Turkey Smoke coming up!

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p_schneider

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 20, 2005
4
10
Minnesota
Well I have brisket and pork tenderloin under my belt, time for some turkey! The bird is in the brine and it will be in the smoker around noon. 9lb breast should be done in time for dinner.
Here is the brine I used

2 cups kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tbl garlic pwd
2 tbl onion pwd
4 tbl black pepper
2 tbl cinnimon
2 tbl cumin
1 tbl chili peppers (hot)
1 cup teriyaki sauce
water

Tomorrow I will inject the bird with melted butter and give it a rub before it goes in. Cant wait!
 
Well just an update on the weekend smoke. I ended up smoking the turkey for around 6 hours and I must say it was some of the best turkey I have every had. I thought it was a bit (just a bit) on the salty side so I might back off on the amount of salt that I used but other than that it turned out perfect.
I also had a rack of chilies smoking above the bird so the juices from those added a nice touch to the flavor, not to mention I now have a nice supply of chipotle to use in rubs and stuff.

All in all a great weekend! :D
 
Greetings P_Schneider.

Sounds like some pretty good turkey. You're correct about the salt. I'm not sure how much water you used but most simple brines call for an equal amount of salt & sweet (1/4 cup salt & 1/4 cup sugar per quart of water). I'm sure if you reduce the salt you'll get the results you want.
 
It must have been Turkey weekend. I also did two full birds and an additional 4 legs then when that was done I had two pork butts and a brisket ready. Started about 3 in the afternoon pulled out the birds at midnight and threw them in the roaster to finish and added the rest of the meat. Everything was finished in time for the party at 4 in the afternoon. I don't add much for my brine but powdered dextrose and salt. Tasts just like ham. You have me thinking now. Thanks for the good post.
 
P_Schneider, Welcome to the Forum. One thing to watch for with some turkeys (whole and parts) is that sometimes they have been injected with mild brining solution to "enhance" the flavor.

I noticed that you used also used teriyaki sauce. Unless you go for the "low sodium" sauce, these can be loaded with salt too.

I second what Bob said about the equal amounts of salt and sugar.
 
I have done several whole turkeys also, I have yet to brine them, I usually inject them with a good injection from Gander Mountain then rub down with mustard and a good dry rub. Then stuff a potato in the hole wher the neck was and use a turkey beer can stand with 1/2 can of good dark beer. After removing them from the smoker I wrap them in foil for 20 minutes and they turn out juicey ass hell and last about 10 minutes once served. I agree that they come brined somewhat from the store. But I too, like to experiment with different brines and injections to see what different flavors can be achieved.
 
Well maybe I will give the injection method a try and see what happens next time. Don't get me wrong, it was very good bird, but a tad salty. Lesson learned. (good point on the teriyaki) Thanks guys.
 
I smoked a 12-lb. whole turkey for Labor Day weekend. Brined it and put in refrigerator night before with:

1/2 cup Kosher salt
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder (All spices were per 1 qt. of water)
2 T black pepper
1 T cumin
1/8 cup soy sauce

Made an infection broth from boiling neck and innards. While still warm added 1 stick of butter, some black pepper and 1 T poultry seasoning. Injected half the liquid into turkey and saved other half for basting during smoking. Put 1 apple sliced into wedges in cavity. (Remove this after bird done and discard.) Smoked for 10 hrs. at 225 over charcoal with mesquite wood chunks. Basted turkey each hour. We put it in the refrigerator overnight and were off to Cheyenne, WY next a.m.

Everyone thought it had a great flavor! I was happy how my first bird came out! :D
 
Hey out there. Has anybody smoked any turkey legs. I want to try it but don't know how long leave them on the smoker. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Greetings trust!

I strongly recommend brining the turkey legs before cooking them. It sure makes them good.



At 300-325* turkey legs will take around 1 to 1-1/2 hours to cook. If you cook them at 225* maybe 2-1/2 to 3 hours. I cook them to 175-180* internal meat temerature.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I haven't had too much experience with brining. I brined some port chops several months ago and they were really salty. That was my first experience and last experience with brining. I probably didn't do it quite right.

Thanks so much for the times and the temps.

Later
 
trust-Welcome to Smoking Meat Forums. You can learn alot here, all you need to do is ask away. Brining meats can be real tricky but don't let it get you down. One trick that I use when making a brine solution is to taste it, thats right I taste it before putting any meat into the solution. If it tastes too salt right at the start, you know that you meat will end up to salty too. Brining meats is to add flavor to the product. Alton Brown on the Food Network channel has a brine recipe that he uses for turkeys, I have it at home on the other 'puter. I'll try to find it and post it here for you.

Bob- Those legs look really good. I was at the State Fair last month and I had to have one of those puppy's. Sure was good. The nice thing about turkey legs is that they are always cheap to buy.
 
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