Smoking a Turkey

ddog27 · 07-19-2005, 12:25 AM

My Brother in Law is giving me his smoker. He does metal work and built himself a nice offset smoker. He wants to build himself a new one and to get himself motivated he is giving his old one to me. So now that I have a smoker that will hold a lot of meat my dream of doing some catering could become a reality. My wife and I were talking about this and we thought that smoking some turkeys for people around Thanksgiving might be one way to make some extra money. The only problem is, turkey is something I have yet to smoke. So I thought I would ask for any recipes, tips and tricks for smoking a turkey. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I have lots of time to practice!!

kcquer · 07-19-2005, 01:53 AM

dog, turkey is a very easy cook. There are lots of marinades and injections available, you can try some of those but here's what works best for me.
Melt a stick of butter(real butter), allow to cool until just liquid enough to work in your injector. Inject through out the breast.
You can season it up, but turkey usually has to feed OL's and kids so I keep the bird relatively plain and let the smoke do the flavoring.
Turkey isn't tough and doesn't require the long cooking times we associate with tenerizing other Q cuts, higher cooking temp will work great, 275-300 works well for me.
As soon as the thigh reaches 180, pull the bird to prevent drying.
Simple and very tasty. Pecan adds a great color to poultry and apple great flavor so I usually use a blend of the two.

Neil · 07-19-2005, 03:41 AM

I like to inject turkey with butter and chardonay. Melt a stick of butter in the chardonay and inject liberally throughout the turkey. place a piece of cheesecloth big enough to cover the turkey in the remaining wine/butter mix and let it soak. Season the bird with your favorite rub blend then drape the soaked cheesecloth over the breast and legs. Smoke the turkey and mop with the remaining wine/butter concoction every hour til done.

Wayne · 07-19-2005, 09:21 AM

Sounds yummy Neil. Another variation to speed up things is to quarter the turkey just las if it was a chicken and lay it flat on the grill. White meat cooks faster than dark meat, and this way you can control how much time each piece is cooked.

nucleargeek · 07-19-2005, 12:44 PM

Thanks gentlemen.....I'll use these tricks when doing my own bird in the future.

frognot · 07-19-2005, 03:20 PM

Ditto on thanks for the turkey tips. Like the butter/chardonay suggestion. My OL really likes turkey so will try that one for her.

07-19-2005, 12:25 AM	#1
ddog27 Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 04-16-05 Location: Queen Creek, AZ	Smoking a Turkey My Brother in Law is giving me his smoker. He does metal work and built himself a nice offset smoker. He wants to build himself a new one and to get himself motivated he is giving his old one to me. So now that I have a smoker that will hold a lot of meat my dream of doing some catering could become a reality. My wife and I were talking about this and we thought that smoking some turkeys for people around Thanksgiving might be one way to make some extra money. The only problem is, turkey is something I have yet to smoke. So I thought I would ask for any recipes, tips and tricks for smoking a turkey. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I have lots of time to practice!!

07-19-2005, 01:53 AM	#2
kcquer Lives in Spirit Join Date: 02-17-04 Location: Wherever there's Sweet Blue	RE: Smoking a Turkey dog, turkey is a very easy cook. There are lots of marinades and injections available, you can try some of those but here's what works best for me. Melt a stick of butter(real butter), allow to cool until just liquid enough to work in your injector. Inject through out the breast. You can season it up, but turkey usually has to feed OL's and kids so I keep the bird relatively plain and let the smoke do the flavoring. Turkey isn't tough and doesn't require the long cooking times we associate with tenerizing other Q cuts, higher cooking temp will work great, 275-300 works well for me. As soon as the thigh reaches 180, pull the bird to prevent drying. Simple and very tasty. Pecan adds a great color to poultry and apple great flavor so I usually use a blend of the two. __________________ Brinkmann Smoke King Deluxe Brinkmann Cimarron Deluxe FE-100 Fast Eddy by Cookshack They give me shivers when they bounce around, buckled up or draggin' on the ground, I like big....Joe Walsh

07-19-2005, 03:41 AM	#3
Neil Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 06-04-04 Location: St. Joseph, MI	RE: Smoking a Turkey I like to inject turkey with butter and chardonay. Melt a stick of butter in the chardonay and inject liberally throughout the turkey. place a piece of cheesecloth big enough to cover the turkey in the remaining wine/butter mix and let it soak. Season the bird with your favorite rub blend then drape the soaked cheesecloth over the breast and legs. Smoke the turkey and mop with the remaining wine/butter concoction every hour til done. __________________ "You can't always get what you want but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need" Mange Bene Viva Bene! Old Country Over/Under, Weber: 18.5" WSM, 22.5" WSM, Weber Performer(Col. Steve Austin Mod), Two 22.5" Kettles, & a Smokey Joe; Old Country 36" griddle, Luhr-Jensen Big Chief, Turkey Fryer, Rocky Mountain Camp Stove and a UDS.

07-19-2005, 09:21 AM	#4
Wayne is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 08-26-03 Location: Fall River, Kansas	RE: Smoking a Turkey Sounds yummy Neil. Another variation to speed up things is to quarter the turkey just las if it was a chicken and lay it flat on the grill. White meat cooks faster than dark meat, and this way you can control how much time each piece is cooked. __________________ Wichita Wayne Long in the tooth, Long in the tooth, I'm lookin' 'round the corner, An' I'm long in the tooth...

07-19-2005, 12:44 PM	#5
nucleargeek Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 10-15-04 Location: Midlothian, TX	Thanks gentlemen.....I'll use these tricks when doing my own bird in the future. __________________ Vance Smokin Kro's BBQ NB Bandera If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them outta meat!

07-19-2005, 03:20 PM	#6
frognot somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 03-22-04 Location: Allen, Texas Name/Nickname : Charles	Ditto on thanks for the turkey tips. Like the butter/chardonay suggestion. My OL really likes turkey so will try that one for her. __________________ The Texas BBQ Brethren 2024 Spring Bash Planning Thread (link) Large Big Green Egg "If you really care about this place, you'll show some respect for it." deguerre "Bludawg looks just like I thought he would. Frognot looks like Tuffy Stone's dad!" aawa " . . . which includes frognot, who is a SoCal Pharker by now" gtr