Can I make pulled turkey?

[thermodynamics]

I am very new to smoking and I hope that my questions are not too simplistic. I have a vertical dry smoker which I have used once for pork shoulder (which turned out very good).

I am thinking about smoking a bonless turkey breast which I would like to pull and add my home made East Carolina BBQ sauce to.

My question is this: Is pulled turkey possible and if so how do I go about it?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[up in smoke]

Thermo…I may be totally wrong, but I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think turkey breast has enough fat in it to break down like a pork butt would, unless if you larded the breast maybe. Maybe one of these more learned gents with more experience than I may know of a trick you might try to achieve that!

 

[larry maddock]

yo thermo,
cure/brine---
smoke /cook---
rip it the way you want---
sauce it the way you want ---
then enjoy!!!

i myself dry cure poultry pieces--
i use mortons sugar cure --\
this is rubbed on meat then let sit 2 hrs in fridge.
then rinsed off before smoking

i brine with sugar cure the WHOLE turkey befors smoking

 

[cajunsmoker]

There is a thread in the poultry forum about making pulled chicken for sandwiches, I believe it was by Crazyhorse. He used dark meat chicken (leg quarters) and it looked pretty good. I'm not so sure how it will work out with the breast meat though.

 

[thermodynamics]

Cool, I may try it next weekend. I was going to do it today, but church ran over and then my wife wanted to go out to eat.

 

[prplptcrzr2003]

Hey Thermo,

Sliced smoked turkey sammies are always good. Hit it with a little of your fav que sauce or I love sliced smoked turkey on french or hoagie bread with lettuce, tomato and a little mayo...mmmmmm mmmmm!

~ Sam

 

[prplptcrzr2003]

Ooh!!! I almost forgot - smoked turkey salad on some Ritz or Keebler Club crackers never hurt nobody!!!!

 

[scotty's bbq]

Hey Thermo...

You mentioned you homemade east Carolina Sauce recipe. I have never tried any kind of Carolina sauce. Can you post the recipe??

Thanks!!

 

[shellbellc]

Here's a copy of what I submitted in the pork section for NC pulled and finishing sauces. These are excellent...

I can't seem to find it now, but I have a print out of Johnny's Pulled Pork recipe. I have used his recipe twice and the pork was awesome

He has two sauces and I think each lends it's own character to the meat, his first one is a pulled sauce:
1 1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 c hot water
2 tblspns brown sugar
1 tbl paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne

Then he has a finishing sauce that you only need to use a little of actually on the table:

1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 c ketchup
2 tbls prepared mustard
2 tbls brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne
Combine all ingredients in a pan and simmer...this will get a little sweeter as it cooks...

These two sauces are excellent, if I could find the whole recipe I put the link to it...It's a multi day process with the brine and rub and smoke. For the newbie, it has excellent step by step directions...

 

[mrgrumpy]

I know I am a little late on the post, but yes you can. Make sure you add moisture. I inject water with just a pinch of salt. (lazy way of brining). I put a water pan inside my smoker under the meat for added moisture. When done, let cool, and pull. My wife makes a lot of turkey or chicken salad with the left over whenever I smoke a bird. Instead of pulling it, she tosses it in the food processor.

Bill