Things they don't tell you.... My first ever smoking session, a turkey.

[jviss]

Greetings,

I just joined, first post.

I had a smoked turkey a long time ago and it was great. A few years ago I bought my son a smoker, the least cost thing available - a Masterbuilt Cookmaster propane smoker, model number 20050511.

I did some research online, but there's just so much out there, it's tough to sort it all!

I got a fresh, 10.5 lb. turkey, and a couple of food-grade plastic buckets with lids, 2.5 and 5 gal. I prepared a brine and let it sit for a day in the fridge. I separated the skin from the breast and brined the bird in the fridge for a day. I took it out, rinsed and dried it, and let it sit, uncovered, in the fridge to dry for a day. I rubbed it inside and out and under the skin with a home-made dry and wet rub, and then into the pre-heated smoker. I got a two-probe remote thermometer, one probe in the breast and the other below the rack to measure smoker temp.

I decided on 1/2 apple and 1/2 hickory chips. Here's the thing. In the 4.5 hours it took to bring the breast up to 165º, I had to add wood every 1/2 hour to keep it smoking.

(The door leaked smoke like a sieve, so I've ordered a self-stick door gasket.)

Is this normal?

I think it came out great, by the way.

 

[Braz]

Welcome. Nice bird. That is a pretty common entry level smoker, I have one very similar branded as a Smoke Hollow. The door gasket will help some. I have gotten a lot of good Q out of that simple box and you can too.

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome to the site, looks like you did a great job on that birdie. Just remember it's not the pit it's the pitmaster.

Point for sure.
Chris

 

[tardissmoker]

First, really nice looking bird!
Next, the more you use it the more you learn its idiosyncrasies.
Next, rather than running out every half hour, which I did when I got my first smoker, check out the Amazen pellet smoke generators. They changed my life. No kidding. Easily searchable here and they also are a sponsor of this site. Check "mailbox mod" also. Good for cold smoking cheese or my fave salmon.

Finally, the more you smoke, the better you get, so keep on smoking!

 

[SmokinAl]

That turkey sure looks good!
Next time you may want to pull the turkey out at 157 in the breast, and after a short rest it will cruise up a few degrees. If you wait until it hits 165, the breast tends to dry out. Just a thought that you may want to try!
Al

 

[ab canuck]

Welcome to SMF. Good looking bird, Like....
The more you keep doing this the better it gets, Practice lots and enjoy. Check out this site forums, ask questions, use a thermometer you trust, share and enjoy your experiences. Welcome to SMF

 

[PAS]

That turkey sure looks good!
Next time you may want to pull the turkey out at 157 in the breast, and after a short rest it will cruise up a few degrees. If you wait until it hits 165, the breast tends to dry out. Just a thought that you may want to try!
Al

I had a head cold and didnt do the bird until Friday and it was done in the oven. The plastic popper didnt pop until it hit 175, result was a very dry turkey even thou I injected with all kinds of goodies. My Thermopop told the real story and I should have followed it! Next time the plastic wonder will go in the trash immediately!
Nice looking Turkey by the way!!

 

[Bearcarver]

Very Nice Turkey, Jviss!!
Nice Job!
Great Color!
Like.

Bear

 

[jviss]

Thanks, everyone, for the compliments and encouragement. I'm intrigued by the Amazen smoke generators, I'll have to research them.

 

[ab canuck]

The A-MAZE-N Products are exactly that. Amazing. They work great in a variety of applications and smokers.

 

[jviss]

I'm a bit disappointed in their website; can't find an instruction manual or an explanation of how and why these work. I get the idea they won't work with chips, only dust or pellets? Is it the device or the pellets that gives you so mny hours of smoke?

I soaked my chips for only 20 minutes or so. Should I soak them longer? In my smoker the chip box is immediately over the burner. They are reduced to black chips when they stop smoking.

 

[jviss]

BTW, I bought another turkey and will do it again. This time I may skip the herb-ed brine, and perparing the brine a day in advance, and just go with salt and sugar dissolved in water for a brine.

 

[ab canuck]

Yes they are only for dust or pellets, Use cold smoking or for adding extra smoke to your cooks, They give you a certain hrs of smoke depending on the unit. A lot of people with the masterbuilts use them instead of the chip tray. Search the forum for masterbuilt smokers, There are a lot of people using them here.

 

[Braz]

I'm a bit disappointed in their website; can't find an instruction manual or an explanation of how and why these work. I get the idea they won't work with chips, only dust or pellets? Is it the device or the pellets that gives you so mny hours of smoke?

Read this post for more info on the Amazin Pellet Smoker. It has pretty much everything you need to know.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/the-history-of-the-amnps-and-why-you-need-one.280090/

 

[daveomak]

Welcome.... FWIW, when you seal up the leaks, you will not get the same results... Just something to watch for...

 

[jviss]

Welcome.... FWIW, when you seal up the leaks, you will not get the same results... Just something to watch for...

Thanks, but what should I expect? I assume a shorter smoke time, less propane use, and maybe less wood use. How can a leaky door be good?

 

[fivetricks]

BTW, I bought another turkey and will do it again. This time I may skip the herb-ed brine, and perparing the brine a day in advance, and just go with salt and sugar dissolved in water for a brine.

Idk how herbed your brine was, but I wouldn't go straight salt/sugat. Celery seed goes a LOOONG way when brining turkey. I don't use it in other poultry but it's a winner in store bought turkeys and even better in wild turkey (drink or animal ;) )

As far as your smoke times, I didn't see what temps you were running at, but leaving the bird whole can really add a lot of times. I did 6 birds over two days and I cut them boys right down the middle. Spatchcock, plus seperation on the bottom side.

I did mind in the UDS and the birds took 2 hours Thursday with a vicious wind and about 2.5 hours Friday. But that was at 350 plus. Darn Canadian winds wouldn't let up and kept my temps about 30 ° degrees higher than idve preferred.

Tldr;

If you're not too concerned with the Norman Rockwell presentation of the bird, you can cut your times almost in half.

 

[jviss]

Thanks. Regarding the brine, I just wanted to cut a day off the process; my first time I boiled the herbs and the salt/sugar separately, let them cool, combined, and the put them in the fridge for a day.

Do you think the herbed brine makes a big difference? More so than the rub?

 

[Steve H]

Welcome and nice bird. One thing I've noticed with using the A-Maze-N pellet tray is that it can be a pain keeping it lit in the gas smoker. My solution was to keep the bottom door slightly open. And the vents wide open for air flow. I'm planning on doing a 6.5 pound breast soon. It's in the freezer waiting.

 

[daveomak]

Thanks, but what should I expect? I assume a shorter smoke time, less propane use, and maybe less wood use. How can a leaky door be good?

The air to smoke ratio will change.. Lots of fresh air makes for a lighter, cleaner smoke flavor... You may have to adjust the smoke... You probably will have to open the exhaust opening to wide open..
Just saying, there could be a difference and be aware of it...
Dave

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