2.5lb boneless, skinless breasts.

[indynick]

Hey gang! Bought a 19lb bird and carved out the breasts. Ended up with 2 halves at 2.5 lbs a piece. I did remove the skin as well. The rest went into a stock pot no worries. Wondering if I should use butcher string to get them into a more consistent round shape or just lay them flat? All I’m using I’m thinking 275 smoking temp for a hour or two then wrapped in foil with some slabs of butter. Thinking SPOG for seasoning. Any ideas of how long they might take? Thanks!!!

 

[chef jimmyj]

If they will fit together, nicely, Head to Tail, season all over and tie them together. If not, they will still cook well to 155-160° and rest...JJ

 

[indynick]

Hadn’t thought about tying together. I was just going to tie them individually.

 

[thirdeye]

Apple Butter Turkey Breast
Either way will work, I prefer cooking the fillets separately.... and I can share what I did for a BBQ turkey competition this year. I cooked two skinless breast fillets and two skin-on thighs. I wanted to turn in slices and pulled meat. Here I'm using a BBQ rub without much pepper (some judges don't like spicy food too much pepper is not good), at home however, when I make the same thing with turkey or chicken breasts I like a heavier dose of black pepper. I start with mixing an apple lite brine which is 8 ounces of apple juice and 6 grams of cannning salt. This gets injected 5 to 6 hours before smoking. For your breast fillets, you only need half this amount.


They get roasted in the 275° range with apple wood for a little over an hour until I get this color OR the internal is 145°.

Lay them on some foil, seasoning side down with some chicken broth, add butter. Seal the pouch and cook until the internal is 158° to 160° in the thick end. (I take the thighs to 175° in their own pouch) Another option instead of a foil finish, would be a sous vide finish which would guarantee a moist and juicy breast.

Slice the fillets against the grain. It presents really well and you don't have to worry about getting the skin crispy, because there is none!

When I do the same skinless breast at home I use this amount of pepper. This is what is served in many BBQ joints in Texas.

 

[indynick]

Apple Butter Turkey Breast
Either way will work, I prefer cooking the fillets separately.... and I can share what I did for a BBQ turkey competition this year. I cooked two skinless breast fillets and two skin-on thighs. I wanted to turn in slices and pulled meat. Here I'm using a BBQ rub without much pepper (some judges don't like spicy food too much pepper is not good), at home however, when I make the same thing with turkey or chicken breasts I like a heavier dose of black pepper. I start with mixing an apple lite brine which is 8 ounces of apple juice and 6 grams of cannning salt. This gets injected 5 to 6 hours before smoking. For your breast fillets, you only need half this amount.

View attachment 472450
They get roasted in the 275° range with apple wood for a little over an hour until I get this color OR the internal is 145°.
View attachment 472451
Lay them on some foil, seasoning side down with some chicken broth, add butter. Seal the pouch and cook until the internal is 158° to 160° in the thick end. (I take the thighs to 175° in their own pouch) Another option instead of a foil finish, would be a sous vide finish which would guarantee a moist and juicy breast.
View attachment 472452
Slice the fillets against the grain. It presents really well and you don't have to worry about getting the skin crispy, because there is none!
View attachment 472453
When I do the same skinless breast at home I use this amount of pepper. This is what is served in many BBQ joints in Texas.
View attachment 472454

That’s awesome! Yep I’m definitely for more of the Texas finish. How long do figure for those breasts to smoke and then finish in foil?

 

[thirdeye]

I used a 16# bird for my cook, so your breast fillets are likely heavier. So, all all cookers will be slightly different and breast weight will be as well, so use my times as a guesstimate only, be mindful of the color but use internal temp as a better indicator of when to move from the smoking step to the wrapped step. You don't want to overshoot the internal temp of poultry white meat. You can tell I never turned the breast during the smoking step. I don't care about the bottom side because nobody will see that. Same thing once it's wrapped, the butt and broth will add flavor but keep checking the internal temp.

That’s awesome! Yep I’m definitely for more of the Texas finish. How long do figure for those breasts to smoke and then finish in foil?

I'm guessing you are trying to plan a sit-down time? To answer your question, maybe allow 90 minutes. But give yourself a big window for mealtime. Have some appetizers or some wine if you need more time. And maybe.... after 15 or 20 minutes decide if you need to ramp-up or ramp-down your smoker temp.