Anyone cooking just turkey breast this Tday?

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Hoss

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I am.I am gonna bite the bullet and spend the Xtra for whole breasts this year.We host a large gathering on Tday. I cooked 6 birds last year and there was not enough left for a decent sammich.I will smoke 6 whole breasts this year and do 2 in the air fryers.I had a lot of legs and wings left last year,which I made Ala King out of.But it was a pain to prep and process all of those birds.I am even thinking of cooking the Wednesday before,cooling,deboning,reheating(wrapped in foil with butter and seasonings) on the smoker Tday morning.What do you folks that cook large numbers of turkeys on Tday do????
 
Hmm that’s an interesting thought. In our gatherings nobody ever wants to be the person that takes the whole leg, and the tendons make it difficult to portion out...not a lot of meat comes from the thighs either.I was planning to spatchcock a couple birds but maybe there’s something to doing just breasts. Or maybe I’ll buy whole birds and cut out the leg/thigh section and cook for myself on a different day.

Turkeys take a relatively short time to cook, for me I would do it same day...it sounds like you’re planning to fire up the smoker anyway for reheat. I’ve been doing turkeys on the Weber rotisserie the past several years and the results are top notch. I was planning on doing it on the Shirley this year to switch things up.
 
I will do two in the air fryers(Spicy,Cajun Style),the other 6 will be smoked on the Shirley.I was thinking of precooking just for time sake.We feed at Noon.If I cook the day before,all I have to do is heat and slice.??? I have never had trouble having the birds ready on time,just trying to think ahead.
 
I've always just done breasts for as long as I can remember. So much easier than a whole bird.

I would caution against re-heating, though. Breast meat dries out when it is re-heated. A turkey breast only takes a couple of hours at 325, so I always cook the day of. Shoot for 15 - 30 min rest, carve and serve immediately.
 
I did whole breast a few years ago, and last year my wife was on call for thanksgiving so we bought a honey baked turkey breast and some sides. I like the white meat better myself.
 
Anybody have a close guess on how long a whole breast would take at 250-275?
 
I haven’t done the breast on turkey but cook them almost exclusively for chicken. I would for turkey as well but my wife likes the better presentation since we are pretty much only doing it on holidays.

In terms of time, on the chickens I haven’t found a lot of difference in cook time vs whole birds of similar size. I’m guessing that would be true of turkey as well
 
This would create more work especially for that many birds, but I plan to buy whole, separate and smoke the breast by itself. I like to season the leg , thighs and wings with a dry brine (my wife likes to have the thighs served with the breast for dark meat people) and sit for 2 or 3 days then smoke really low for soup seasoning. The breast will get SPOG or a brine for 6 or 8 hours and then smoked.
 
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Been doing leg/thighs for a few years. Wife and I prefer the dark cuts. That and a few sides and it's good eatin'
 
For the last 5 years that's all I've done is bone-in turkey breast. You'll enjoy them.
This is my first year doing a whole bird. Two actually. 12.5lb each.
 
chrischandler71 said:
I did whole breast a few years ago, and last year my wife was on call for thanksgiving so we bought a honey baked turkey breast and some sides. I like the white meat better myself.
Click to expand...

To be honest,my favorite is a turkey sandwich from leftover turkey breast on cheap white bread with plenty of Duke's mayo and heavy salt and pepper the day after.:thumb:
 
Hoss said:
To be honest,my favorite is a turkey sandwich from leftover turkey breast on cheap white bread with plenty of Duke's mayo and heavy salt and pepper the day after.:thumb:
Click to expand...

Sounds crazy … it did to me the first time, but add a little Louisiana Hot Sauce to that recipe and wowsa good!
 
I've done bone-in breast for the last couple of years. Much easier and I can do multiple ways. I roast one on the weber kettle with no wood and smoke another one. With leftovers, the smoked one is better on sandwiches and the roasted one in better in soup imo.
 
Turkey breast sous vide at 130 for 24 hours then rethearmed on the kamado at 325* is how I roll
 
I cook for 10 people at Thanksgiving. I throw 2 Butterball boneless turkey breast on the drum at 350 degrees and smoke with cherry chunks. No bones to contend with and like filet mignon no waste. I usually cut the netting off the breasts and wrap them in bacon to hold them together. My family really likes the Cajun version Wallyworld sells.
 
I'm a fan of the bone-in breast- I have not done a whole turkey in some years now.
 
Turkey breast is served at a lot of the bbq joints in central texas and is really good. I've smoked them at home with good result also. I'd cook them more but they are hard to find 11 months of the year or crazy expensive when I can find them.
 
Whole turkey is pretty cheap. Cut it up, do the bone-in breast by itself for dinner. At the same time, do a fast smoke on the legs, thighs and wings, vac seal and use them for some good turkey/sausage gumbo later.

Thanksgiving dishes are ok- once a year. But gumbo? Ooooohweeee!
 
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