New guy recipe opinions

[Quentin Bengel]

Ive never smoked a turkey and I really should have done a test turkey weeks ago but I didnt so here I am. I have a 12.5 lb turkey that i plan on smoking using cherry or apple wood with pecan. I am going to brine the turkey for 24ish hours and then baste with EVOO and place in fridge overnight. Below is the brine and rub recipes. Do you think the two will mesh well together or would you only do the brine. I dont plan on doing a heavy rub just a light rub before i put it in the fridge overnight.


FOR BRINE

• Apple cider/Apple juice — 1 Gallon
• Kosher salt — 1 Cup
  
• Dark brown sugar — 1 Cup
  
• Garlic cloves — 8-10
• Sliced ginger — handful
• Orange — 4
• Apple cider vinegar — 1⁄3 Cup
  
• Water — 1⁄2 Gallon
  
• Chili pepper flakes — 2 Tablespoon

TO PUT IN CAVITY OF TURKEY WHILE BRINING

• Fresh rosemary sprig — 2
• Fresh thyme sprigs — 2
• Fresh sage — 2

FOR RUB (OPTIONAL)

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt (only if not put in a brine)
  
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground yellow mustard seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder

Thanks for any help and advice.

 

[mike5051]

Sounds good to me! Welcome to the forum! What kind of smoker and what temp?

Mike

 

[motocrash]

Nice choice of woods. Ixnay on the rub.If cooking with skin on gently run fingers under skin to loosen,chop up herbs,mix with 1/4 stick butter and rub under skin.Depending on smoker used you might need to crisp skin in oven.

 

[Quentin Bengel]

Sounds good to me! Welcome to the forum! What kind of smoker and what temp?

Mike

I currently use a 18"x36" grill and have turned it into an offset smoker. I plan on running it at 300-325. I will be moving soon which is the reason why i havent purchased a smoker yet.

 

[tallbm]

Hi there and welcome!

I think that you should really reduce or completely omit the salt in the rub since you have it in the brine.

Also I'm not sure what style/flavor of turkey you are going for but the rub is kind of a Mexican or Tex-Mex rub but I'm not sure it goes with the apple and orange and ginger from the brine/marinade. I think you could go with just the orange of the 3 (apple, ginger, and orange) as citrus and those rub seasonings should go well together.

Finally if going with that rub I would omit the stuff you plan to put inside the cavity of the bird.

If you want to omit the rub entirely or go with a minimal rub I would suggest just going Garlic, Onion, and double Black pepper while keeping the marinade and the cavity stuff you have listed above. You can't go wrong with this approach.

I vote for cherry + pecan!

Best of luck :)

 

[Quentin Bengel]

Hi there and welcome!

I think that you should really reduce or completely omit the salt in the rub since you have it in the brine.

Also I'm not sure what style/flavor of turkey you are going for but the rub is kind of a Mexican or Tex-Mex rub but I'm not sure it goes with the apple and orange and ginger from the brine/marinade. I think you could go with just the orange of the 3 (apple, ginger, and orange) as citrus and those rub seasonings should go well together.

Finally if going with that rub I would omit the stuff you plan to put inside the cavity of the bird.

If you want to omit the rub entirely or go with a minimal rub I would suggest just going Garlic, Onion, and double Black pepper while keeping the marinade and the cavity stuff you have listed above. You can't go wrong with this approach.

I vote for cherry + pecan!

Best of luck :)

Thanks. yea if i do the rub i plan on omitting certain ingredients like the salt since its in the brine. Im thinking of omitting the rub and seeing how just the brine goes.

Out of curiosity why do you say the rub is kind of mexican or tex-mex? What makes it this way? Several of these ingredients(in different quantities) i use together in other rubs on other meats.

 

[tallbm]

Thanks. yea if i do the rub i plan on omitting certain ingredients like the salt since its in the brine. Im thinking of omitting the rub and seeing how just the brine goes.

Out of curiosity why do you say the rub is kind of mexican or tex-mex? What makes it this way? Several of these ingredients(in different quantities) i use together in other rubs on other meats.

Mexican and Tex-Mex seasoning almost always has Cumin. Then usually has some form of chile powders. Your rub doesn't have the standard "Chile Powder" seasoning but it has Paprika, Smoked Paprika, and Cayenne Pepper which are all pepper powders.

Also Cilantro/Coriander is a common ingredient. You aren't using that but you are using Coriander Seed which is a different flavor but is part of the plant.

If you want Mexican or Tex-Mex flavor start with Cumin and then add from there.

Let me know if this makes sense :)

 

[Quentin Bengel]

Mexican and Tex-Mex seasoning almost always has Cumin. Then usually has some form of chile powders. Your rub doesn't have the standard "Chile Powder" seasoning but it has Paprika, Smoked Paprika, and Cayenne Pepper which are all pepper powders.

Also Cilantro/Coriander is a common ingredient. You aren't using that but you are using Coriander Seed which is a different flavor but is part of the plant.

If you want Mexican or Tex-Mex flavor start with Cumin and then add from there.

Let me know if this makes sense :)

Thanks. I didnt know that.

 

[motocrash]

If you find the right size bucket/vessel you should be able to cut your brine recipe in half.Put the turkey in the bucket,fill with water to cover turkey about an inch,take turkey out and measure how much water.

 

[chef jimmyj]

That amount of Cumin will not have a huge impact. Coriander has more of a Citrus flavor and is as different from the flavor of Cilantro as Apples and Oranges. That is a standard amount of Salt in a Brine but twice too much for my taste. I like 1/2C Kosher per Gallon to gallon and a half. Your Drippings will be too salty to use for Gravy unless you make a lot, 1 gallon plus. Or try Soaking a couple hours on fresh cold water. Unless you planned way ahead the skin may be too moist to crisp well. I leave the Salt out of Rubs I use on Brined Bird...JJ

 

[Quentin Bengel]

That amount of Cumin will not have a huge impact. Coriander has more of a Citrus flavor and is as different from the flavor of Cilantro as Apples and Oranges. That is a standard amount of Salt in a Brine but twice too much for my taste. I like 1/2C Kosher per Gallon to gallon and a half. Your Drippings will be too salty to use for Gravy unless you make a lot, 1 gallon plus. Or try Soaking a couple hours on fresh cold water. Unless you planned way ahead the skin may be too moist to crisp well. I leave the Salt out of Rubs I use on Brined Bird...JJ

My mom is making the gravy and she doesnt need the drippings so i am smoking this turkey vertical. As for salt i typically use the salt measurement as a guideline not a rule.