First attempt at smoking will be a Turkey Breast.... WithQview now

[cbennett]

Ok guys I just got my smoker last Wed night. I seasoned it on Saturday by doing a hour and 15 min burn at about 225 with some mesquite wood chips.. Wife said she wants me to smoke a Turkey Breast this coming weekend....We had a awesome smoked turkey breast from our friends cookout a few weeks ago and im hoping to get close to what he did(he has a giant 50-55 gallon drum offset smoker) I have a Forge Master 2 door propane cabinet smoker..Ok questions are what Rub to use for poultry..ive got one thought out but not set on it yet...and ive got 2 woods I can use...mesquite or Hickory...so which wood...thanks in advance for any advice or tips.....im assuming(which could be a bad thing) that 225 for about 4 hours give or take will get it about right(I also just bought a meat thermometer to monitor that..its digital so I wont have to keep opening the smoker to check temp.)

 

[dave54]

use the search for different ways of doing it and you cant go wrong

 it'll have brines, seasoning , types of wood that's been used and qview pictues

that will have you licking your computer screen lol

 

[smokinthesmc]

I use a poultry seasoning and some Tony's cajun spice, It dosent need to anything extravagant just well covered inside and out. Leave the skin on but get the rub underit without breaking the skin, just start at the point of the breastbone and work your fingers under to separate create a gap. And breast down for the first hour or so.

I would go with the Hickory. And get a spritz with anything  but have some honey or maple syrup mixed in.

 

[cbennett]

Should I soak my wood chips before hand for this??

 

[smokinthesmc]

I always soak chips, and with chunks only sometimes if I have a pan with water in it like when I am doing chips of one wood and chunks of another together. But chips I soak for sure. But there is no for certain with anyone just personal preference.

 

[cbennett]

im a bit worried also about how much wood chips to use I dont want to "kill" it with smoke just get that nice smoked taste..and that ive never done this B4 how do you go about figuring how much wood to really use???

 

[smokinthesmc]

im a bit worried also about how much wood chips to use I dont want to "kill" it with smoke just get that nice smoked taste..and that ive never done this B4 how do you go about figuring how much wood to really use???

Are you using charcoal or wood as your fuel source.
 

 

[jirodriguez]

Generally for turkey breast either a brine or injection is a really good idea. It helps keep it moist, and also can add some nice flavor. I like an Italian herb flavor on my smoked turkey breast, so my brine gets a bunch of Italian herb seasoning, and red chili flakes in it, then after I pull it out of the brine and rinse it off I rub a mixture of butter and more Italian herb and red pepper flakes all over it and under the skin. On my charcoal smoker I run it 225-250° and use about 4 fist sized chunks of mesquite. Also to help keep it basted without having to open the smoker a lot I drape 7 or 8 bacon strips over it. Cook till internal temp hits 170° then wrap in foil and rest in the cooler for 1 hr.

If you use mesquite don't go nuts on the amount of wood. Mesquite is a very, very strong flavor that can overpower the food if you are not carefull. Good luck, and don't forget the Qview!

 

[cbennett]

Its a propane smoker

 

[smokinthesmc]

I'd say start with one normal hand full, and see how it goes for smoke if too much add less later, if not enough add more. add more when the smoke starts to stop. Sould be about every hr give or take. Just be sure its a thin blue smoke and not billowing out.

 

[cbennett]

I'd say start with one normal hand full, and see how it goes for smoke if too much add less later, if not enough add more. add more when the smoke starts to stop. Sould be about every hr give or take. Just be sure its a thin blue smoke and not billowing out.

lol i think I may have killed it then if it was like when I was "seasoning" the smoker..I have the wood box chocked full and after about 45 min it was just billowing out(id soaked them so it took a while) and billowed pretty good lol....i bet that would have tasted horrid using THAT much wood especially mesquite :)...thats why im asking the questions..it never said anywhere I read how much wood chips to use..I probably had 7 handfulls in there it was full to top had hard time getting lid on :)

 

[jirodriguez]

Mesquite does taste awesome on turkey.... just use about 1/2 the amount you would use if you were gonna smoke a rack of ribs with hickory. Don't be afraid to try mesquite, just remember to use less untill you figure out how much you like.

 

[cbennett]

Mesquite does taste awesome on turkey.... just use about 1/2 the amount you would use if you were gonna smoke a rack of ribs with hickory. Don't be afraid to try mesquite, just remember to use less untill you figure out how much you like.

Ive not seen this anywhere but being new it may just be something you get to know with time..is there any guide on the woods and how much to use per the type of wood...I dont think anything ive read actually says...

 

[jirodriguez]

Ive not seen this anywhere but being new it may just be something you get to know with time..is there any guide on the woods and how much to use per the type of wood...I dont think anything ive read actually says...

It varies with each type of smoker. Some just use a small amount of chips, others use 3"x3"x12" splits of wood. Since you are using a propane joby I would ask other propane users with the same smoker and see what kind of answers you get.
 

 

[cbennett]

Cool, threw together my own rub tonight using a combo of some I saw on the site and on the internet...kinda a sweet/chipolte heat type of rub..Should I use some Oilve oil or Vegetable Oil to get the rub to "stick" better..id even heard of using honey but I dont know how that would work lol.

 

[jirodriguez]

mix the rub with some softened butter, then give the breast a nice massage.

 

[cbennett]

ty I will try that..just figured something to make it stick better :) and I didnt think about that :).

 

[cbennett]

Well just got these out of the Smoker the Turkey breast cooked till internal temp hit 167 then it was foiled and put in oven to keep warm..Ribs were on for 4.5 hours at about 250 not foiled..They were kinda a surprise my wife brought home..I thought I was just doing the Turkey..she had different ideas ideas :) . I dont think she realized the time difference between the 2 cooking times...oh well guess I will see what happens.

 

[cbennett]

WOW Turkey came out near perfect..nice light smoke ring and I used a mix of Mesquite and Hickory. Ribs were excellent also..could  have left it another say 1/2 hour or so. Great flavor though. I made  my own run though luckily I wrote down the recipe lol. Wife added a bit of extra Brown Sugar to it for the Ribs..man this is GOOD