Jump to content

Trash Can Turkey


screamon demon
 Share

Recommended Posts

So I am looking for a little help with a trash can turkey. I couldnt think of a better group of people to ask than fellow outdoors folks. I have cooked a few smaller birds 12-14 lbs in a trash can and thr results are always great. This year I am doing a 23 lb bird in a bigger can. I am looking for cooking times. I am thinking 3 hours but I wanted to get some other opinions. Has anyone done a bird this size in a trash can?

Thanks in Advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We do the turkey under a bucket about once a year. The trash can used in the link above sure concerns me! Everything I have read stresses not to use buckets or cans that have paint or are galvanized, due to toxins:

Cover turkey and stick with plain steel bucket:

- Invert 5 gallon plain steel bucket and lower same over turkey down to the aluminum foil. There should be no handle, no paint, and no galvanizing on the bucket. Removing the handle eliminates it being hung up on the bird during bucket removal. The paint or other coatings are obvious toxins. The paint should be removed and the bucket fired for an hour or more before using it to cook a bird. Galvanizing must not be present on the bucket to avoid zinc narcosis.

Edited by Cabin Fever
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I am looking for a little help with a trash can turkey. I couldnt think of a better group of people to ask than fellow outdoors folks. I have cooked a few smaller birds 12-14 lbs in a trash can and thr results are always great. This year I am doing a 23 lb bird in a bigger can. I am looking for cooking times. I am thinking 3 hours but I wanted to get some other opinions. Has anyone done a bird this size in a trash can?

Thanks in Advance.

IIRC, 3 hours may be a little long? Last one I did took about 2.5 hours and did weigh about 22lbs.

Do you have a large can? If not, you can borrow mine. I've only done two or three birds in it and burned the galvanizing off of it prior to the first bird.

Not sure where you are though, I'm near Buffalo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IIRC, 3 hours may be a little long? Last one I did took about 2.5 hours and did weigh about 22lbs.

Do you have a large can? If not, you can borrow mine. I've only done two or three birds in it and burned the galvanizing off of it prior to the first bird.

Not sure where you are though, I'm near Buffalo.

Thanks for the offer I am in Hamburg. I bought a new can yesterday and I plan on burining it tonight. It will make for a good reason to stand outside and drink a few beers. Thanks for the input on the time too.. That's what I was looking for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that I've learned is not to use lighter fluid on the charcoal or buy the charcoal with lighter fluid on it. When I used to use that, I could taste the lighter fluid on the turkey. I've gone to using plain charcoal and use a charcoal chimney and newspaper to get the charcoal going.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I introduced turkey in a can on my television show 14 years ago... guys have taken it to new lengths since then... nobody was doing 23 lb birds back then... good to see guys experimenting...

I know a group of campers here in WNY that have been doing it for 25 years. You hang with them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know a group of campers here in WNY that have been doing it for 25 years. You hang with them?

Its been around for a long time, but i televised how to do it first... its actually just an offshoot of an old dutch oven. I also had the first even filmed snort wheeze on the same program

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that I've learned is not to use lighter fluid on the charcoal or buy the charcoal with lighter fluid on it. When I used to use that, I could taste the lighter fluid on the turkey. I've gone to using plain charcoal and use a charcoal chimney and newspaper to get the charcoal going.

The chimney is always the best way.. that lighter fluid is nasty!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...