Curing and smoking turkey breast

[atcnick]

Howdy fellas. I’ve got a couple turkey breasts curing right now in Pop’s recipe. Been in the brine for 3 days now. My plan was to take them out this morning, let them soak in fresh water for a little while. Then layer some course black pepper on one and Cajun seasoning on the other. Then smoke as low as I can get my smoker to 162ish internal. I’m surprised I couldn’t find anyone having done this before. What do y’all think of my process? Suggestions? Thanks

 

[jcam222]

Sounds good to me. I’ve done Turkey legs in Pops to do the Disney style legs and it was delcious. I assume you pulling at 162 to let it rise to 165. Post up some pics, should be delcious.

 

[Ishi]

I’ve done several wild turkey breasts in Pops brine and the results were very good. Bring it to 165 degrees like said above and enjoy the results

 

[thirdeye]

Did you also inject some of the curing brine into the thick part of the breasts?

Your plan will work, and the Cure #1 will keep you safe at lower smoker temps... but, you can take advantage of the USDA's 7-log10 relative reduction in salmonella bacteria calculation. This occurs in 10.5 seconds when the internal reaches 165° for poultry, but if you maintain a holding time you can pull your poultry at a lower temp.

TEMP ---------------------------------------- HOLDING TIME

155°F (68°C)	54.4 seconds
157°F (69°C)	34 seconds
160°F (71°C)	16.9 seconds
162°F (72°C)	10.5 seconds
165°F (74°C)	<10 seconds

Let's say you pull the turkeys at 157°, and they remain at that temp for 34 seconds, the meat is safe to eat. However, there will be carry-over, so it's likely to rise to 160° or 161°. If you pull it at 161° or 162° you might overshoot the 165°.

 

[SmokinAl]

thirdeye is right on.
I pull mine at 157 & they are always tender & juicy.
Al

 

[atcnick]

Thanks fellas. Didn't get any pictures last night. Fell asleep before I got it off the pit and found it in the fridge this morning! too much covidbrew lol.