It's a day of firsts today. Not because I did them all at once, I just finally got off my lazy butt to start posting. So the wife decided she wanted me to smoke a turkey breast for NYE. Cause I need an excuse to break out the smoker right? We found a 4 pound boneless breast just begging for smoke. We're not ones for a lot of skin, so I pulled the skin before the brine. The netting made it a bit tricky, but I like a challenge.
Skinned before the brine. Brine was again fairly simple. Sea salt, sugar, garlic powder, sage, molasses, and an onion chopped and tossed into the mix. Turkey took a 16 hour brine bath before hitting the smoke.
After brine with a little rosemary and thyme. Used some EVOO to hold the spices in place. You can't really see it but there's a light garlic powder rubbed into the meat. Wrapped it again and back into the fridge. Not because I needed to, but it was too early to start smoking.
I set the heat at about 225 and loaded the AMNS with pitmasters choice again. But I added some apple to the mix, because I felt like it. Still trying to figure out my flavor profiles. Still had the issue with the dust burning too fast. So I refilled it, no harm no foul. (Todd, if you're reading, you'll be seeing another order from me eventually. AMNPS for sure!)
The breast finished much faster than I expected, so I was caught off guard. Rested covered in the oven while I made the sides. Temp not time...gotta remember that.
Sorry for the yellow hues in my pics. The light in the kitchen apparently needs to be changed. But here it is sliced. So much juice the knife handle got wet.
Served it up with steamed carrots, and some garlic mashed potatoes. Simple recipe for garlic mashed I found awhile back, but they come out amazing, and was a great compliment to the turkey. The turkey itself was tender and juicy, but the overburn with the dust was noticeable. It didn't carry as deep a smoke as I was hoping for. It was there, just very light. Not complaining though, the turkey was still delicious, and i detected smoke so I was happy. It was my first one, and no one died from it, so I'll call it a win.
Made a great sandwich this afternoon too..
Skinned before the brine. Brine was again fairly simple. Sea salt, sugar, garlic powder, sage, molasses, and an onion chopped and tossed into the mix. Turkey took a 16 hour brine bath before hitting the smoke.
After brine with a little rosemary and thyme. Used some EVOO to hold the spices in place. You can't really see it but there's a light garlic powder rubbed into the meat. Wrapped it again and back into the fridge. Not because I needed to, but it was too early to start smoking.
I set the heat at about 225 and loaded the AMNS with pitmasters choice again. But I added some apple to the mix, because I felt like it. Still trying to figure out my flavor profiles. Still had the issue with the dust burning too fast. So I refilled it, no harm no foul. (Todd, if you're reading, you'll be seeing another order from me eventually. AMNPS for sure!)
The breast finished much faster than I expected, so I was caught off guard. Rested covered in the oven while I made the sides. Temp not time...gotta remember that.
Sorry for the yellow hues in my pics. The light in the kitchen apparently needs to be changed. But here it is sliced. So much juice the knife handle got wet.
Served it up with steamed carrots, and some garlic mashed potatoes. Simple recipe for garlic mashed I found awhile back, but they come out amazing, and was a great compliment to the turkey. The turkey itself was tender and juicy, but the overburn with the dust was noticeable. It didn't carry as deep a smoke as I was hoping for. It was there, just very light. Not complaining though, the turkey was still delicious, and i detected smoke so I was happy. It was my first one, and no one died from it, so I'll call it a win.
Made a great sandwich this afternoon too..
