Smoking 8% Injected Turkey without Brine Or Cure?

[catsass]

So I've smoked a turkey before after brining, but moved to a new place and don't have a food grade 5 gallon pail or time to brine a turkey for 3-4 days. I'm hauling the thawed bird and our smoker to the in-laws, and going to cook it up tomorrow if it's possible to smoke a bird without brining. So that's my question:

Is it worth it to smoke a turkey without brining? I prefer the ham style, but too late for that. Do I need to brine at all? Can I just spice up and cook the turkey with smoke, or will that taste like crap? If it won't turn out well, I'd prefer to just cook it in the mother-in-law's oven, and save myself the trouble of hauling out the master built smoker.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[fishcatchr]

I’ve done two birds over the past couple weeks without brining. Spatchcocked them, threw some random seasonings on and smoked. Turned out great!

 

[zwiller]

My uncle does a simple salt rub and his smoked turkey is great. Injection is the... wait for it... wait for it... cat's ass. ;) FAST, accurate, awesome. Throw a good syringe in your Amazon cart now for next time.

 

[Bearcarver]

Doesn't need brining, especially if it was already injected before you bought it.

Unless it's a Wild one---Then you can't brine it enough!!

Bear

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

You can dry brine. 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat or 1/4 teaspoon of table salt per pound, refrigerate for one to two hours. Rinse inside and out before smoking. If you have time, rinse, then let sit uncovered in fridge overnight.

You may want to smoke at a higher temp. Not much fat or connective tissue to break down like during a slow smoke ( like brisket). Getting it done at a higher temp, faster, can help keep it from drying out.

 

[catsass]

My uncle does a simple salt rub and his smoked turkey is great. Injection is the... wait for it... wait for it... cat's ass. ;) FAST, accurate, awesome. Throw a good syringe in your Amazon cart now for next time.

Yeah I have a good injector and a bunch of other goodies somewhere in my storage locker, but haven't yanked it out yet. I have my smoker with cold smoker attachment that I use religiously, the wood chips, cure and spices box, wireless thermometer set, but can't seem to find my injector, silicone square hole grate thingies for the racks when doing things like almonds, and a few other critical nick backs that I need. They are buried in there somewhere. Lol.

 

[catsass]

Thanks guys. I'm gonna haul it out. Might even try the spatchcock method.