This year, I did not go with a heritage bird, but a standard one. However, I at least found one that was not injected with somebody else's idea of what should go in there. Instead I brined it using a recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats show.
This bird started out at just under 19 pounds. I left the cavity empty and put the aromatics in the water pan. I used a rack and smoked it breast-side down since that worked so well last time. I had the MES set at 220 degrees and it took close to six hours from start to finish. I used the Smoke Daddy generator instead of the built-in chip tray since it is a little more convenient. It smokes for longer between refills.
Anyway, I know that people want pictures, not my talking about it so here they are:
Turkey was smoked to a temperature of 165 in the breast area, then covered and let rest before it was sliced.
Smoking was with the Smoke Daddy Big Kahuna in the MES 30 with the following:
Start with a base of lump charcoal, get that going well.
Add apple chips and mixed-hardwood pellets (made for smoking).
Refill with chips and pellets mix as needed.
Water pan contained an apple, quartered, an onion, quartered, a cinnamon stick, six sage leaves, four rosemary sprigs, and a sprig of thyme.
I didn't take any pictures of the slicing, but be assured, it was very moist and tender with the exception of the wing that was toward the hot corner. However, even that tasted good.
This bird started out at just under 19 pounds. I left the cavity empty and put the aromatics in the water pan. I used a rack and smoked it breast-side down since that worked so well last time. I had the MES set at 220 degrees and it took close to six hours from start to finish. I used the Smoke Daddy generator instead of the built-in chip tray since it is a little more convenient. It smokes for longer between refills.
Anyway, I know that people want pictures, not my talking about it so here they are:
Turkey was smoked to a temperature of 165 in the breast area, then covered and let rest before it was sliced.
Smoking was with the Smoke Daddy Big Kahuna in the MES 30 with the following:
Start with a base of lump charcoal, get that going well.
Add apple chips and mixed-hardwood pellets (made for smoking).
Refill with chips and pellets mix as needed.
Water pan contained an apple, quartered, an onion, quartered, a cinnamon stick, six sage leaves, four rosemary sprigs, and a sprig of thyme.
I didn't take any pictures of the slicing, but be assured, it was very moist and tender with the exception of the wing that was toward the hot corner. However, even that tasted good.
