first cured,smoked turkey breast

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fanci

Fire Starter
Original poster
Nov 10, 2015
34
13
OKC,OK
Hello, hope everyone is well.  I cured and smoked first turkey breast.  Also 2 legs and 2 thighs.  I cured with tenderquick for 5 days.  Then I rinsed and soaked for about an hour.  Went and set up the Masterbuilt.  I didn't use the AMPS cause I wanted to experiment on the amount of smoke to the cured poultry.   I used cherry chips.  Came back inside and rinsed and dried the turkey breast , legs, and thighs and added simple rub that contains sweet paprika, onion, peppers, and chives (no salt).  I smoked them at 275* for internal temp at 160.  Smoke came out of the smoker at a steady pace the whole cook time.  I took out the legs and thighs a little sooner than the breast.  I didn't spray anything but added apple juice to the water pan.  I wrapped the turkey breast in foil and put inside a cooler with a towel on top for about an hour and half.  The finished bird was smokey but not over-powering, good flavor, a little pinkish inside.  The taste was between hammy and turkey. I was surprised it was incredibly tender. Mom thought it was really good.




 
Looks Mighty Tasty!!!
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It does't look cured though----How much TQ did you use?

Meat is all pure white.

Looks Great though!!
drool.gif


Bear
 
Hi Bearcarver,   It is only slightly pink.  I used one cup per one gallon of water.  My container wasn't quite big enough so the point of the breast stuck out a little.  I turned it every day.  Should I get a bigger container or use more TQ per gallon? 
 
 
Hi Bearcarver,   It is only slightly pink.  I used one cup per one gallon of water.  My container wasn't quite big enough so the point of the breast stuck out a little.  I turned it every day.  Should I get a bigger container or use more TQ per gallon? 
I never "Brine" cured with TQ.

However I would use the right amount of TQ per amount of water, but definitely use a container large enough to keep the whole thing submerged.

Bear
 
It looks good from here, but like Bear said not too much color. Maybe it's just the photo. I have never used TQ. I always use Cure#1, so I can't really comment on the amount, but if you used what it said to use I would expect a pink, even reddish color all through the meat.

Al
 
OK, thank you.  I'm going to do another cured and smoked turkey breast as soon as I can, so I can get it right.  Thanks!
 
Wow, I love the color on those turkey breast halves.  That is amazing!  Good idea removing the meat from the bone and just curing it alone.  I definitely want to try that next time I get a turkey breast! Thank you for that. 
 
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