First Smoked Turkey, w/ Bratwurst & Cowboy Sausage

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wntrlnd

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Oct 18, 2009
283
14
out on the western plain
Long time no Q view.  Great to be back!

Smoked my first turkey today, and I did it spatchcock. 

The day started out sort of rainy.  Didn't faze me, I fired up the firebox on the ol' Silver Smoker.

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I'm burning lump charcoal for heat and that's a hunk of almond wood for the thin blue smoke.

The turkey is from Fresh & Easy, and was on sale for 99 cents a pound.  I grabbed the smallest one they had, just about exactly 12 lbs.

Unforunately it was prebasted with a sodium solution, so I didn't get to do a brine. (The label says "suitable for brining," but I'm not taking any chances).

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I never spatchcocked a bird before.  It wasn't particularly difficult.

I hit it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  That's all.  First time I smoke something, I like to do as little as possible to it so I have a baseline to compare future variations to.

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Threw that bird in the smoker at 8:20 a.m.  Had a nice 250 degree smoke chamber temperature all ding dong day.

If I recall, this next shot is about 40 minutes into the smoke.

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A couple hours in, I added some sausages.  These are Ray's Own Brand, a small company out of San Luis Obispo.  Good stuff!

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I stuck them down at the far end of the smoking chamber.  They came off looking like this:

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Not on the menu tonight. Going to freeze those for future use. 

Also smoked the back and neck to use later in soups and or beans:

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While those sausages were smoking, I decided to do a Nekkid Fatty.  I've made a few stuffed fatties, but I never tried just sticking in a chub of Jimmy Dean right out of the wrapper.  Boy Howdy, I'm glad I did!  What a treat!  The only place for it was near the firebox, and it got a little crispy on one side.  Holy Cow, that crispy part rocks!!! 

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Right about now, Funk Soul Brother

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The turkey came off looking like this:

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Then I started pulling it apart:

 
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Thanks for looking in!  Hope you enjoyed the Q view!
 
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Everything looks Awesome!

And that's a Great idea to smoke the back & neck for future soups!

Welcome back Michael !

Bear
 
Thanks, les3176!  Like Will Rogers, I never met a brat I didn't like.
Great looking brats!!!
Thanks, Scarbelly!   I was sort of reluctant to try a turkey, but it was actually a very easy smoke.  I'm sold on the spatchcock method.
 
Looks like you pulled off a great smoke
 Thanks, SmokinAl!  Thanks, too, for the feedback during the smoke!  The turkey was smokalicious!
Nice job. The turkey looks delicious!
Thanks, Bear!  I'm making soup tomorrow!  I have the smoked turkey, plus smoked onions, and smoked turkey stock.  I predict each serving will have close to 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of Smoke!

Thanks for the welcome back, my friend!
 
Everything looks Awesome!

And that's a Great idea to smoke the back & neck for future soups!

Welcome back Michael !

Bear
 
Thanks, Bear!  I'm making soup tomorrow!  I have the smoked turkey, plus smoked onions, and smoked turkey stock.  I predict each serving will have close to 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of Smoke!

Thanks for the welcome back, my friend!
Great---That's just the right amount !  
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Bear
 
It all Looks Great Michael...

Glad you are back with us...
 
Oh, Wntrlnd, I've missed you - so glad you're back!  That looks sooo delicious!!  Can't wait to hear about your turkey (and brat?) soup....
 
Thanks very much, Beer-B-Q!  Great to be back, and looking forward to lots of smokes this summer!
 
It all Looks Great Michael...

Glad you are back with us...


 Thanks, rbranstner!  Heck no, I'd never throw out skin!  After the first servings, I take off all the skin and reserve it for making smoked stock. 


Oh no you didn't throw the skin did you? Thats my favorite part. Great looking smoke!

Thanks, BarbeQueen!!  I appreciate that very much!

OMG the soup is insanely delicious! I made a fresh stock from a mirepoix and the skin and bones from Sunday's turkey smoke.  I strained the stock, and then added a heaping cup of smoked onions I had on hand.  Then I got yellow squash, green zuchinni squash, crimini mushrooms, organic carrots, celery and italian parsley from Trader Joe's. There was so many vegetables in the pot, you couldn't see the stock.  Fortunately they shrink up a little while cooking.  When they were within about 15 minutes of being cooked through, I added a half a box of rotini pasta (corkscrew shape).  Then, when the pasta was cooked al dente, I added the smoked turkey. A lot of smoked turkey. So many huge chunks of turkey, you get one in just about every bite.  I know I say this too frequently, but I swear it's one of the best soups I've ever made!

I almost Q viewed the soup, but I doubted anyone was interested.  Thanks for the interest!  Next time I'll just go ahead and post.

 
Oh, Wntrlnd, I've missed you - so glad you're back!  That looks sooo delicious!!  Can't wait to hear about your turkey (and brat?) soup....
 
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Thanks, realtorfunksoulterry! The one that says Salchicha Caballero translates to "Cowboy Sausage."  I've used this sausage several times in the past, it's delicious!  I don't have a package on hand to check what it's made of.   I went to the company's website and there was no info about that the ingredients are.  (Wouldn't you think that some basic product description would be great info to have on a small company's website?) I'd say it's some sort of spicy pork sausage, probably with southwest spices. Cheers! 
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looks great! What kinda sausage was that second one? Never heard of that? Way to go my funk soul brother!!
 Thanks, alelover!   IThe turkey was super tasty,and a surprisingly easy smoke. I can't wait to try it again!  The soup is Epic.  A lot of people don't realize it, but turkey carcasses make for the best soups! 
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Great looking turkey. Bet it tasted awesome. That soup sounds pretty righteous too.
Thanks, grantiteman!  If you do a search for "spatchcock" there's a video that shows how to do a chicken.  Essentially, you just hack, I mean, carefully cut down each side of the backbone, then flip it over and press down right between the breasts until it's flattened.  
 

Just my wife and myself here, but we managed to just about finish off that 12 lb turkey between Sunday's dinner, the soup I made yesterday, and the turkey, mushroom and wild rice casserole I made today.  The casserole was so good it just about put the soup to shame.  And that was some Smokin' soup!  Got abput half a breast and some random dark meat left.  2 cups, tops.

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great job on the turkey, how did you split the turkey?  that turkey wouldn't last long a my house
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Thanks, Dtcunni!  My basic rule of thumb is smoke WAY more than you need.  Since you're smoking anyway, get the most from your work.  Having a supply of random smoked meats and veggies in your frreezer is the key to, if you'll pardon the expression, kicking regular meals up a notch.

Glad to hear you got to do an Easter Smoke, too!   Roll away the stone! 
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Looks great! I smoked a turkey breast for Easter and mine was gone quick! I should've done a whole bird!
 
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