Turkey breast or legs over open campfire

[Omahkapi'si]

Anyone done this? Have done chicken on BBQ lots but never turkey pieces over open campfire. Recipes, thoughts, ideas or anything you can offer. Thinking of having Thanksgiving (October for Canada) at my black powder club campsite with the family, nothing super fancy just outdoors & simple.

 

[64Springer]

Recipe: Place on stick and hold over fire.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

The turkey, not the stick.

 

[Justin.44]

Sounds good. Whichever way you cook it, soak it for 12+ hours in a brine beforehand and it will be nice and juicy!

 

[appalichian hunter]

I have never cooked a turkey over a camp fire but after some thought I came up with this, first brine the turkey, then split down the back bone so it lays out flat, next double bind it between two grates (like a whole hog roast type of thing) good bed of coals with some top quality charcoal (I like the cowboy brand) keep turkey about a foot to 18 in. off the coals turning frequently and basting with butter and perhaps a bit of bacon drippings mixed in I would also use Mc Cormick brand rotisserie chicken spice( I think the secret here is slow cooking) Cook turkey to a recommended internal temp. paying close attention to the thigh and wing joints. You may need to tin foil the wing tips and leg ends to keep them from burning during the cooking process. Might want to roast a pumpkin and some sweet taters in the coals along with a good corn meal spoon bread with a splash of pure maple syrup along with some sweet cream butter and grilled asparagus. A nice, wilted water cress and spinach side salad with Amish bacon dressing, copula cats' heads biscuits, and your all set. You're on yer own for dessert.

 

[Brokennock]

I have never cooked a turkey over a camp fire but after some thought I came up with this, first brine the turkey, then split down the back bone so it lays out flat, next double bind it between two grates (like a whole hog roast type of thing) good bed of coals with some top quality charcoal (I like the cowboy brand) keep turkey about a foot to 18 in. off the coals turning frequently and basting with butter and perhaps a bit of bacon drippings mixed in I would also use Mc Cormick brand rotisserie chicken spice( I think the secret here is slow cooking) Cook turkey to a recommended internal temp. paying close attention to the thigh and wing joints. You may need to tin foil the wing tips and leg ends to keep them from burning during the cooking process. Might want to roast a pumpkin and some sweet taters in the coals along with a good corn meal spoon bread with a splash of pure maple syrup along with some sweet cream butter and grilled asparagus. A nice, wilted water cress and spinach side salad with Amish bacon dressing, copula cats' heads biscuits, and your all set. You're on yer own for dessert.

Thanks, now I'm hungry and drooling

 

[Daveboone]

Lots. My favorite way is to buy smaller turkeys, quarter, then baste with Montreal steak seasoning in soy sauce. You can cook all parts , but the legs/thighs we like best. We have also cooked1/2 turkeys on a bed f stuffing in the Dutch oven…..actually did so a couple weeks ago.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

The recipes sound great, if you have room to pack all the stuff to do it like charcoal, grates, and so on or if you're camping in a camper. How about cooking one over a fire if all you have to hold it is some sticks? Like this whole side of moose ribs on the bank of the Kobuk river in Alaska some 20 or more years ago.

 

[TDM]

Might have to have an early supper, I’m hungry now.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I have a real nice fire pit, grate and all. Thinking a turkey will taste real good done there.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

So the problem is that Turkey tends to be dry from the git-go. There are kits out there for the cook to use a plastic syringe to inject moisture into a commercially raised turkey, to keep it moist. A fire is absolutely going to suck the moisture out of the bird, even with barding (covering the outside with pork belly strips or bacon strips)

What about rotisserie chicken, why can't that work for turkey? Rotisserie cooking is a controlled environment of 450°F, where the humidity is maintained, and only for an hour, and chickens have more fat. A domestic turkey is leaner. (A wild turkey is so lean it would likely be a disaster over a fire.) A campfire being open, causes all moisture to leave, and the temp is difficult to fine tune. The fat a juices will drip off and burn in the fire.

I'd suggest that if using a campfire, you do two methods to complete...
PHASE 1
You build a fire in a hollowed out area lined with proper rocks, and two to three rocks the size of medium hen's eggs. You truss up the turkey on the spit, leaving access to the body cavity. When the rocks are good and hot, you drop the hen's egg sized ones inside the turkey body cavity, then cover the turkey with two (2) wet cloth bags (take pillow cases, poke a hole in the closed end for the end of the spit to protrude. Put the wet pillow cases over the bird, tie the open ends shut. Scrape out the fire from the pit, leaving only hot rocks. Have heated twice as many rocks as you need to line the bottom of the pit, Remove half the rocks, and place the bird & spit covered with the wet cloth on the remaining rocks in the pit. Put the other hot rocks on top of the cloth covered bird and spit. Cover with a piece of canvas, and then with dirt. Wait about 90 minutes. Uncover the bird.

PHASE 2
You will have a moist, cooked (steamed) turkey, without browned skin, and any flavor that you have will be from any rub you may have applied before cooking. GENTLY remove the cloth, and then put the bird on a second fire that you have made of coals and the supports for the spit. Using the spit which is already holding the bird, put the bird over the open coals. Brown the skin, and baste the turkey while doing so. Once the skin is brown you're done.

TRY THIS AT LEAST ONCE before the actual holiday.

A simpler option would be to use a smoker, and slow smoke the bird at low heat for many hours. There are lots of websites that show how

LD

 

[Walks with wheels.]

Just came across this thread and a method I used during my ACW reenacting days that is simple and requires minimal supplies.
Supplies needed:

1. Cheapest fresh or frozen turkey you can find. It will have more internal fat or be self basting.
2. Cheese cloth- enough to cover 2/3 turkey when trussed.
3. 1/4in- 3/8in rods x 2. Burn off any oils, coatings &c. before use.
4. Concrete form wire, bailing wire &c. for trussing the bird. Burn off any oils, coatings &c. before use.
5. Olive oil- any grade, 1-2 qts.
6. Chunk charcoal, usually Mexican imported but can be found at most ranch/farm supply stores. When burning it looks like branches and foraged wood.
7. Aluminum foil or roasting pan to catch drippings and reduce fire flash over.

Fire: In a number of areas we had to use raised fire pits or automotive metallic oil drain pans to protect the grass areas. Anyways, dig your trench/pit or place the fire pan, do some rocks around the perimeter for effect and concealing the pan and foil, also will serve to elevate the bird.. See post 9 above.
Guest of honor: Rinse the bird inside and out after removing the innards. Snag a medium yellow onion and quarter it, then toss in the cavity. Optional:
Gotta carrot? Cut into rounds and toss them in too, Celery? Same.
Just only do 1 or 2 of these as they do influence the final flavor.
Time to cook:
Tie the bird to the 2 cleaned rods with the cleaned wire. We used rebar as the textured surface helped to prevent the bird/wire/rod combo from sliding off.
Light the charcoal. Once the charcoal is white ash covered, clear out a center area and put in the foil or roasting pan.
Put the trussed bird on the rocks, see post 7 above, make any height adjustments necessary for roasting.
Snag your cheese cloth & olive oil. Fold the cloth so it loosely covers around 2/3 the turkey's surface area, then pour just a enough of the olive oil to dampen it. Use the oil wit a light hand, you don't want it dripping off right away- that will happen soon enough. The effect of this combo is to help retain heat, keep the skin from burning and add a bit of smoke flavor. Flip the turkey over after about 1-2 hours depending on ambient temperature after removing the cloth. Replace the cloth, add oil to moisten and kill another couple of hours.
Turkey cooked this way usually took about 6 hours for a 16-18 pound bird.

NOTES
Practice the method after seeing what type of fire can be used.
The flipping over is a 2 person job. Those rods will be hot.
Give this method at least 2 dry runs as humidity and air temperature influence cook times.
Discard any pan drippings.
Have fun.

 

[Randis]

Chicken on a spit.
I used cornish game hens to make proportioning easy. Dry with towel, oil up with olive oil, sprinkle with montreal seasoning. Place on spit and roast over coals, not open flame. Turn every minute or so depending on heat output. As coals die down, turning frequency diminishes. Employ a "spit boy or girl" for the next hour or so. Corn soaked in salted water is roasted 20 minutes or so. I cheat by adding lump charcoal to the braiser after starting a fire made from small wood. Olive oil makes a great "period correct" starter fluid. Taste better also.

 

[Randis]

Double post