Good Morning, Since it is that time of the year I thought Id throw my 2 cents out on the annual smoked turkey recipe. Every year my football team sells whole smoked breasts and I smoke them the day before Thanksgiving. We have done anywhere from 30 to 100 birds in a day. Over the years I have tweaked and tinkered with this but here goes:
Rub: (makes enough to rub about 15 birds) scale as needed for your desired amount (also a great all purpose for pork and ribs)
2 cups brown/cane sugar
0.5 cup sea salt
4 tablespoon pepper
4 tablespoons paprika
6 tablespoons onion powder
6 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1.5 tablespoons cayenne
I take the rub and mix it into a tub of country crock original butter. I usually let the butter sit out for a little while to soften up before mixing it in.
Take your Thawed 8-10 pound whole breast and pour all that wonderful brine and juice away and take the bag of innards or whatever else is shoved in the cavity and do what you want with it...i prefer the trash can but some might use it in their own way to make gravy or what have you
Cut the skin back on the breast but be careful to not cut it completely off. I usually go from the middle and make a "C" cut from the middle to the top outside. I like to leave the bottom in-tacked to help hold juices in. Your just wanting to make a "pouch" over the breast meat for your rub mixture to go in.
Get a good couple fingers worth of butter rub mix and rub under skin on top of meat and then recover the meat with the "flap" of skin. Do this on both sides.
Smoker needs to be screaming hot 300-325, ive even cooked these at 350 just depending on how many I have to cook and how many runs im needing to do. I use an even mix of hickory and cherry on my smoker but for this cook I do use a good bit of lump charcoal. I also dont shut the chimney at all, only using dampers on firebox to control the airflow in. I dont want smoke sitting on these birds any longer than it has to.
*you can over "smoke" a turkey before its even close to temp and ruin it if your not careful, turkey is a funny meat that sucks up smoke fast*
Put bird in smoker cut side up and its "butt" up so your juices stay in and on the meat itself as long as possible and the breast meat is right on the grates. Butt up wings down!
I typically dont turn the birds once they are on, however I will move their position on the smoker if needed.
I cook them for 90 minutes and then check the temps. Usually after that mark im sitting around 120 or so. Typically about 15-20 minutes per pound. (the first picture below is the first temp check)
I have found that from 120 to 160 can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. Just depends so I start checking temps every 30 minutes after until it reaches 165-170 IT (second picture)
After they reach temp I pull it and double wrap in foil. If you are going to eat it now let it rest for about 30 minutes before slicing. If your saving it for another day reheat it in oven and broil for 5 minutes when its warm to recrisp the skin
Rub: (makes enough to rub about 15 birds) scale as needed for your desired amount (also a great all purpose for pork and ribs)
2 cups brown/cane sugar
0.5 cup sea salt
4 tablespoon pepper
4 tablespoons paprika
6 tablespoons onion powder
6 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1.5 tablespoons cayenne
I take the rub and mix it into a tub of country crock original butter. I usually let the butter sit out for a little while to soften up before mixing it in.
Take your Thawed 8-10 pound whole breast and pour all that wonderful brine and juice away and take the bag of innards or whatever else is shoved in the cavity and do what you want with it...i prefer the trash can but some might use it in their own way to make gravy or what have you
Cut the skin back on the breast but be careful to not cut it completely off. I usually go from the middle and make a "C" cut from the middle to the top outside. I like to leave the bottom in-tacked to help hold juices in. Your just wanting to make a "pouch" over the breast meat for your rub mixture to go in.
Get a good couple fingers worth of butter rub mix and rub under skin on top of meat and then recover the meat with the "flap" of skin. Do this on both sides.
Smoker needs to be screaming hot 300-325, ive even cooked these at 350 just depending on how many I have to cook and how many runs im needing to do. I use an even mix of hickory and cherry on my smoker but for this cook I do use a good bit of lump charcoal. I also dont shut the chimney at all, only using dampers on firebox to control the airflow in. I dont want smoke sitting on these birds any longer than it has to.
*you can over "smoke" a turkey before its even close to temp and ruin it if your not careful, turkey is a funny meat that sucks up smoke fast*
Put bird in smoker cut side up and its "butt" up so your juices stay in and on the meat itself as long as possible and the breast meat is right on the grates. Butt up wings down!
I typically dont turn the birds once they are on, however I will move their position on the smoker if needed.
I cook them for 90 minutes and then check the temps. Usually after that mark im sitting around 120 or so. Typically about 15-20 minutes per pound. (the first picture below is the first temp check)
I have found that from 120 to 160 can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. Just depends so I start checking temps every 30 minutes after until it reaches 165-170 IT (second picture)
After they reach temp I pull it and double wrap in foil. If you are going to eat it now let it rest for about 30 minutes before slicing. If your saving it for another day reheat it in oven and broil for 5 minutes when its warm to recrisp the skin
