thanksgiving already?!?!

dealm9

dealm9

is one Smokin' Farker
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i know its very early but i like to plan for big cooks early and i need to order whatever i am going to need now. Okay so this thanksgiving will be my first time smoking a turkey and i want to do this right. i cant do a practice smoke because i am at college and by the time i get home it will be thanksgiving. i have already done a lot of searching and i have noticed a lot of people rub the bird with some olive oil. i saw someone used garlic infused olive oil inside the skin and on the outside which sounds great to me. i also plan on putting some butter inside the skin to help keep the meet most. also i am looking for a great rub. i have seen simple such as salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic and brand rubs such as plowboy's yardbird. does anyone have any rubs they find work best with turkey. also i have a 55 gal. uds. what is the biggest bird i can fit on that with a domed lid and if i do it spatchcocked is 12 lbs the biggest size i can fit? also what recommendations on cooking methods does everyone have? i have read a lot on how spatchocked is the best method but i feel like i would not be able to fit anything larger than a 12lb. bird on my smoker going spatchcocked. i appreciate all the help in advance.

sorry i havent been posting pron lately but i go to school in the bronx so i cant bring my smoker. i miss it so much:hurt::hurt:
 
Brining works great for smoked turkey,I know somebody on here has a good brine mixture.usually includes salt sugar( white or brown) pepper,herbs ???
 
This is one of my favorite turkey brines for smoking on my UDS;

JD Turkey brine

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 gallon water
1/2 gallon apple cider
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
10 cloves
1 gallon iced water

1 red apple, sliced
1 green apple sliced
1 fennel bulb quartered
2 oranges quartered
1 large lemon quartered
2 carrots chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
1 handfull each rosemary, flat leaf parsley, sage & thyme

Take the first 6 ingredients and bring to a boil and stir until mixed very well. Remove from heat and when cool add the gallon of ice water then add all the other ingredients in a vessel large enough to hold the brine and the turkey. Keep everything cool and brine overnight. Rinse the bird and splatchcock before placing in your UDS.

I've cooked a 12 pound bird on my UDS with a flat lid and had no problems.
 
I too am planning on my 1st smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving. Will hep an eye on this thread. Think a 5 gallon new bucket from home depot would be big enough for the brine?
 
That reminds me....I have a turkey in the freezer that I bought on sale way back in the spring for like 89cents a pound. Ill have to ask the powers that be if thats the way we are going this year.
 
A brine may not be needed if your turkey is already enhanced. read the label, if ir says something like contains solution or something it i9s already brined.
 
If you have Dr. BBQ's book, I highly recommend the sherry butter turkey recipe. I only do the breast this way (I part my bird out and do parts seperately), but it's very, very good. I use my OTS kettle for mine.
 
I do 8-12 turkeys every thanksgiving for other people. I always brine mine.

Smoked Turkey

240-270* till 165* in breast

12 lbs = approx 4.5 hrs

wrap in cheese cloth till 140*

Brine:

1 gal. apple juice
1 1/2 C. Kosher salt
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. garlic powder
1/4 C/ paprika
1 C. honey
6 Tbsp. Worchester

Bring apple juice to boil and then add all ingredients except honey. Stir til dissolved. Turn off heat and remove from stove, add honey and stir til dissolved. Cool with ice. Use Fresh turkey not one that has been enhanced with salt/flavoring solution


 
BlueHowler said:
This is one of my favorite turkey brines for smoking on my UDS;

JD Turkey brine

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 gallon water
1/2 gallon apple cider
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
10 cloves
1 gallon iced water

1 red apple, sliced
1 green apple sliced
1 fennel bulb quartered
2 oranges quartered
1 large lemon quartered
2 carrots chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
1 handfull each rosemary, flat leaf parsley, sage & thyme

Take the first 6 ingredients and bring to a boil and stir until mixed very well. Remove from heat and when cool add the gallon of ice water then add all the other ingredients in a vessel large enough to hold the brine and the turkey. Keep everything cool and brine overnight. Rinse the bird and splatchcock before placing in your UDS.

I've cooked a 12 pound bird on my UDS with a flat lid and had no problems.
Click to expand...

would this be good on chicken? i know chicken is somewhat close to turkey but you never know if some ingredients that work for chicken would work or not for turkey or visa versa. haha

tahnks
 
You might have to adjust the ingredients to fit one chicken but if you are doing a couple of 5 lb + chickens it will work just fine.

P.S. I usually add another cup of JD to the brine.
 
BlueHowler said:
You might have to adjust the ingredients to fit one chicken but if you are doing a couple of 5 lb + chickens it will work just fine.

P.S. I usually add another cup of JD to the brine.
Click to expand...

dang. ok cool. i gotta find a place to buy that stuff, or some one to buy it for me. haha
 
I hear that strapping some ice packs on the breasts prior to cooking helps out a lot.
 
jgbmgb said:
We have done turkeys the past 2 Thanksgivings with this brine recipe smoked on the drum. Its all the family asks for now.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/turkey6.html
Click to expand...

Wow. That sounds .......... great! But, it a lot more effort than I am planning on doing. I just want to smoke a self basting turkey. Something easy like the spatchcock method.
 
Pappy said:
Wow. That sounds .......... great! But, it a lot more effort than I am planning on doing. I just want to smoke a self basting turkey. Something easy like the spatchcock method.
Click to expand...

You don't have to do anything special. Just cook it as you intend.

They key to a moist bird isn't brine. The key is in not over cooking it. Don't go over 170 in the breast.
 
Goldflinger said:
I too am planning on my 1st smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving. Will hep an eye on this thread. Think a 5 gallon new bucket from home depot would be big enough for the brine?
Click to expand...

No!..:shock:

Please do not use ANY buckets from Home Depot, or any other stores like
that! These buckets are NOT food grade and WILL leach dangerous
chemical into the Turkey, and any other food.

If there are any "Home Brew" stores near you...the kind of stores that
sell equipment for making Beer yourself...they should have some 5-8 gallon
Food Grade buckets you can buy that are safe to use.

All plastics will leach chemical into the food, but Food Grade plastics wil
keep the leaching process to a very small amount.:thumb:
 
Pappy said:
What about a trash bag in a cooler?
Click to expand...

I'm sure that trash bags are not going to be safe...However....most
grocery stores sell some plastic bags for cooing a turkey in the oven.
Those bags will be big enough to put a Turkey in inside a cooler or even
a non safe bucket. I suspect those "Turkey Bags" will be fairly cheep too.

That's probably the cheapest, safest way to go.:thumb:

I think you can find those Turkey cooking bags right next to the
regular food storage bags, like Ziplock, etc.


.
 
Last edited:
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