Smoked Turkey

[ddweatherholtz]

So I am going to smoke a small turkey for Thanksgiving, and of course I am not goig to practice before then, what fun would that be. But I am researching a bit i guess. I plan on treating it just like a chicken and either spatch or beer canning it, and brining it with my regular chicken brine. An a concotion of my favorite rubs. Im guessing 10-12 pounder at about 5 hours. Any advice would be great! THanks!

 

[TurboDog]

I don't think a 10-12 pounder will take 5 hours , of course that depends on your cooking temperature , but for a turkey I would imagine you are aiming for around 350 , and it should be done in more like 2.5 - 3 hours.

 

[grantw]

Don't low and slow a bird, 3 hrs should be close

 

[Gnaws on Pigs]

Last one I did was about 13 lbs. It took about 2 1/2 -3 hours at 350* if I remember correctly. I injected it and beer-canned it on a quart can of Foster's. One of the best turkeys I've ever eaten in my life.

 

[TurboDog]

I love me some smoked turkey , the first one I ever did , long before I found this place , I smoked at 250. It was pretty nasty , rubbery skin , and way over smoked. I now cook no lower than 325 but aim for 350. I also use very little wood in the UDS , like one small piece each of apple and cherry. I always brine and I usually inject with creole butter, I put very little seasoning on the skin but coat the inside of the turkey well with some good ole cajun seasoning like Tonys or Zatarains.

 

[HickoryJ]

im doing the same. never done one before. should i rub it down with some oil to help crisp the skin? and is there a need to add a rub if im gonna brine?

 

[lashing1c]

Just did one a week ago. Brined a 15 pounder for 24 hours. Then set it on a can of Fosters. I also have a large deep dish pizza pan that i fill with water. I use that as a deflector sheild in my UDS. Got the temps to about 300 degrees. It took 5 hours in the smoker. Then another hour of resting in an oven I warmed up but then shut off when I put the turkey in there. I season the skin. I had some guests over. We all agreed that it was the most moist turkey we had ever had. You could actually pinch the breast meat and see the juice come out.

I heard using a turkey cannon also produces a very moist turkey. I have found with whole chickens or whole turkeys it is hard to get the skin crispy. Not so much from the tempature in the smoker but all the moisture you are trying to keep in the bird.

If it is a trade I will take a really moist turkey with good smoked flavor over dry turkey and good skin. Just my opinion.

 

[Mdboatbum]

Let's say you're going to cook the turkey on Thursday. Start on Tuesday by putting the bird in the brine for 24 hours. On Wednesday, remove it from the brine, pat dry, as thoroughly as possible, sprinkle with Kosher salt and put on a sheet pan, uncovered, in the bottom rear of the refrigerator. 24 hours later, your bird will look pretty terrible. The skin will have dried to a papery texture and drawn up a bit so it fits like a tight shirt. This is what you want. Brush with melted butter or olive oil, rub if you want (easy on the salt though, remember it's been brined AND had the skin salted) then smoke at as close to 350˚ as you can get. Pull it PRECISELY as soon as it hits 165˚ in the breast and 175˚-180˚ in the dark meat. Spatchcocking will help this happen at the same time, but that's another story for another day. Then let it rest for 20 minutes or so, carve and serve. It will be moist, flavorful and that shriveled up skin will have browned to beautiful crispy perfection.

 

[TurboDog]

Just did one a week ago. Brined a 15 pounder for 24 hours. Then set it on a can of Fosters. I also have a large deep dish pizza pan that i fill with water. I use that as a deflector sheild in my UDS. Got the temps to about 300 degrees. It took 5 hours in the smoker. Then another hour of resting in an oven I warmed up but then shut off when I put the turkey in there. I season the skin. I had some guests over. We all agreed that it was the most moist turkey we had ever had. You could actually pinch the breast meat and see the juice come out.

I heard using a turkey cannon also produces a very moist turkey. I have found with whole chickens or whole turkeys it is hard to get the skin crispy. Not so much from the tempature in the smoker but all the moisture you are trying to keep in the bird.

If it is a trade I will take a really moist turkey with good smoked flavor over dry turkey and good skin. Just my opinion.

It's not that hard to get crispy skin , if you cook with an actual grate temperature of 350 , they come out crispy on the outside and juicy and delicious inside. At that temperature or any other temperature for that matter , I've never had a bird come out with not enough smoke , poultry seems to suck up smoke like a sponge , and is far more prone to over smoking than under smoking. As far as dryness , if you take a turkey breast much past 160 before resting it's gonna dry out. Many meats are cooked by feel , poultry benefits from being cooked to a precise temperature , in my opinion.

 

[ddweatherholtz]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Cack]

I'll be doing the same, so the in put will be used here as well. Thanks to the OP and the comments.

 

[MisterChrister]

Just did one a week ago.....You could actually pinch the breast meat and see the juice come out......

Heheheheh......sorry!

 

[Big slick]

I never brined a turkey before so I can't offer any advice on that. What I do that always gives me awesome results is I buy butterball self basting turkey. I then coat the whole thing lightly in olive oil. Next I hit the bird heavily with simply marvelous season all. Inside and out gets a good coating. I tuck the wings and tie the legs and let the bird sit overnight to marinate. I fire up the smoker and bring it to around 350 and cook it for about 3-4hrs or until it hits the right internal temp. It's one of my fool proof cooks. I also want to add that I use very little wood for smoking. I try to stick with pecan or cherry.

 

[deguerre]

One more point I didn't see mentioned (Sorry if it's there and I missed it). Be careful with the amount of smoke you give it, just as you would with a chicken.

 

[Wampus]

All you need to know is right HERE.


Enjoy!!!:biggrin1:

 

[Tricky]

Last time I kept a sheet of foil over the breast meat to try to keep it from getting too done before the dark meat. I was cooking indirect in my kettle.

Ultimately when my dark meat finished up I didn't have enough color on my breast meat skin. Everything tasted great but next time I would not leave the foil on so long -- it just didn't look uniformly brown.

And you eat with your eyes first . . .

 

[mwmac]

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I cooked a 17 lb self-basting turkey on the cajun bandit a couple of weeks ago using this method http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/turkey4.html . Aromatics and orange quarters in the cavity. It turned out so well that SWMBO has requested another before Thanksgiving! This method is very simple and does not require brining making it quite for first time turkey smokers.

 

[ToddM]

I did one (14 lbs) this past Sunday using a kettle and rotisserie, turned out great. Seasoned with Tony Chachere's, with lemons, onions and fresh herbs in the cavity. I also run my hand under the skin on the breast to loosen it up and put strips of bacon under the skin to help keep the breast meat moist.

I may try to brine next time but the results were tasty without that step.

 

[TheJackal]

Here is what I did for my last turkey. I think the aromatics are from Alton Brown's recipe. Can't remember where I got the brine from but it is on a recipe site from somewhere.

TURKEY:

‎12lb whole turkey
Brined for 24-48hrs
Stuff with aromatics
Rub with herb butter both the outside and under the skin
sprinkle with additional Poultry Rub
Smoked with apple wood @ 300 - 325



Aromatics --

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Put aromatics in the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage.


Herb butter --
made by mixing Dean & Deluca Poultry Rub with softened stick of butter
http://www.deandeluca.com/herbs-and-spices/herbs-spices/poultry-rub.aspx



Brine --
Ingredients

• 3 cups Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• 2 gallons Cold Water
• 4 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Leaves
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-1/2 cup Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Peppercorns
• 5 whole Bay Leaves
• Peel Of Three Large Oranges

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover.
Allow to cool completely (never put raw turkey in hot or warm brine), then pour into a large brining bag or pot. Place uncooked turkey in brine solution, then refrigerate.
When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Rinse turkey in fresh, cold water (If you do not rinse, your turkey may come out too salty).
Discard brine. Remove turkey from clean water, pat dry, and cook.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I've decided to smoke one this year as well. In the past I've just used the webber rotisserie attachment on a weber kettle. Rubbed with olive oil and salt & pepper. Usually comes out great.

Chris