Hello fron central PA

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RoninPA

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 18, 2022
2
2
State College, PA
Hi from the center of PA (State College). I am relatively new to smoking (at it for a couple of years) so still doing the basic things and recipes from Jeff's Smoking Meat.com but hope to learn more.

My opening question - I've smoked bone in turkey breasts (3-4 pounds) and love it. Would you smoke a boneless turkey breast (3 lb) the same way (seeing a bone in allows the smoke and heat to get into the interior - but a boneless is a big solid chunk of meat)?

Thanks.
 
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Like most things, there's different ways of smoking those boneless turkey breasts. Very similar prep and cook as the bone-in variety. You can definitely cook them a little hotter if you like to decrease the cook time.

Here's how I usually do it:

  1. Remove the turkey roast from it's plastic net and packaging but leave it in the cotton net. Rinse the meat, net and all, under cold water.
  2. Set the roast aside and make a brine solution of ½ gallon of water, ½ cup coarse kosher salt and ½ cup brown sugar. Mix well until everything is dissolved.
  3. Place the netted roast down into the brine and place it in the fridge for 4 hours. After 4 hours, remove the meat from the brine and rinse well under cold water. Pat dry with a paper towel.
  4. Pour olive or vegetable oil all over the roast making sure it is well coated. Sprinkle rub onto all sides of the roast– be generous.
  5. Place 3-4 pieces of bacon into the net if you are planning to hang it in your smoker or place the roast on a rack with the bacon draped over it if you plan to cook it on the grate.
  6. If hanging on a Bradley rack, push the net through one of the holes and thread a chopstick through to hold it in place. You can also use a spoon handle or other similar object.
  7. Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F with indirect heat.
  8. Place the meat in the smoker and close the lid/door. Keep the smoke going for about 3 hours.
  9. The turkey roast should take about 5-6 hours to reach 160°F at which point it should be removed and allowed to rest for 10-15 minutes with foil tented over it.
  10. Once rested, cut the net and carefully remove it from the roast. Slice the meat as thick as you like and serve immediately with mashed potatoes, corn, peas, gravy and all of the fixins.

You can see the full recipe at https://www.smoking-meat.com/bacon-basted-smoked-turkey-roast
 
Welcome from Vt. ^^^Good advice right there^^^

Chris
 
That reply is just waht I needed, wasn't sure about the brining and he answered that. We like smoked turkey breast and I saw these (the boneless)when we were visiting NC (Lake Lure area) and I said that would make things so much easier, no bones to mess with. But up here couldn't find any in any grocery store until yesterday - woohoo, Wal-Mart had them - so I bought 3 :)

I think I'm going to like this forum.
 
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Welcome from Mississippi. I was a total noob when I signed up. Barely knew what a pork butt was. I have learned so much from these folks. Look forward to your post.
Jim
 
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