Tips on 'cold smoked' turkey?

[gobblegobble]

Hi all, I was hoping to ask for any pointers for getting some smoke flavor into a turkey. I've got a 22lb bird that's on day 3 of thawing in the fridge and am wanting to 'cold smoke' it in a Masterbuilt electric (not a true cold smoke, don't have that attachment) then finish it in the oven since one time I tried smoking a chicken and ended up with rubber skin. I'm thinking of starting the smoker on the lowest it will go, adding a bunch of chips then putting the turkey (straight from the fridge?) in for an hour or so then taking it out and into a nice hot oven. One other thing I'm planning is to put a bunch of seasoned butter under the skin and basting the outside before putting it in the oven, so I'm guessing that would come after taking it out of the smoker so as to not melt all the butter in the smoker. Any tips/tricks/recommendations? Thanks a bunch for any help.

 

[thirdeye]

So you are doing a 'flavor smoke' before baking your bird. I wouldn't go too heavy on the smoke for two reasons. First, the bird will be cold and could attract some of the particulate matter on the skin. This could lead to a bitter flavor. And second, some people feel poultry takes on smoke easily.

In your case the 1-hour of smoker time, followed by roasting in the oven shouldn't pose any food safety concerns. But it's not wise to flavor smoke non-cured meats too long as you are flirting with 40° to 140° timeline when bacteria will multiply.

 

[smokerjim]

I personally would just set smoker around 250 smoke it for an hour or two then throw it in the hot oven.

 

[Winterrider]

I personally would just set smoker around 250 smoke it for an hour or two then throw it in the hot oven.

Think I would spatchcock that big boy also.

 

[Fueling Around]

The smoker temperature is almost irrelevant when only an hour or so.
I used to smoke with a Big Chief (no temperature control) and it would run around 200°
I prefer lighter woods for poultry.

Spatchcock is my favorite whole bird cooking.
Start the oven at 475° and immediately turn it down to 350-375°

 

[Cajun Smokes]

In your case the 1-hour of smoker time, followed by roasting in the oven shouldn't pose any food safety concerns. But it's not wise to flavor smoke non-cured meats too long as you are flirting with 40° to 140° timeline when bacteria will multiply.

Agree

I personally would just set smoker around 250 smoke it for an hour or two then throw it in the hot oven.

And Agree