Just like "pics, or it didn't happen", this smoked balsamic ginger gravy...
Post recipe, or it doesn't exist.
Balsamic Ginger Chicken/Turkey Wet/Dry Rub - Cookin' with Al 07.06.2013
Marinate for 48 HOURS!
Dry Ingredients:
1 fine mesh strainer to strain and removed lumps from spices
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 TBL turmeric
1 TBL Hungarian paprika (I get this online at
https://www.myspicesage.com/)
(note, don’t use smoked or Mexican paprika)
3 TBL onion powder
3 TBL iodized sea salt (see Sal Bahia in the Mexican section)
2 TBL powdered sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
Mix dry ingredients before adding wet
Wet Ingredients in a
different bowl:
Add 2 TBL sesame oil (I use Ziyad from an imported food market)
Add 1/2 tsp liquid sunflower lecithin while stirring to mix well (just estimate as you pour out, will not come out of a measuring spoon!)
Add 1 TBL toasted sesame oil slowly while stirring (in the Asian Section)
Add 1 TBL balsamic vinegar slowly while stirring
Add 1 TBL soy sauce slowly while stirring
Add 12 oz water VERY slowly while stirring
SLOWLY add wet ingredients to dry while whisking to prevent lumping!!! Note that the lecithin allows the oil to combine with the water to make an emulsion. It's is possible to to without it, however it also helps to prevent the chicken or turkey from sticking to the grill.
About ten pounds of skinned chicken legs, quarters or whatever floats your boat.
For a skinned 17 to 20 pound turkey make a DOUBLE sized batch of the wet/dry rub. Be sure to save a couple tablespoons of the rub for the broth for the gravy.
For chicken put everything in a bowl with a lid and shake. For Turkey wear nitrile gloves and rub that stuff everywhere including under the wings and legs and inside the cavity.
For the smoking part, I get my 24" x 24" propane bbq up to about 500f, then I put the turkey on that at a 45 degree angle. After about 2 minutes I rotate about 90 degrees to give the grill lines that nice cross hatch look. 2 minutes later I use my large silicone gloves to turn the turkey over and repeat the grill lines. This quickly seals in the moisture in the turkey, then I transfer to my offset smoker set to 220f. It can be difficult and messy to manhandle a large turkey covered with oily rub so don't wear your good suit.
Smoking the turkey till the internal temp reaches 180 usually takes from 8 to 10 hours, so START EARLY in the morning.
I cook the skin with the guts to make a broth and add the leftover rub to that. After four hours I use a fine mesh strainer to remove all the CRAP that boiling guts and skin makes. Once you see what comes out of that broth you will NEVER skip the straining step. Trust me, it's gross.
At this point I use the drippings from the pan combined with some olive oil and butter to make about 2 cups of oil. I weigh this so I can weigh the same about of flour for the gravy.
Heat the oil on a medium low flame and add the flour constantly whisking to prevent scorching. When the flour is a light brown and has a nutty smell it's time to add about a quarter cup of REALLY hot strained broth. I put it back in a pan on simmer after straining so it is very hot.
Continue whisking constantly until the mixture is evenly consistent, then add another 1/4 cup. Repeat this process until the gravy base is about 3 times the volume it was before adding broth, then turn the heat off and use a silicone spatula to pour the gravy base into the hot broth and still. If it is too thin, I make a slurry out of corn starch and water and stir that into the gravy until it thickens.
Then it's time to taste to be sure it's salty enough.
And there you have it. Smoked Turkey Gravy!
On the skinning part. Skin prevents the rub from penetrating the meat. It also prevents sealing and therefore leads to a VERY dry turkey. I know it sounds weird, but it's necessary to make a nice juicy bird. I have literally had hot juice squirt into my eye when I make the first cut into the bird, so plan on the juiciest turkey you have ever had in your LIFE!
Note that "Cookin with Al" is at the top of all my recipes that I've made. My first name is Allen but you can call me Al !
www.beanogas.com
” he said from Canada **
