Dry Brined Turkey on a WSM?

[bakerman]

Wanted to get opinions from you all about doing a dry brined turkey on a WSM. The last 3 years I have dry brined my turkey for 3 days in the fridge. As sorry as that bird looks going into the oven, the results have been great. This year I am going to smoke the turkey. I want to hear if anyone has dry brined before smoking their turkey.
The reason I ask is I have no barometer to run by. My assumption (dangerous), is that all will be well. However since the oven method and the smoking method are so different, I am leery of committing to the dry brine.

It will not be a deal breaker if I should not do the turkey that way. I will just inject with butter and rub, and on she goes. 250-350 temp for 3-4 hours for a smallish bird. In case it has been done successfully by someone here, I will follow their lead. My wife used to insist on an oven cooked turkey. For a couple of years we did two, one smoked the other conventional. Always had huge amounts of left over oven baked turkey. But never any of the smoked for leftovers. This year with my WSM I am going to do a smoked bird solo.

Any suggestions, and or recipes are welcome. Anyone who has dry brined and smoked a game changer turkey please feel free to let us all know. Thanks in advance.

Bakerman

 

[chopsaw]

This won't answer your question I don't believe , but I wanted to see what I did .
Looks like it was injected with Tony C's and just black pepper on the skin .
26 " kettle .

Whole turkey on the 26 " kettle

Haven't done a whole turkey in a very long time . Daughter brought home a 13 pound bird . Thought about just throwing it in the oven , but since 13 is half of 26 , the cover came off the kettle . I decided to set this up old school . Like I used to do years ago . Bank of fully lit coals each...

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[flatbroke]

Z zippy12 is your man. Think hes been doing it last 3 years Harvest brine if i recall correctly.

 

[zippy12]

Yes Havest brine the 1.5 days before will add a nice flavor in the meat, but order soon they sell out quick!

 

[thirdeye]

I've done a conventional brine (Patio Daddio is a favorite) for many years, an injection brine (Oakridge Game Changer) several times and a dry brine (Harvest Brine from Naturiffic) only once. All are really good, and it's tough to decide which I like best. This year I'm thinking about buying 2 turkeys and smoking the breast of one, and can the remainder along with a few jars of broth.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

I have used a dry brine for whole turkeys and turkey breasts for the last 4 years. I think the texture and taste is much better than wet brined. I always smoke them in a Smokin-It or a Smoking Tex electric smoker (Smokin-It in WA and Smoking Tex in AZ). No water pan during the smoke in either one. Of coarse the heat in the electrics isn't the same as a WSM.

 

[SmokinAl]

I always buy Butterball turkeys which are already brined, then just to kick up the flavor I inject them with Tony C’s jalapeño butter injection.
Al

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I've been smoking turkeys for Thanksgiving for about 30 years. Each year I've made slight tweaks in my approach. I started smoking them on my stick burner but right now my approach is to use my Weber Genesis. With the Weber, I can keep the temperature at about 350 in order to get crisp, edible skin. I wrap pecan or hickory chunks in aluminum foil to supply the smokey flavor. I use Meathead's (Amazing Ribs) approach and brine the bird overnight with sea salt only, then apply additional seasoning right before it goes onto the grill. I also make gravy using his recipe that has a great smokey flavor.

I have not tried any of the dry brines mentioned here but I'm tempted to do that this year.

Like bakerman , my wife insists on roasting a big bird in the oven, and I smoke a smaller one outside. We have a big group every Thanksgiving, and the smoked bird is always almost gone and we have lots of leftovers of the oven-roasted bird. We always try to save some of the smoked dark meat to make turkey salad on Friday for lunch. It's become a tradition for us.

I'm looking forward to hearing how yours comes out this year.

 

[bakerman]

Thanks all for the response. Wife pulled rank on me. I now have to wait until Christmas to smoke a bird. She wants her Mom to get a traditional Thanksgiving.
However you all have cleared the doubt I had. So I will post back with pictures once I get to smoke the boid.

 

[chopsaw]

Thanks all for the response. Wife pulled rank on me. I now have to wait until Christmas to smoke a bird. She wants her Mom to get a traditional Thanksgiving.
However you all have cleared the doubt I had. So I will post back with pictures once I get to smoke the boid.

Grab a breast ( turkey ) and smoke it . Better yet get another whole bird and part it out . Cure the legs and smoke them , and try this with the breast .

Boneless Turkey breast . Cured and smoked .

I do this method every now and then , but use chicken . Makes good sandwich meat . Had a whole turkey breast in the freezer , so got it thawed out . Mixed up a gallon batch of Pop's low salt brine . Cured the breast with the skin on and the bone in for 6 days . Used the Briner Jr. Drained and...

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