First Whole Turkey in the Smoker, have some questions....

BNB said:

Hi All,

Looks like my wife told the family I would smoke a Turkey for this Sunday but I need some help. I figure I'll do Slaughterhouse's brine and injection for the 16lb bird. Because it's turkey figure I don't need to go the low and slow  so I figure I'll smoke it at 275 using apple and maple. here are my questions:

1) How long do I brine the bird?

2) How long do I smoke at 275 roughly? (I know I'll pull it when breast is at about 165)

3) Should I rub the bird?

Open for anything else I might be missing

Thanks for your help

Jeff

Click to expand...

First of all a 16lb. turkey is a little big for smoking. Even at 275 you are going to have a hard time trying to get the bird through the danger zone. The internal temp must not stay between 40 & 140 degrees for more than 4 hours. Most here suggest you keep the turkey size at 12lbs. or less. If you have already bought the turkey, then the safe way to smoke it is to spatchcock it. There are several threads on how to do this, just use the search box. There are also videos on u tube showing you how. Simply it's just removiong the backbone & breaking the ribcage so you can lay the turkey out flat. I think it makes a better tasting turkey because more meat is exposed to the smoke.

Brining & rubbing are personal preferences. You should figure about 1 hour per lb. for brining, & just use your favorite rub. I like to pull the skin back & get some rub underneath. Also coating the outside with EVOO will help crisp up the skin.

If you spatchcock it it will probably 6 hours or so.