In our family, my father is known for his smoked turkey. So much so that even his ex-wife/my mother won’t turn down a chance for a bit of the juicy hickory-smoked meat. Being a man who grew up in Mesquite, Texas and barbecues weekly, if not monthly, he seems to know what he’s doing. And each year, I appreciate that damn turkey more and more.

The Bird.

Dad has been involving me in the process the past few years and I decided this year to get some video of the process, Classic Dad/Former TV Personality Commentary included. This four-part segment goes from putting it on the smoker to the first taste test, over a course of 18 hours. Dogs, snow, fire and bad Star Wars music included.

Putting the Bird on the smoker (it’s a little long; the first 1/3 of the video is prepping the grill and the last 1/3 talks about prepping the bird):

Checking on it, six hours later:

Pulling the Bird from the smoker:

Taste Test!