Howdy All,
Just wanted to share my experience with dry brining a turkey.
I put a 6 month old frozen 15 lb. turkey in the refrigerator to thaw last Sunday, by Wednesday it was fully thawed.
Thursday afternoon I removed it from the plastic, removed the giblets and neck, rinsed it with cold water, and patted dry with paper towels.
I then covered the entire bird inside and out with a liberal amount of Kosher salt. Placed the turkey uncovered in the refrigerator to “dry brine”
Yesterday I put the bird into the smoker @ 225 degress, with Cherry wood chunks. After 2 hours I replenished my wood with Pecan chunks.
After 3.5 hours the internal temp was @ 155 degrees, I cranked up the temp to 350 degrees for the last 30 minutes.
The turkey reached 165 degrees at the 4 hour mark. I pulled it out and covered it with foil for about 1 hour, while the rest of the meal finished up cooking.
The turkey was hands down the best I ever fixed, and the best I ever ate. Crispy skin, delicious moist white turkey breast and the dark meat was pure heaven.
I told my wife I will be doing the turkey this way from now on, she was in the roasted camp before yesterday, now she is in the smoked turkey camp.
FWIW there are very few leftovers today.
So if you haven’t tried “dry brining” I can attest that it is the way to go, if you brine your birds. Very little mess, no bags, no secret formula. Oh yes and this is fantastic for steaks too.
Just dry them off, coat with salt ,place in the refrigerator for at least an hour ( longer is better) and grill them up. Best way for a steak I have ever tried. And it is not salty at all.
That’s all for now. Stay safe and keep on smoking.
Bakerman
Just wanted to share my experience with dry brining a turkey.
I put a 6 month old frozen 15 lb. turkey in the refrigerator to thaw last Sunday, by Wednesday it was fully thawed.
Thursday afternoon I removed it from the plastic, removed the giblets and neck, rinsed it with cold water, and patted dry with paper towels.
I then covered the entire bird inside and out with a liberal amount of Kosher salt. Placed the turkey uncovered in the refrigerator to “dry brine”
Yesterday I put the bird into the smoker @ 225 degress, with Cherry wood chunks. After 2 hours I replenished my wood with Pecan chunks.
After 3.5 hours the internal temp was @ 155 degrees, I cranked up the temp to 350 degrees for the last 30 minutes.
The turkey reached 165 degrees at the 4 hour mark. I pulled it out and covered it with foil for about 1 hour, while the rest of the meal finished up cooking.
The turkey was hands down the best I ever fixed, and the best I ever ate. Crispy skin, delicious moist white turkey breast and the dark meat was pure heaven.
I told my wife I will be doing the turkey this way from now on, she was in the roasted camp before yesterday, now she is in the smoked turkey camp.
FWIW there are very few leftovers today.
So if you haven’t tried “dry brining” I can attest that it is the way to go, if you brine your birds. Very little mess, no bags, no secret formula. Oh yes and this is fantastic for steaks too.
Just dry them off, coat with salt ,place in the refrigerator for at least an hour ( longer is better) and grill them up. Best way for a steak I have ever tried. And it is not salty at all.
That’s all for now. Stay safe and keep on smoking.
Bakerman
