First go at smoked turkey

[JordanWilliamson]

Wanted to try turkey as I might do it for the family on Thanksgiving.

First attempt, overall a success but some room for improvement. I think my crust is a little too dark, I thought it was the honey glaze but even the bottom where it didn't get glazed was the same color. Smoker never went above 225... Not sure, any thoughts? Also I've had juicier smoked turkey before. Don't get me wrong this wantwa dry by any means but I've had it better. I brined and kept the temp low not sure what else I can do?

 

[js0813]

J JordanWilliamson I tried a small one of those a few weeks ago...with pretty much the same result. It was basically deli sliced smoked turkey when done. No glaze on mine, just S&P and I ran hot at ~250/275 to shorten the smoker time, then dropped to ~225 the last 30min to hour.

Now, it was dark, but it was juicy for sure. Pic probably don’t do it justice. Maybe try running hotter up front for a bit?

 

[chilerelleno]

Your color is just fine, looks great to me.

What can you do?
Water to salt ratio, how long did you brine?
Finished IT when pulled and after resting/ before slicing?
Brand of turkey, perhaps try another brand? There are differences.

 

[gmc2003]

Looks fine to me. Was that a deli turkey? If you want to prevent it from getting any darker just wrap in aluminum foil when you reach the color your looking for.

Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

It looks pretty darn good from here!
Al

 

[petehalsted]

Color looks right to me as well.

 

[JordanWilliamson]

Glad to hear everyone thinks the color looks good, I won't beat myself up on that then. As I said first time so I have very little to compare it to.

Your color is just fine, looks great to me.

What can you do?
Water to salt ratio, how long did you brine?
Finished IT when pulled and after resting/ before slicing?
Brand of turkey, perhaps try another brand? There are differences.

I brined for around 20-21 hours. 2 gallons with a cup of salt.

I rested it, rented with aluminum for around 30 minutes before cutting.

This was from a local butcher/slaughter that brings in from local farms. I guess there is luck of the draw with meat, I've seen it a lot with steaks.

J JordanWilliamson I tried a small one of those a few weeks ago...with pretty much the same result. It was basically deli sliced smoked turkey when done. No glaze on mine, just S&P and I ran hot at ~250/275 to shorten the smoker time, then dropped to ~225 the last 30min to hour.

Now, it was dark, but it was juicy for sure. Pic probably don’t do it justice. Maybe try running hotter up front for a bit?

Need time I'll try keeping it at 250 and see the difference. Thanks

 

[petehalsted]

For comparison. You will notice my color is pretty close to yours, especially considering you did some glazing, I did not.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/couple-of-boneless-turkey-breast.278484/

Mine were store bought turkey breast. One butterball, one honey suckle. I injected instead of brining. My times got jacked up on that smoke because of 2 pans of PBBE in the bottom of the smoker sucking up most of the heat. But my smoker generally runs 235.

They were the juiciest turkey breast we ever had. We liked the Honey Suckle the best, the butter ball had to much "stuff" done to it in processing, which competed with what I did.