How to smoke a turkey (recipe)

[TheCockSportif]

Well, people.  It's about that time again.  TG time.  When we make the turkey (or we don't).

 

I posted in the Diggs' thread (or one of them) about how Beasley absolutely crushed it on TG day 2019, and how I had a turkey going in the smoker in the background (it got crispy skin and all by the time that it was done).

 

So here's how I did it.  To be clear, this process takes at least a couple of days before the turkey(s) hit the smoker.

 

People will say, "no, box smoker.  No, no, offset smoker.  No, no, no, pellet grill."  All of these options are equally as valid in this recipe.  The key to this recipe is how you prepare the turkey(s) in the first place.

 

I'm not going to cover spatchcocking a turkey here (seriously, I'm surprised that they let us use that term given the language filters!).  If you don't want to do it then have your butcher do it.  Make sure that the skin isn't pulling away from the meat, which is probably why you want to have a butcher do it (unless you have sharp kitchen shears to break the turkey's backbone).  This is critically important.  You need the turkey skin to (1) insulate the meat during the smoking process, and (2) keep its form whilst crisping up the skin in the smoker, which will also keep the meat tender (whatever smoker you choose).

 

Without further ado, and with the understanding that there are many capable cooks on TBD/OTW...

 

Step 1.  Brine the ***** out of it.  24 hours.  You can brine in any way that you want.  I use equal parts salt and sugar, dried juniper berries, garlic powder, onion powder, and "spice bouquet (typically thyme, sage, etc)", crushed red pepper.  (In case you are unfamiliar, brining will bring this incredible undertones of taste to whatever meat.)  I bring this mixture to a boil in a pot and let everything dissolve.  Then I let it cool.  And by cool, I mean like 70 deg F.  Then, if it's cold outside, I'll let it cool to like 40 deg F on the back porch.  Else, find ample room in your fridge to cool the brine.  You don't want to cook the turkey in the brine, hence the low temps.  Submerge the spatchcocked turkeys in a 5-gallon plastic bucket (clean and/or sterilize ahead of time) and cover with a lid.  If the lid doesn't lock snugly, put a cinder block on top of the lid, or at least something that's very heavy, so that skunks, raccoons, whatever don't get to it.  Ultimately, keep the brine at 32-40 deg F for the following duration.

 

Step 2.  Brining should be done in 24-36 hours.  Let sit in the fridge for 24-36 hours.  Take the brined / spatchcocked pieces out of the brining liquid.  Pat them dry as hard as you can.  Use paper towels or lint-free cloth towels. You want as much of the brine to be removed from the turkey -- before you put it back into the fridge (gasp) uncovered, on baking sheets.

 

Step 3.  TG day.  Hurray.  Beasley gonna eat yo turkey, so work quickly.  Take the turkey out of the fridge and pat it dry *again*.  Do it thoroughly, with the same means as noted in Step 2.  Set on new baking sheets.  You can season the skin with salt and pepper.  Some will say to put butter between the skin and the meat.  For a smoker, and given the duration of the cook, I recommend against it.  Let it sit at room temp for 1-2 hours.  It won't go bad, I swear.  Pat it dry again, gently (see also: pepper, salt on the skin), then use a silicone brush to baste all of the bird parts with olive oil (or your oil of choice).  You can use any brush that you want, but silicone won't melt into your bird.

 

Step 4.  TG day 2.  Set the smoker to 225 deg F and let it come to temp.  I like competition pellets these days, but use whatever pellets or wood that you want.  Once the smoker hits 225 deg F, put on the spatchcocked turkey(s).  Let it go for 1 hour then baste, using silicon brush, once per hour.  Work quickly as you don't want the temperature of the smoker to decrease that much.

 

You want the internal temp of the turkey to hit ~160 deg F.  This varies based on the size of the pieces, but typically it's 5-6 hours.  In 2019, what with Beas crushing it and all on TG day, it took 5.5 hours.  Insert a temperature probe to track, but again 5.5 hours is your baseline.  Don't forget to baste with olive oil (or your oil of choice) every hour.  Granted, I had a couple of lapses in 2019 (Beas and Brown kinda sorta making me rock hard), but still we ended up with a smoked turkey -- with incredible and crispy skin.  I guarantee that if you don't baste with olive oil, your skin will be gray and flabby.  And that's gross.

 

So, let's say that the turkey is mostly done, say, ~150 deg F, but your skin doesn't look great.  Use an olive oil baste then put in a 400 deg F oven for 20-30 minutes.  That'll do her.

 

Also, do not tent it with foil.  This will ruin the crispy skin.

 

Hope that you are able to make this, and kindly let me know your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 01:26 AM by TheCockSportif

[muppy]

smoked turkey is our go to Thanksgiving turkey . Hubby's routine is very similar to yours. we have a pellet smoker. He brines the heck out of it also

 

He has buckets of different flavor wood pellets I'll ask him when he gets home which ones are his fav with turkey

 

He handles the bird. I do a few side dishes, my bestie and her family will bring more plus desserts.

 

My fav food holiday

[Ray Stonada]

Can I do this but then bake in a regular over? 

PS thanks for posting

[Simon]

54 minutes ago, Ray Stonada said:

Can I do this but then bake in a regular over? 

PS thanks for posting

 

Yes.

The combination of brining (flavor) and dry aging/pat drying (crispiness) is the key. The cooking method is almost irrelevant.

fwiw, I like to add an egg or two to my brine; I swear it helps the flavor in the brine penetrate even more.

[sherpa]

I have brined in liquid and dry brined, and I much prefer dry brining.

Put the dry brine on and let the turkey sit for two days, uncovered in the refrigerator.

Make sure to loosen the skin and get the mixture under it and on the meat.

There's solid chemistry backing this process.

 

I also place the turkey breast side down for the first half of the cook.

I discovered this technique by accident a few years ago, and the breast is much more moist.

[teef]

i've never tried smoking a turkey, but we had someone do one for us for years.  i started deep frying one a few years ago and haven't gone back.  it's just too easy.

[Ray Stonada]

I deep fried a Turkey twice and once cooked it over charcoal on a Weber kettle. That coal fired bird was so so good, best one I ever did until I baked a wild hunted turkey in the regular old oven. 
 

Nothing like standing in the driveway drinking a beer while snow falls into a deep frying turkey tho!

[Sweats]

12 hours ago, muppy said:

smoked turkey is our go to Thanksgiving turkey . Hubby's routine is very similar to yours. we have a pellet smoker. He brines the heck out of it also

 

He has buckets of different flavor wood pellets I'll ask him when he gets home which ones are his fav with turkey

 

He handles the bird. I do a few side dishes, my bestie and her family will bring more plus desserts.

 

My fav food holiday

 

 

 

My wife handles the bird and as far as turkey goes, it's usually me.

[boyst]

a .50 cal works.

[muppy]

hubby says for Thanksgiving he likes to use mesquite pellets. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it

[TheCockSportif]

12 hours ago, Ray Stonada said:

Can I do this but then bake in a regular over? 

PS thanks for posting

Thanks for the reply.  You can definitely finish it in the oven; just keep an eye on the internal temperature so that it doesn't go over.

[May Day 10]

Yes, but also, people shouldnt be scared to finish the turkey off in the oven if need to get over the finish line.

[Sweats]

We always cook our bird in the oven (uninspiring, i know), however, we learned a little trick for keeping that old bird moist.

 

You loosen the skin from the body (don't take it off, just loosen it off) and stick your hand in between the skin and body with handfuls of butter and give her a good rub.....like i'm talking slathering that bird with handfuls of butter.

Then put the skin back up against the body and cook......that will be the moistest bird you could ever imagine.

 

(just noticed a fun game to try.......try replacing "bird" with "wife"......fun for the whole family right there).