48 hours.

Smokin' Day:
Take the turkey out of the brine, rinse and pat dry 3 times.  The following is the rub ingredients that I used for the turkey (mix all together in a bowl):

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons seasoned salt
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon pepper
• 1 tablespoon sage, dried
• 1/2 teaspoon basil, dried
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, dried
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:
Carefully separate the skin (making sure not to tear it) breast; add about 2 tablespoons of rub underneath the skin.   Rub down the outside of the turkey with the remainder of the rub.  Soak a cheese cloth in some butter and place over turkey (to prevent the skin from becoming to black from the smoke), and put the turkey in the smoker.  I smoked it at about 250 (highest a Smokette will go), if you smoker goes higher, go up to about 350 degrees.  When you believe you have about an hour left of smoking, remove the cheese cloth from the turkey and let it resume smoking until your desired temperature.

Results:
Overall the turkey tasted wonderful, but could have been better.   I had some issues with the brine forming a leak in the turkey bags I used to brine it in, next time I will use something else.  The only dark meat I had of the turkey was one of the wings, and it was way too smoky for me.  The other people that had the dark meat thought it tasted great, but I was the only one that had one of the wings.  The breast meat tasted great.  Next time I may drop the amount of wood I smoke it with to try and get less smoke in the dark meat.   

The following recipe for Carne Asada and a Chipotle Tomatillo salsa provides a lot of flavor that will please just about anyone. 

Carne Asada Marinade Ingredients:

•  4 Garlic Cloves Minced
• 1 Jalapeno Seeded & Minced
• 1 t Ground Cumin Seed
• 1 Large Handful Fresh Cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped
• 1 T each Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Limes, juiced
• 2 T White Vinegar
• 1/2 t Sugar
• 1/2 C Olive Oil

Carne Asada Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds Flank Steak
• Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper 

Carne Asada Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well
2. Pour over flank steaks in a shallow baking dish, cover, and let marinade for 4 hours
3. Remove from marinade and season with kosher salt and ground black pepper
4. Grill over high heat until desired doneness
5. Let rest for about 15 minutes
6. Slice thinly against the grain and serve with tortillas, shredded cheese, and salsa (Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa)

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa Ingredients:

• 1 lb whole tomatillos, husked
• 1 t Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 C minced fresh cilantro
• 5 Chipotle Peppers rinsed from a can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce (can be adjusted for spiciness)
• 1 T White Vinegar
• 1 t Dried Oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 1/2 Salt
• 3 Cloves garlic, minced

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa Instructions:

1. Heat broiler
2. Cover baking sheet with foil
3. Broil Tomatillos for 15 - 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until soft and dark in spots, cool briefly
4. Add Olive oil to skillet and sauté the Onion and Garlic, cool briefly
5. Add Tomatillos, Sautéed onion and garlic, and all other ingredients to a food processor
6. Puree until everything is fully mixed and chopped

You can serve this warm or cold, I prefer to let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to settle in and serve chilled.  I believe the flavor of the salsa really comes out after chilling for a while.

This is one of the very few recipes that I will be posting that doesn't involve BBQing.  Oatmeal pie has become one of my favorite desserts ever since I first moved to Iowa.  I ordered some at a restaurant and after eating, I had to go home and find a recipe to make my own.  Here is the recipe I have been using for the past 8 years:

Ingredients:
1/4 C Butter, softened
1/2 C White Sugar
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/4 t. Salt
1 C light corn syrup
1 C Uncooked Oatmeal
1 9" Graham Cracker Crust

Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together
2. Mix in Cinnamon and Salt
3. Pour in light corn syrup and mix well
4. Stir in 1 egg at a time, until well blended
5. Stir in oatmeal
6. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until a toothpick/knife inserted in center comes out clean.