Thanksgiving Turkey

edge · Nov 7, 2012

I am fairly new to smoking although I had a lot of time to play around with it this summer. I am planning on smoking our Thanksgiving turkey this year so I'm seeking some helpful tips.

- I have read that you want to pull all the skin off when you clean it out but I also read to keep the skin on and get your rub under it. Any thoughts?

- Some articles say to just use olive oil or butter to keep it moist and to give it nice color. I was thinking about using a brine or dry rub. What are your preferences?

-I've also read that after about an hour of smoking, your meat will not take on anymore flavor from the wood chips. Is there a need to keep it smoking after an hour?

Thank for your help!

-Joe

illinoishokie · Nov 7, 2012

I too will be smoking a turkey for the first time this Thanksgiving, do maybe we can stumble our way through it together.

Not sure if it's the "proper" technique, but I'll be leaving skin on, brining, and doing a butter rub pre-smoke.

Planning on applewood for the smoke here, how about you?

illinoishokie · Nov 7, 2012

Oh, also, I've never done a turkey, but I've done a lot of chickens and I always keep the smoke going through the entire cooking process. With a mild smoke like apple it's not going to overpower the meat. I'd recommend smoking for at least the first 4-6 hours or I just can't imagine that you're going to penetrate the deeper breast meat.

linguica · Nov 7, 2012

Plenty of good ideas here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/search.php?search=smoking+turkey

schaydu · Nov 7, 2012

The turkey i did the other day was 14 pounds. I left the skin on and brined it for 24 hours. I then let the skin air dry in the fridge for 24 hours. Before i put it on the smoker i injected it with a creole butter and then put on a light coating of rub. Smoked it for 4.5 hours at 275 plus. Remember though, dont base donesness on cook time. Check the internal temp and make sure it reaches 165 in the breast.

dad of four · Nov 7, 2012

When it is done, you should let it rest for 20-30 minutes.

Wrap it in foil (and possibly wrap that in an old towel to maintain some heat.

After 20 minutes, I unwrapped mine and threw it under the broiler for 4 or 5 minutes to crisp the skin a little.

chef jimmyj · Nov 7, 2012

Edge said:
I am fairly new to smoking although I had a lot of time to play around with it this summer. I am planning on smoking our Thanksgiving turkey this year so I'm seeking some helpful tips.

- I have read that you want to pull all the skin off when you clean it out but I also read to keep the skin on and get your rub under it. Any thoughts? Leave the Skin on. Mix your fav Rub with Butter or Bacon Grease and rub it On and Under the Skin. If your smoker will go 300*F+ do so and you will get nice crisp skin. Otherwise smoke at 250*F +/- 25*F until the IT of the Breast is 150-155*F then finish the Bird in a 425*F Oven until the IT hit 165*F and the Skin is Crisp.

- Some articles say to just use olive oil or butter to keep it moist and to give it nice color. I was thinking about using a brine or dry rub. What are your preferences? I absolutely always Brine Poultry over night in the refrigerator and then give it a day in the refer for the skin to dry. Then proceed as above and Smoke it.

-I've also read that after about an hour of smoking, your meat will not take on anymore flavor from the wood chips. Bull@#*T ! It's a Smoker! It's job is to add Smoke Flavor. As long as you generate smoke the meat will take flavor. What many confuse is after an hour or two the surface of the meat cooks to the point that the " Smoke Ring " will not get any deeper, but smoke flavor continues to build...Is there a need to keep it smoking after an hour?

Thank for your help! Anytime, we all here to learn and teach. Good Luck...JJ

-Joe

illinoishokie · Nov 7, 2012

[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Bull@#*T ! It's a Smoker![/color]

In my opinion, this should be the tagline for all of SMF, henceforth, forevermore.

loticlover · Nov 8, 2012

I'm in the same boat, and this cround will only increase over the next several weeks. I think that I'm getting close a method that will work for and is consistent with my experience with more traditional methods: brine, dry, cook, rest, drool, eat.

Fundamental question...does smoking change the flavor enough to create clashes with the traditional Thanksgiving dishes? i'm atypically cautious about overly adventurous recipes on Thanksgiving due to a personal belief in food culture and tradition (yet I also am interested in experimenting with the quick freeze effects of liquid nitrogen for other dishes...go figure).

So I'm used to starting high to get the right skin, then going low to finish. Yet, the smoker approach seems opposite...lowtemp smoke then high temp oven finish. Why? I ask because my Bradley (easy anniversary gift from wife...I'm feeling lucky) doesn't get much hotter than about 225F. It also drops in temp when opening and I can't imagine what would happen if I add a 18# cold bird. So I was thinking, why not start in a high temp oven to bring the bird up to temp, the finish in the smoker. This would allow me to bring bottle bird and smoker up to temp before the longer smoking process.

Please tell me this is a dumb idea. I can take the criticism indeed I embrace it!

chef jimmyj · Nov 8, 2012

LoticLover...You can go Oven first if you wish but for the best smoke and flavor penetration you need to go into the smoker Raw. Smoking the already cooked surface of the Turkey will allow some flavor as smoke is really the microscopic particles of burnt wood, and a few other gasses, settling on the surface of the meat. But it is the ability of those particles and gasses to combine with the surface meat juices and open Protein structure that takes all that flavor into the meat. This just can't happen on a Turkey or any other thing we smoke if it is Precooked, even for a short time. Another example...A Fully Cooked Ham from the Grocery store can be schmeared up with a Glaze and smoked at 225*F to and IT of 145*F and served and it will be better than just Boiling or Baking it...BUT...Take a freshly Brine Cured raw Hog Leg and slowly smoke that bad boy for 10+ hours raising the temp every hour or so until it is a deep mahogany and 145-155*F IT and that Ham is a whole other slice of Heaven! The smoke just doesn't do the same Magic on Cooked meat, even just the surface, and Raw meat...

There are several Bradley guys here that can help you but the Original Bradley analog will go to 250*F and both the Digital models will hit 280*F. These temps 225*F to 275*F will nicely smoke a 12-14 Lb Turkey Whole and up to an 20 LB Bird if Spatchcocked or if you separate the Breast from the Legs and Back...

For Safety purposes, Do Not attempt to save Time, Energy or maintain Smoker Temperature by bringing the Turkey to Room Temperature. Always go from Refrigeration to Smoker and let the smoker do its job of recovering the temp from adding a cold hunk of meat...JJ

smokinhusker · Nov 8, 2012

Good Morning Edge, would you mind swinging by Roll Call and introduce yourself? While you're at it would you mind updating your profile to include your location?

Great info given!

illinoishokie · Nov 8, 2012

LoticLover said:
I'm in the same boat, and this cround will only increase over the next several weeks. I think that I'm getting close a method that will work for and is consistent with my experience with more traditional methods: brine, dry, cook, rest, drool, eat.

Fundamental question...does smoking change the flavor enough to create clashes with the traditional Thanksgiving dishes? i'm atypically cautious about overly adventurous recipes on Thanksgiving due to a personal belief in food culture and tradition (yet I also am interested in experimenting with the quick freeze effects of liquid nitrogen for other dishes...go figure).

So I'm used to starting high to get the right skin, then going low to finish. Yet, the smoker approach seems opposite...lowtemp smoke then high temp oven finish. Why? I ask because my Bradley (easy anniversary gift from wife...I'm feeling lucky) doesn't get much hotter than about 225F. It also drops in temp when opening and I can't imagine what would happen if I add a 18# cold bird. So I was thinking, why not start in a high temp oven to bring the bird up to temp, the finish in the smoker. This would allow me to bring bottle bird and smoker up to temp before the longer smoking process.

Please tell me this is a dumb idea. I can take the criticism indeed I embrace it!

Have you tried letting the Bradley preheat with the damper shut? After about 30 minutes with a closed damper my Bradley is flirting with 260. Don't worry about overpowering with smoke. The Bradley bisquettes don't produce enough smoke to be a problem, plenty of smoke will still escape through the closed damper, and you're using a mild smoke anyway.

Also, have you tried using an oven thermometer to check temp at rack level? With Bradley putting the thermometer at the top of the door, right by the damper and above a huge hunk of cold meat that you're smoking, I've found a 10° to 20° difference between ambient temperature around the smoker's thermometer and at rack level beside the meat.

If you start in the oven ave move to the smoker you'll be defeating the purpose, because meat best takes smoke early in the cooking process, while it's still raw.

My advice from general Bradley experience, cook on high with the damper completely shut for the first four hours and do not touch the smoker at all. If you are still finding you max out around 225° I think you have an issue with your smoker.

Also, 18 pounds is too big a bird to smoke, most likely. Everything I've read says 12-14 lbs is the ideal weight.

loticlover · Nov 8, 2012

Thanks for the excellent advise everyone! I suspected there was a reason why folks didn't do the oven first trick, now I know.

I had read that meat takes on most of its smoke flavor during the first couple of hours, but I didn't know that this was contingent with raw meat--I thought it was an issue do muscle penetration. Now that you've pointed out the error of my logic, it makes complete sense that this is a bad idea. I'm guessing that this because heat and smoke causes external denatured proteins to slowly coagulate, creating a barrier to smoke but ensuring moisture. True? If so, the science behind this is similar to that behind brining or salting meat.

I do have an oven thermometer and will try to test for actual temperatures. I don't know why I found it neccesary to test the temperature of my expensive professional indoor (climate controlled) oven, yet never thought to do the same with my outdoor smoker. LOL

JimmieJ - I've got a raw hog leg in the freezer that I hope to start curing this weekend, so I'll be testing your ham observations first hand. I sure hope your right! I now that I'm psyched to see!

Does anybody add heat sinks (i.e., foil wrapped bricks) to smokers to help equlibriate temperatures?

Thanks again for the help! I'm so glad I asked. Nothing wrong with experimenting, but no sense in doing something silly either.

Considering that 3 weeks ago the net sum of my knowledge of smoking experience was adding some chips to my grill, I'm coming along. I have the SMF community to thank!

edge · Nov 8, 2012

I was thinking about a hickory/apple blend. There are some pretty good posts that should help us a lot.

chef jimmyj · Nov 8, 2012

Originally Posted by LoticLover

I am looking forward to your post. The following is a Detailed thread from a man that has made more Hams than I, and several other Chefs I know, have made Meals. Check it out...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/89979/from-hog-leg-to-easter-ham

stickyfingers · Nov 8, 2012

This is my 4th year smoking Turkeys for TG. The first was just to see if anyone liked it. Now it is the preferred requests. I will attempt to tell you how I do it.

First, of course pick a quality bird. A big bird as the left overs are great! I like 20lbs or so. Then, you will need a plastic tub of some sort to brind (walmart has plenty).

2 gallons of distilled water, one gallon of apple juice, cup of salt, cup of sugar, about 5-6 sticks of butter. I like fresh rosemary and course black pepper (but you can use whatever rub you want). Thaw the bird completely and trim. The night before, in the tub, add salt and sugar, pour about half gallon of apple juice and whisk until dissolved. Place bird in the tub, pour remaining apple juice and distilled water until bird is completely submerged then place in frig overnight.

The next morning, remove bird pat dry with paper towels. Using 4 sticks of soften butter add rosemary and black pepper mix with fork. Prior to this I start my smoker. Using your hand, loosen the skin as much as possible. Then grab a handful of the butter mixture and rub it over the turkey (under the skin) and inside the cavity. Also add a few sprig of rosemary. Rub the skin with mixture as well. Then place on smoker at 275. 20lbs take about 3.5 to 5 hours.

Every 30 minutes or so baste with melted butter. If (and it will) the wing tips or leg tips start to get to brown wrap the area with pieces of foil. If the breast start to get too brown, tent with foil. Once it reaches temp (checking between leg and thigh joint, being sure not to touch the bone) wrap in foil for 30 minutes before carving.

By the way I use apple wood to smoke with. Also, trust me BRIND...always BRIND!

Yum...Yum!!

edge · Nov 16, 2012

Thank you all for the advice! Although it's my first time smoking a bird, you all have given me enough info to hopefully turn out a nice tasting turkey. At the very least, my family appreciates my endeavor. -Joe

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