Two 12 lb turkeys! Very wise. That's how I would do it. And recently I've seen Chef Kenji recommend the same strategy.
What I do is smoke a 12 lb turkey stuffed with apples and onions - as much as I can get in there. Then I seal both ends tight with mechanic's wire. I try to make it air tight - to keep all that moisture in there. Then I smoke it low and slow until it's done. 225 F. I don't amp up the temp at the end. Just keep it at 225 F. Been doing it this way for over 30 years. Chickens too! My wife loves it. Happy wife, happy life.
The skin is definitely not crispy, but it is dark and beautiful - and the breast meat and dark meat squirts juice like a fresh orange - and that's without a wet brine and without injection. Very nice natural turkey flavor.
I recently ran across this vid of a french chef who does it the same way! The difference is, he cooks it faster and not in a smoker. He cooks at 325.
The last several years I've been doing a dry brine - it adds to the flavor. It enhances the natural flavor of the turkey. Thank you Judy Rodgers.
Funny story - my buddy was smoking chickens 35 years ago and a small deli owner tried one once and it was so delicious he asked him if he could smoke chickens for his deli. He said sure! He used the same recipe I use today because he was the smoked chicken whisperer back then. In fact, he was the reason I began smoking chickens in the first place! His chickens was the reason I bought my first smoker.
Back to the story - It took a few weeks, but before long, the smoked chickens were selling like hotcakes. He couldn't smoke them fast enough. He would smoke six at a time in his back yard.
Long story short, the FDA found out about it and he got called downtown and ended up getting fined. Something in the low four figures. This was back in the late 80s when low four figures was considered to be a lot of money.
But the point is, those chickens were damn good. I mean - unbelievably tasty good.
And they still are. He still does them the same way today.
Good luck.
