There’s Still Time to Buy Diesel’s Smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving
I’ve eaten a lot of Thanksgiving turkey and roasted my fair share. I salted and rubbed the bird, coated it with butter and salt, and cleaned it better than any spa could do. I love roast turkey, but I could never have predicted how much smoked turkey would change my life. This year I hosted a Friendship Day with Diestel’s Pecan Smoked Turkey , and not only did it make meal prep easier, but it also sent my crowd of friends into turkey euphoria. It’s not too late to order it.
In all my years of enjoying fried turkey, this year is over. Sorry, but I’ll switch to smoked poultry forever. This comes from a woman who can’t eat mezcal margaritas because they’re too smoky, but it works with meat. The turkey was juicy, rich, very tender and the skin was crispy . No matter how hard I try, I can’t imagine going back to regular turkey next year. I already miss smoked food.
The Distel Family Ranch offers many options for your bird:
Take work off your plate
I’d like to be honest with you all: I didn’t have to do much to get this centerpiece to sing. Smoked turkey Distel is completely ready. It is bound, fully cooked and fully seasoned. They deliver it to your door frozen, so you have to worry about defrosting , but once that’s taken care of, you just reheat the turkey. This gave me time to focus on making the filling, baking the pies, and organizing the meat platter. Not to mention, reheating a turkey is much faster than cooking it all the way through the first time. Don’t know how to warm it up? Instructions are printed directly on the bird, including temperature and length of time depending on the size you ordered.
My turkey weighed 10 pounds, so three days before I put it in the refrigerator on a rack over a baking sheet in case it leaked bird juices. No one has done this, but it’s better to be prepared for such things. The package instructions told me to heat the turkey at 325°F for an hour and 15 minutes. As soon as I opened the package, a smoky, savory aroma wafted around me. All my concerns about this turkey were put to rest at that moment. I placed the turkey on a roasting rack and rubbed it with neutral oil and regular table salt. The instructions didn’t say this, but I wanted the skin to be crispy. (And perhaps I wanted to feel at least somewhat involved in what was happening.)
The short prep time allowed me to focus on all the other sides ahead of time, and I was able to get the turkey in the oven about 45 minutes before my guests arrived. This is usually when I change into my “kitchen clothes” and still make myself look presentable, so it was the perfect time for some hands-free cooking.
The turkey was perfect. Every guest commented on the smell and gorgeous color of the skin when it came out of the oven. There was still plenty of smoky mahogany drippings left for gravy. It was actually a pleasure to cut it out. The skin crunched as I cut into it, and the meat and connective tissue were so tender that my knife and a little pressure took care of the rest. The resulting bird tasted like the best aspects of smoked ham and juicy brined turkey, with crisp, flavorful skin.
How to buy one
You can cook your own smoked turkey on a charcoal grill or convert your oven into a smoker , but if that seems more difficult than you’d like, head over to the Diestel Turkey Farm website and pick up a bird today. If you order today, they still have time to deliver it to you on Wednesday. Naturally, after all this, I suggest you buy a pecan smoked turkey, but they also have a hickory wood smoked turkey . If smoked turkey isn’t your thing, but you want to take the stress out of making raw turkey from scratch, try their Oven Roasted Whole Turkey .
If you haven’t decided on your Thanksgiving turkey plan yet or just want to plan ahead for Christmas dinner, get this turkey delivered to you. This could change your holiday forever.