I was going to use a teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of the turkey. Any idea whether that's too much?
That's way too much salt. 15 teaspoons of Kosher salt = 4 .5 TABLESPOONS. On saveur.com I just read a recipe for a 15-pound turkey (which is about the size you plan to smoke) that calls for TWO TABLESPOONS of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. The recipe acknowledges that that amount of salt may seem like a lot (not to me) but you're supposed to rub the salt-and-pepper mix all over the bird and inside the cavity. Notice that this is a dry brine as the turkey is then kept in the fridge uncovered for 1-2 days.
My wife, the turkey expert, has her own wet rub mix which is far superior. She uses butter, olive oil, and herbs and rubs it all over the outside of the bird and beneath the skin. She also places onion, fresh garlic,
fresh thyme and lemon wedges in the cavity. aromatic herbs in the cavity and rubs the outside of the bird with a combo of butter, olive oil, poultry seasoning,
dried thyme, and salt and pepper (the latter two to taste). She cooks the turkey upside down in the oven, turning it right side up around 3-4 hours in. We usually buy a turkey that's between 20-22 lbs.
Her turkey, in our opinion, turns out far better than brined turkeys. She roasts it at 325° until the IT is 160°. She then lets it rest for 30 minutes as the carryover takes the IT up to 165°. I think I wrote someplace that the turkey last year looked just like professionally-cooked turkeys you see on TV and was the best I've ever tasted.
