Smoking first turkey

[Jimorr]

Am going to smoke a 15 pound turkey
what temperature folks recommend. I am thinking 295( that’s as high as my electric smoker goes)
am thinking of brining it for 15 hours
any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[Workaholic]

If your smoker only goes to 295, then that's where you want to be. For poultry, you want to be at 325-350, for a nice crispy skin, and to make sure you get out of the danger zone of under 140 for more than 4 hours. As far as brine, someone else will have to answer, I haven't really used any brines at this point.

 

[tallbm]

Am going to smoke a 15 pound turkey
what temperature folks recommend. I am thinking 295( that’s as high as my electric smoker goes)
am thinking of brining it for 15 hours
any suggestions would be appreciated

Hi there and welcome!
Go as high as your smoker goes workaholic put it perfectly about the temp and skin.
My opinion is to always brine away!

I recommend a 2.25% salt equilibrium brine that way you get good flavor and juciness but never overly salty.

You do this by taking the weigh of the turkey + the weight of the water (1 gallon = 8 pounds) and multiplying that total by 0.0225 (which is 2.25%) and the number you get is how much salt to add to your brine to make it a 2.25% salt brine.

I would also recommend doing 1% sugar [edit, I put salt and meant sugar]. Add some onion and garlic (fresh or powdered is fine) in the brine for flavor as well.

You could brine the turkey for 10 days and it would never get overly salty because it is 2.25% salt that would equally distribute between the bird and the water!

I hope this info helps :)

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I agree with tallbm...I always brine turkeys and smoke at 300-325. How did it turn out did you end up brining it? If you haven't started yet check out Tips Slaughterhouse Brine...fairly simple and yields a tasty juicy bird!

 

[Jimorr]

I agree with tallbm...I always brine turkeys and smoke at 300-325. How did it turn out did you end up brining it? If you haven't started yet check out Tips Slaughterhouse Brine...fairly simple and yields a tasty juicy bird!

Will do
thanks !