# Trashcan turkey EMERGENCY! (and new member intro)



## tri-5-ron (Nov 8, 2010)

Hi, My name is Ron, and this is my first post.
 I'm currently in the process of cooking my first "Trashcan" turkey, (1 hour and counting).
I have a 12 lb. bird cooking as my first try. I had mistakenly bought a pre- Stuffed turkey. (butterball).
 What the heck, I,m giving it a shot anyway.
My question is,..
Since this is a stuffed bird,.. Should I the cook it to the precsribed time frame, or should I add some time, and if so, How much time ?
I'm quessing, to figure it as a 15lb. bird, and cook it accordingly.
What say you here ?
how long should I let it go for ?
thanks,
Ron


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## roadfix (Nov 8, 2010)

Welcome!  I've never done turkey so I can't comment.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 8, 2010)

I don't know what a Trashcan Turkey is, so I would suggest using the cooking times that came with the bird.

Welcome to DC!


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## Andy M. (Nov 8, 2010)

tri-5-ron said:


> Hi, My name is Ron, and this is my first post.
> I'm currently in the process of cooking my first "Trashcan" turkey, (1 hour and counting).
> I have a 12 lb. bird cooking as my first try. I had mistakenly bought a pre- Stuffed turkey. (butterball).
> What the heck, I,m giving it a shot anyway.
> ...



Hi Ron.

I'm not familiar with trash can cooking.  It's most important when roasting a stuffed turkey that the temperature reaches 161 F everywhere including the center of the stuffing.  You need an instant read thermometer to ascertain this.  

A stuffed turkey will definitely take longer to roast than an unstuffed one.


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## Janet H (Nov 8, 2010)

Trashcan turkeys are standard for scouts, RV'ers and other out of the kitchen cookers...

http://www.rvcookingshow.com/component/content/article/19-recipes/52-trash-can-turkey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMOxJXJTrhE&feature=related

How did you support the bird? I'm betting that you will need to increase cook time by 25 percent or so but measuring the temp is the only way to know for sure that it's properly cooked.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 8, 2010)

I think I would remove the stuffing and cook it separately.
How did yours turn out?


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## babetoo (Nov 8, 2010)

not a clue on that method of cooking. wanted to say howdy though.


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## tri-5-ron (Nov 9, 2010)

*I'm happy to report my Trash Can Turkey was a success!*

Here's a write-up I did tonight for a group of RV'ers that I go camping with, hope you enjoy...
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Ok, you all know that I had posted about the "Trash Can Turkey", but had yet to try it.

Well,... Tonight I did a Practice run with a 12 lb. bird, ahead of Thanksgiving, to see how well it worked, and to possibly adjust for a couple of variables.
I am happy to report, that this will be a VERY cool thing to do while out camping with a group of you all, as well as alot of fun too.
Next trip that I can make with you guys,... Dinner is on Me !!!


Here's a pic of the results for my first attempt,...
and I'm happy to report that it is DELICIOUS !!!








note,
That the bird was cooked with the neck down, feet up, and what appears to be a burnt area, in the upper-center part of the bird,... is actually the exposed outer layer of the Stuffing,. the bird is not burned, and the stuffing only has a very thin layer that is cooked dry/crunchy. (It kind of acts like a moisture cap, while cooking), so it's a Good thing !


Now, I had researched it to some degree, before making my first attempt, by looking up the many youtube videos already available.
But I, (in my usual fashion), had to add a few twists to it. (I just can't ever seem to leave "well enough" alone, on ANYTHING I try, lol !)

I did a full video progression from start to finish, that I will share here, 
but first let me explain where my differences were.

If you check out youtube for "Trash Can Turkey," you get many examples of how to do this.
Many of the already posted vids, show all the basics, including cooking times relative to bird size.
All those vids are a basic explanation of how to cook ONLY the Turkey, in a Trash Can.
That's all well and good,... except I had, (unintentionally), bought a Butterball Turkey that came "Pre-stuffed".

SOooo,... I figured that some adjustments to the cooking times were going to be necessary, and I was right. 

On a UN-STUFFED bird,... the recommended cooking times are as follows,

Cooking Times:
10 lbs 50 mins
12 lbs 1hr 
14 lbs 1hr 25mins
16 lbs 1hr 40mins
18 lbs 2hrs 5 mins
20 lbs 2hrs 15mins
22 lbs 2hrs 25 mins

But,... Being that my 12 lb. bird was STUFFED,...
I found that I had to cook it more accordingly to the 16-18 lb. recommendations.
I attribute the increased cooking time to 3 factors.
First, 
the fact that my bird was Stuffed. therefore, the increased mass and density, that needs to reach the minimun required 165 degrees.

Second,
The fact that the bird is Stuffed,... means that there is no "convection" action going on INSIDE of the cavity inside the bird.

and Third,
I had used three 12" x 12" paver bricks, to raise the bird up closer to the top of the trash can. I'm assuming that the presence of the pavers, robbed a little of the heat away from the interior of the trash can while cooking.

Below, is a video record of my first attempt, at doing a STUFFED Trash Can Turkey.
I hope that you enjoy, and...
Bon Apetit !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46ODqNmoHUU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijjR1x2rkiU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LibMMDfIrlg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdjFBVVvQCc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Besrrn7Z9Lo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_wfYOC_8o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oN-whJtek4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbEJRpJkpA4



Give it a try, and tell me what you think, what you would change, how you would do it differently, or just what you think would make it better!
i'm very satisfied with the results for this being my first attempt, and will certainly be doing this for some upcoming camping trips !
I hope you enjoy,
Ron
"Trash Can Chef Extrordinaire" 
__________________


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## FrankZ (Nov 9, 2010)

Curious but are you not concerned about gassing of the galvanizing?


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## roadfix (Nov 9, 2010)

Gee.....I don't know about this.   I'm sure it's a simple and effective way to cook the bird but it seems like you can pretty much do the same thing a lot easier in a Weber kettle, plus more.


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## FrankZ (Nov 9, 2010)

roadfix said:


> Gee.....I don't know about this.   I'm sure it's a simple and effective way to cook the bird but it seems like you can pretty much do the same thing a lot easier in a Weber kettle, plus more.




Of course it is always fun to find new and interesting ways to cook outside with fire.    It doesn't always have to be as practical.


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## Janet H (Nov 9, 2010)

I think this has great appeal for RVing and am sorely tempted to try it at the next opportunity.  I also have some concerns about the zinc issues with galvanized cans and would like to hear more about the pre-cook burn off.


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## roadfix (Nov 9, 2010)

FrankZ said:


> Of course it is always fun to find new and interesting ways to cook outside with fire.    It doesn't always have to be as practical.



Oh, I completely understand the different and fun aspect of cooking using unconventional methods.  ...something I can even see myself doing when camping out with a bunch of friends.


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