Smoking a Turkey Breast Tenderloin?

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tehfreak

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2009
5
10
I have looked to this website for the last couple years for all the smoking hints and tricks and found it very useful. I couldn't find anything on what I am going to attempt to smoke tomorrow.

http://www.cargillturkey.com/Packagi...tissTdrlns.jpg

Basically I finished smoking a Turkey today and my wife pulled this thing out of the freezer and said " can you smoke this?" and of course I said " Of Course I can" but I got to be honest, I'm not so sure now. From what I have read to don't need to brine these things? Also I haven t ever really put a dry rub on anything I have ever smoked ( 3 hams, 3 turkeys) so I am not an experienced smoker by any means. Here is what I am using , with Hickory from the local convenient store side walk LOL.

http://images.netshops.com/mgen/digi...pg&h=368&w=368

Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated, I am thawing it out now and plan on doing it around noon tomorrow. Thanks guys!
 
Personally I think I would apply a rub even a store bought one then I'd wrap that thing in bacon before it going into the smoker.
 
What he ^^^^^^ said. Just wrap it in bacon and throw it in the smoker and take it to 160 and your in there. No brine no injection just some good old apple wood smoke.
 
Yep, rub it and wrap in bacon. To die for!!! You can even marinate in some italian dressing overnight, season, wrap in bacon.
 
I like the bacon idea but how do I get the bacon to stay on it? It looks like its a long slab of meat, do I just wrap them around it 1" sections at a time? The wife has some bacon in there I am going to steal while she is working out in the morning :). Also, im sure you noticed a have a cheap ass grill/smoker and it is hard to regulate the temperature on that thing It went from 200 to 350 all day today while I was smoking the Turkey. Since this is such a shorter smoking time do I need to stand by and spray the wood constantly if it gets to hot? I left some wood soaking in water tonight, maybe that will help lower the temp... One more thing, where do you guys find Apple, Cherry, and all those other kinds of wood? I allways go to this mom and pop store and get hickory logs and split them but all they have is Oak and Hickory.
 
I would wrap pieces of bacon around it and use toothpicks to secure it in place
 
Cool, I assume I need to soak them in water so they wont burn away; I will let you know how it turns out, Thanks so much for your help guys!
 
Crazy Grill! It shot up to 225 before I could do anything about it ( its a windy day) I haven't ever cooked anything at a lower temperature before so I guess I am learning. I always use 10-12 charcoals and get them burning and then throw a few smaller pieces of wood and work my way up to the bigger wood logs. I guess charcoal inst a good idea when you are trying to keep it around 160 ? Or maybe it isn't a good idea at all... I have a few pieces of wood soaking overnight and threw them on there and it knocked to 200 so then I had to spray some water on the fire and now it is where I want it, not sure if I can keep it there LOL...
 
Smoker temps should be 225 degrees or so and the internal temp of the turkey when done should be 165 degrees or so
Wood splits shouldn't be too big as the charcoal provides the heat and the wood provides the smoke which should be thin and blue not white and billowing
 
Oh I See, I thought mballi3011 meant take the smoker to 160 :( . Thankfully I haven't been able to keep it under 200 anyway. I did just check the internal temp, even though its only been on an hour and it was anywhere near hot. Anyway, thanks for that info, I am going to make sure it stays near 225 now and maybe it will be done in an hour or so ( I'm Starving!)
PDT_Armataz_01_34.gif
 
SO, I had a little trouble with this smoke... No big deal, I learned some stuff. This was my first time using a rub and I have to tell you THIS THING IS HOTTTT!! Not heat hot lol.. I really should have paid attention the amount of black/red pepper I used but no big deal, I just have to scrap a little of the outside off and its eatable. Also I didn't have enough bacon to wrap them both but both of them taste about the same. All and all its good eatin! Thanks again for all the help!
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My family in Germany owns a turkey farm where they sell freshly prepared turkey products (http://www.putenhof-bauer.de/unser-sortiment/sortiment/unsere-preise/index.php#248248a3250ec6924).

From them, I learned about Turkey Lox - the smoked turkey tenderloin that comes out tasting and looking like smoked salmon lox, when cut thin.  It is absolutely delicious!!!!!!  And I am pained that North Americans don't seem to know anything about this amazing way to prepare turkey tenderloin, mostly because I want to buy and eat it without having to prepare it myself.  Has anyone tried smoking the tenderloin WITHOUT bacon and spices?
 
Tehfreak , hello . A first step is always the awkward, your Bird looked fine , a bit of Bark but you will get that under control as you go . You may even come-up with a 'rub' of your own
biggrin.gif
.

I like things on the sweeter side and toward the end , put some 'Turbinato' sugar on it to 'Glaze ' a bit . A lot of sugar in a rub will most likely get crusty like yours . Putting the sugar on in the last 30-40 mins. gives  you a nice glaze with no heavy bark.

Cook at a consistent temp. and be aware of your Smoker temp (the stock therm. is junk , so invest in a good therm. (Mav.733 is great ).

Have fun and as always . . .
 
So I was looking on this website and someone said just think of it like chicken breasts (I'm Paraphrasing) So I did! I use a Master built 30 inch electric smoker. For chicken breasts I usually brush them with olive oil and apply my favorite rubs! I change them up! and smoke them for an hour at 200 degrees til they hit 150 then pull them, wrap in foil, secure in a zip lock bag and wrap in a towel for 15 to 20 minutes to rest and finish cooking! They come out perfect and are juicy and flavorful. For the tenderloins though they were already in a marinade and I just put them on as is for the same temp and time and finish them the same way. I used mesquite wood chips and they came out perfect they were Juicy and tender and fully cooked I did 4 of them at once along with some turkey sausages! Yummy!  Hope this helps!  John
 
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