My first smoked turkey

Happy Thanksgiving all! It's been a while since I have posted on here. Hope this finds every one in good times and health. Now as far as the turkey is concerned, I have to admit I was a little nervous. Turkeys are a hell of alot bigger than chickens so naturally they will take longer to cook. The problem with that is we all know how easy it is to dry out poultry. So, of course, I used a brine to help add some moisture and of course lots of flavor. My brine consisted of 1 medium onion chopped, 6 cloves of garlic smashed, 1 sprig of rosemary, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/8 cup fresh ground pepper, zest of one orange, juice of half orange, one bottle of Yuengling, 1/2 cup apple juice. I sweated the onion and garlic in butter, added the rosemary and thyme, orange zest, pepper, salt. Then cooked one minute then added beer, apple juice and oj. Brought to a boil and reduced down by a quarter. Added ice to chill, poured into cooler, placed bird in cooler and added cold water to barely cover bird. Kept in brine for 90 minutes. Removed from brine, spatchcocked bird, rinsed brine off bird, patted dry with paper towels and parked in fridge for 60 minutes. Removed from fridge, brought to room temp (about 30 minutes) put two tablespoons of butter under skin of both breasts, slathered skin with butter and peppered both sides. Smoker was at 350 and placed skin down for 30 minutes. Flipped bird and dropped temp to 275. Cooked bird for roughly 3.5-4 hours total. Internal breast temp of 160 when bird came off. Sat for 1 hour. Used about 12 pounds kingsford blue and three splits of hickory. Have to admit I was very happy with the results as was the family! The meat was dripping with moisture and melted in your mouth. The flavor was outstanding and just a subtle hint of smoke which I was very happy with as poultry tends to be a sponge with smoke lol. Sides were Guy Fieri's Ultimate green bean casserole, italian sausage and bacon stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes w/ sliced pecans, honey glazed ham, stuffed mushrooms, homemade turkey gravy and of course cranberry sauce! Desserts were Dutch apple pie and homemade pumpkin cheesecake bars. Hope you enjoyed the Pr0n and here's a happy holidays to all my fellow brethren!



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Thanks guys. I really was worried but I have to trust myself and that all my knowledge gained from my fellow brethren will see me through:grin:

gharriger said:

You sai d you put 2 tbsp of butter under skin of each breast...was that melted butter that you injected or just slit the skin with a knif and spread the butter around? Great looking bird!

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I put room temperature butter under the skin so it would melt into the breast. Must say it is a nice little trick I learned from Tom of Virginia BBQ Pirates.:becky:

martyleach said:

Beautiful bird. Very nice color! And a wonderful Thanksgiving meat.

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Thanks Marty! Means alot coming from the creator of the most beautiful smoker/grill handles on the market!:thumb: