Dry Brine, Still Moist Turkey: Dub Shack BBQ Presents Dry-Brined Turkey

I needed room in the refrigerator that the briner bucket wouldn't allow for. Also due to the fact I have had only two days off from work this month means that bird prep was going a different route.

INGREDIENTS

Turkey, 12-15 lbs (mine weighed 13 lbs.)

Meat Church's Honey Hog BBQ Rub

Tony Chacere's creole style butter

Kosher salt

STEP ONE. Thaw out the turkey for however long it needs to bust loose in the refrigerator. As a general rule of thumb, think three pounds per day with the big bird. Because my turkey weighed thirteen pounds, I went a little over four days before taking it out of the packaging.

STEP TWO. Once the turkey was taken out of its packaging, pat it nice and dry before you do anything else. Inside of the cavity are the turkey neck and a small bag of giblets: I'd tell you to save the neck and backbone that has been spatchcocked for stock along with the giblet bag for gravy but more often than not, I'll smoke the neck with the bird itself and throw the rest of the stuff away. Sidebar: For the purposes of this cook, I only kept the turkey itself. With the scents coming from my trash can, I'm really going to hate it for the sanitation crew when they come through next week.

STEP THREE. Unlike most years, I diverged from my normal wet brine path to first spatchcocking and then laying a pretty stout seasoning of kosher salt and Meat Church's Honey Hog BBQ Rub liberally on both sides, in the nooks and crannies, and anywhere good taste would touch the bird. Set the turkey on a wire rack and leave it alone in the refrigerator for the next 24-48 hours as the "curing" time afforded by the appliance's air dries out the skin making it crispy for the cook.

STEP FOUR. Two days later, a small miracle of time has elapsed and the turkey is ready for smoke. As a booster, I injected creole butter all over to ensure a moist turkey worth eating and reminiscing about until the next cookout. 

Wanna see the weapon I chose to use this year? It's my favorite - the PK!

Light the chimney with either briquettes or lump charcoal and if you didn't forget, have a water pan underneath the turkey. (I failed to pick up one but that one solid pecan wood log which served double duty as both a heat shield and flavor infuser were sufficient enough.)

STEP FIVE. Like brisket, turkey is another protein that can get away from you if you're inclined to set it and forget it. As the grill cooks at/around 325, make sure to check on it once an hour for both color and temperature. Turkey is done in the breast at 165, and the dark meat is super tasty at 175 degrees. Pro tip: Once you get the desired color, use aluminum foil to tent over the skin so it still looks golden brown. My bird below got a bit darker but the same tasty elements were already there. 

STEP SIX. Man, I've gone into some detail. Allow the turkey to rest about thirty minutes and enjoy!

The reasons why I did not post this one Thanksgiving Day are 1)most of us ate roughly the same thing, and 2)I didn't have the written content ready as I spent the week battling flu and exhaustion from my night job. Hope your Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving Day festivities were great even as the things that can and often divide us such as politics, worldview, or not cheering for the Cowboys mean little in the grand scheme of it all. Now that I'm getting back to normal, y'all know what I am about to say. Thank you for reading this post. Try this one out sometime before the cold weather ends up conquering our ambitions and goals of great barbecue on an every day basis. Be blessed, be safe, be good to each other, and tell everyone that every day is a GREAT day for Dub Shack BBQ! 

Wanna Be A Baller

I wanna be a baller, shot caller...

I can't spit the lyrics from the Lil' Troy song as this is a mostly family-friendly space about nine second- and third-grade girls, two coaches who were friends from long ago, and a large support system learning the game better than what we saw during the Olympics or sloppily spiking on each other in the backyards during the last cookout. What they did and became, some middle school volleyball coach might end up sending them invitations to their summer camps. 

They bumped. They served. They returned. 

Most of all, they played like a veteran team - and the untrained eye would not have known that the Volley Queens came together for ten regular season games for the very first time without any collusion unlike some superteams from other sports. Each girl aimed to please not only the folks in the stands but also keep serving them up to places the opposing teams could not reach. They have not been starstruck by the moment one bit and rose to the challenges of trailing during matches, between sets, and even when the pivotal third set began rocky. Their coaches kept them levelheaded focused on the next point instead of what the board read. 

Don't think they didn't have fun: Our girls broke into an impromptu happy birthday song at least twice...and there was Halloween.

Thanks to coaches Chasity and Chastity for devoting a few nights each week to teaching Caeli, Khloe, Ryleigh, Brynlee, Ireland, Brooke, Abigail, Ava, and Sadie the game of volleyball in addition to the shenanigans of Friday night practices of watching them serve overhanded lobs and bump to the track above the court. [I didn't do anything special - just be Dad and take a few okayish pictures through a phone camera with a sketchy screen protector and bring out the balls at practice]. None of this would be possible without the family and friends who supported each girl throughout the past couple of months and stayed in line the day tryouts were held. 

Did we win? With a 8-2 record, we finished second in the regular season. 

Meet the 2022 Benton Parks and Recreation Volleyball Tournament runners up!

Volley Queens on 3: 1, 2, 3! Volley Queens!  

Ancient Names of Africa

Before the European settled for the word Africa, the continent was called many other names. They include Corphye, Ortigia,Libya, and Ethiopia, Alkebulan

Other names such as the land of Ham (Ham means dark skins), mother of mankind, the garden of Eden, Kingdoms in the sky, and the land of cush or kesh (referring to the Cushites who were ancient Ethiopian) were used.

No one knows the source of the names for sure. However, the theories below shed some light on how this second largest continent got its new name.

Roman theory

Some scholars believe that the word originated from the Romans. Romans discovered a land opposite the Mediterranean and named it after the Berber tribe residing within the Carnage area, presently referred to as Tunisia. The tribe's name was Afri.

Weather theory

Some believe that the name was coiled from the continent's climate. Deriving from aphrike, a Greek word that means a land free from cold and horror. A variation of the Roman word aprica, which means sunny, or even the Phoenician word afar, which means dust.

Africus Theory

This claims that the continent derived its name from Africus. Africus is a Yemenite chieftain who invaded the northern part in the second millennium BC,It is argued that he settled on his conquered land and named it Afrikyah.

Phoenician Theory

Another school of thought suggests that the name is derived from two Phoenician words friqi and pharika. The words mean corns and fruits when translated. Hypothetically the Phoenician christened the continent as the land of corns and fruits.

Alkebu-lan “mother of mankind” or “garden of Eden”.” Alkebulan is the oldest and the only word of indigenous origin. It was used by the Moors,Nubians, Numidians,Khart-Haddans (Carthagenians) and Ethiopians.

There is little or no certainty on the source or meaning Africa. Several scholars have tried to explain the origin of the word, but none is convincingly correct.

#africanhistory #blackhistory  #knowthyself #blackhistory365 

Ancient African History

Return of Da Dip: Dub Shack BBQ Presents Smoked Salmon Dip

With the game that predominantly matters for bragging rights comes a dip: You should know me well enough by now the game I am referring to is the Battle of the Ravine between HSU and OBU. 

INGREDIENTS

One salmon filet preferably skin-off 

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Black pepper

8 oz cream cheese

Dill*

Chives*

8 oz sour cream

Lemon juice 

Somehow I forgot the sour cream. Gotta make a quick jaunt to the store...

*In lieu of dill and chives, Fire and Smoke Society's Fish Monger can be substituted. In this application, we're only using the tail of the salmon filet. 

STEP ONE  Using everything we've learned about smoking meat and from past Tailgating For Everyone episodes, light your smokers to 225 degrees. If you so desire, use a light wood such as maple or pecan - or do without, I won't gripe. Season the filet with olive oil, salt, and pepper and smoke to 145 degrees. 

STEP TWO.

This step depends on the group size as my recipes can be scaled upward to fit your crowd. Using one softened block of cream cheese and 2 oz of pulled smoked salmon - please remove the skin, add the lemon juice, Fish Monger, and sour cream to the mix and stir to satisfaction. Serve immediately!

This concludes this season's Tailgating For Everyone series. Aside from the break I needed from my own self-imposed pressure of dropping something awesome weekly, this has been a solid campaign of working the pit and feeding my family and the meat list a number of uniquely tasty side - and main items. I'll leave a link to everything in a later post for future reference likely in a comprehensive end-of-the-year post before the actual 2022 in review one. Thanks for reading the stuff from this space and as I've mostly removed myself from the hot button cultural issues arena to maintain my family's privacy and the eternal pursuit of minding my own Black-ass business, I sincerely hope that barbecue alone has not bored you. As always, be blessed, be safe, be good to each other, and tell everyone that every day is a GREAT day for Dub Shack BBQ!