Happy Thanksgiving to you Mick! Thanks for the spatchcock turkey recipe. I've smoked many the conventional way, but looking forward to this. I brined mine last night and was looking for a new rub to try when I saw your post... Gonna give yours a try, it looks great. I'm about to put the spatchcocked turkey on my
WSM and try it for the first time. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks jwsdad! I hope it turned out well for you. Last year, for Thanksgiving, I smoked two 10 lb turkey breasts, spatchcocked. I used the same brine and rub as above...and they turned out marvelous.
This year, we had some folks who wanted ham, so I smoked an 11.5 lb turkey breast and a ham. I never mind throwing a ham in there with the turkey, as I can get the internal temp of a ham up to 145* in the same 3 hours it takes to get a turkey breast up to 165*. I used the same rub as above on the ham...and it was perfect. One thing I did do different this year though is my brine and rub for the turkey.
After watching an Aaron Franklin video on smoking a turkey (and he has a Old Country Pecos smoker in his back yard) I decided to give his way a try. I mean, we are talking Aaron Franklin here. LOL! So, for the brine, I just used 2 gal water, 2 cups Kosher salt, and 2 cups white sugar. Then, I just seasoned it as I would a brisket or beef ribs...Kosher salt and course black pepper, with a little garlic powder. And, in all honesty, that was a WHOLE LOT easier...and it tasted just as good, and was just as tender and juicy.
The only problem, we had too many people over to have any meat left-overs...except for maybe a ham sandwich or two. All the turkey was gone. Got a lot of praise for both the ham and turkey. And, really, I've always been a "ham guy"...but, I think I even liked the turkey better.
Here's a pic from yesterday's smoke:
