Smoked Turkey Woes

[Keen]

Yesterday was my third smoked turkey not a charm! I started off by letting the turkey brine in the refrigerator for two days. Right before smoking the turkey, I pulled the turkey out and injected the turkey with Zataran‘s Cajun butter garlic injection. Then, I seasoned the turkey with master built seasoning rub dry rub. The turkey weighed 20 pounds. Then I place the turkey in the smoker. I have the charbroil grill not quite the big easy. When I put the turkey out, it was black in it! I pulled it out at 165°. The meat on the inside was quite tender . But I did notice that some portions of the breast word which trendy kind of similar to pool shoulder. The first time I smoked a turkey and seasoned it and used and injection, I could literally see the seasoning throughout the meet. However, this time I could not. My questions are

1.why was my turkey so blackened ?
2. Why could I not see or taste the injection throughout the meat?
3. Was my turkey being too big the problem?
4. What size smoked turkey is recommend for the Charbroil smoker ?

 

[uncle eddie]

I prefer smaller birds...12 to 14 pound range is what we normally get. If I need 20 lbs of turkey for company, I smoke two 12 pound birds. I use an MES40 and two birds are an easy fit.

As for why so blackened...my first guess would be heavy/too-much smoke.

What sort of brine do you use...mine has vegetable stock, rosemary, thyme and sage. I can't imagine injecting since I use a flavored brine. Sorry - no help here.

 

[WhoaNelly]

What temp was your grill/ pit?

Butter has a smoke point of 350. If you were in that ballpark temp is it possible the butter smoke blackened it more than normal ? Just a guess.

One more thing, was your turkey a butterball or another brand that was already injected with a 4-8% saline solution? If yes then brining it could have caused your injection to steam out because the bird was so full of fluids. Brining a bird that is already injected with saline can change the texture of the meat.

I am new here so these are just some shots in the dark.

 

[chopsaw]

Blackened skin ,, sugars in the rub turned dark .

I leave over night when I inject . I have injected , and cooked right away . Just not the same for flavor or moisture .
I also do smaller birds .

 

[gmc2003]

Yesterday was my third smoked turkey not a charm! I started off by letting the turkey brine in the refrigerator for two days. Right before smoking the turkey, I pulled the turkey out and injected the turkey with Zataran‘s Cajun butter garlic injection. Then, I seasoned the turkey with master built seasoning rub dry rub. The turkey weighed 20 pounds. Then I place the turkey in the smoker. I have the charbroil grill not quite the big easy. When I put the turkey out, it was black in it! I pulled it out at 165°. The meat on the inside was quite tender . But I did notice that some portions of the breast word which trendy kind of similar to pool shoulder. The first time I smoked a turkey and seasoned it and used and injection, I could literally see the seasoning throughout the meet. However, this time I could not. My questions are

1.why was my turkey so blackened ?
2. Why could I not see or taste the injection throughout the meat?
3. Was my turkey being too big the problem?
4. What size smoked turkey is recommend for the Charbroil smoker ?

1. When you say blackened do you mean the skin was black, or as you paragraph says black in it? If you mean the skin was black as in burnt then the temps were to high. If you mean the skin was dark then it could be the type of wood and length of time the bird was in the smoker. If you mean black inside the cavity then something you put inside the turkey burned. If you mean black specs throughout your meat then it's something in you injection.

2. The injection may have leaked out or not enough of it added.

3. Probably not the size, sounds more like a temp issue or something added to the turkey.

4. One that fits and allows air/smoke to flow freely around the bird. You don't want it touching the sides or top of you cook chamber.

These are guesses, more info is needed to pin-point the problem.

Chris

 

[Keen]

I prefer smaller birds...12 to 14 pound range is what we normally get. If I need 20 lbs of turkey for company, I smoke two 12 pound birds. I use an MES40 and two birds are an easy fit.

As for why so blackened...my first guess would be heavy/too-much smoke.

What sort of brine do you use...mine has vegetable stock, rosemary, thyme and sage. I can't imagine injecting since I use a flavored brine. Sorry - no help here.

It has salt and water and a little vinegar

 

[Keen]

Thanks all. The blackened outside i found out was due to my rub. The main ingredient was sugar !

As far as seasoning leaking . Maybe it is better to inject while in the cage to prevent from having to flip it over so much.