Tips for smoking a Turkey?

[A+]

I've always wanted to smoke a Turkey for the holidays but can't afford to ruin dinner and everyone's holiday so I got me a practice Turkey. I've been Googling and have come across some pretty good tips but I wanted to see what you guys have done, if you've done it.

[mstng86]

go to bass pro








buy a fryer

[ceyko]

Put it in a brine for 24 hours or so. It can be as simple as a cup of salt in water. I usually heat a pot up, get the salt dissolved and then add it to a bigger container that'll hold the turkey. (Obviously make sure it is stirred up well)

After that 24 hours, I put the turkey in an aluminum pan (old smoker that is border line nasty inside...I don't want to clean it since I dig the smell) and rub olive oil all over the outside and a little on the insides...etc.

Add about 1/2-1 cup of water to the pan.

Smoke at about 225ish (never an exact temp with a smoker like mine) for about 1-1.5 hours per pound. That varies a little if I end up falling asleep and not waking up to check fire, or drink to much and time slips by.

I used to not brine my turkeys and they were still way better than 90% of what you'll eat elsewhere. We'd have a fair amount of leftovers. When I started doing the brine thing, there simply are no leftovers. The first year I figured I'd let everyone get their fill. I waited a few hours, drinking and socializing and nearly all the f'ing turkey was gone. A leg and some other stuff was there. Was happy and mad at the same time. Not that many people eating on it either.

Also, in my opinion the larger 15-20+ lbs turkeys are not good for smoking. I try to stay under 12 lbs. Well, should say 10-12 pounds. Not worth it under 10 lbs in my opinion. I've done a 14 lbs turkey with success though....just try to avoid it.

[BradM]

What kind of smoker are you using?

[Silverback]

I did bone in breasts only for Thanksgiving this year on the smoker, rather than a full turkey since we were doing an oven bird anyway.

I made my brine "Mexico style" with Mexican oregano, pepitas, cumin, orange juice, kosher salt, piloncillo, paprika, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, garlic powder, onion powder, water and a few other spices. I also took this same mixture (dry ingredients) ground them up for a rub, minus the cinnamon sticks, I just used some ground cinnamon.

I'll post up my recipe if I can find it tonight.

I bought some of those oversized ziploc bags, like for clothing storage. Boiled my brine to disolve the ingredients and then poured it into the ziploc after cooling to room temp. I added one bag of ice, and then the bird into the bag. Zipped it up, and placed the whole bag into an ice chest. This made for super easy clean up.

I let it bring for about 24-30 hours in the garage. Checked the ice occassionally and added a little bit with about 6 hours left to make sure it stayed cool. Once done with the brine, I rinsed them off with cool water, patted them dry and rubbed them with the dry rub I made. I let them sit at room temp for about an hour with the dry rub on them.

Then I used the beer can chicken style holders to hold the turkey breasts up and placed them into the smoker. I smoked with fruit wood, at 225-250 degrees, until the center of the breast on the birds hit 140-150 degrees. Then I crank up the heat to 280-300 degrees and finish them off until they hit 165-170, this helps the skin dry out a bit more and not be so rubbery.

Then the birds come off and go into a foil pan, and cover with foil to rest for 15-20 minutes, then cut and eat

[ELVIS]

I did bone in breasts only

im fixin' to go to hoots and do the same thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and fry it A+ they are so good. you cant mess it up. i do 3 and thanksgiving and 4-5 at christmas while totally drunk.

god bless.

[A+]

Thanks for the tips fellas. I want to smoke a Turkey because I want to smoke a Turkey.
The smoker ill be using can hold two turkeys if I place one behind the other. Its a homade smoker some Guy made out in the sticks. I guess he does.it.for a living and they are made well.

[BradM]

Thanks for the tips fellas. I want to smoke a Turkey because I want to smoke a Turkey.
The smoker ill be using can hold two turkeys if I place one behind the other. Its a homade smoker some Guy made out in the sticks. I guess he does.it.for a living and they are made well.

Can you post a pic of it? It may help us give you some tips.

[bard]

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/102/poultry

[BlackSnake]

Tip for smoking turkey.......Really big rolling papers?

[A+]

I had to search the forum but I found a pic.

The smoke is everywhere because I started the fire with a piece of paper and tossed it in.
And just because it was there...

[BradM]

Hell yeah, you have a decent offset there. Learning in the summer is a plus, you'll be pissed when you cant hold temp in the winter though. Try to figure out how to manage your fire (positions on the firebox air intake. The smoke stack should roll wide open for the most part. I'll post more when I'm not on my phone and not drinking.

[A+]

My favorite time to smoke is in the winter time, otherwise I just turn the smoker to where I can the the temp from inside the house and maintain it from there. Maintaining a good temp is the easy part. Hours per lb and how to brine or what rub or marinade to use is what I want to know. Plus, Im thinking about finishing it off in the oven. Only because I want to get it right the first time.

[bcoop]

Time is an estimated guess at best. Cook to temp. Every time. Don't pay any attention to the time, other than a rough guideline. I probe EVERYTHING.

[Slowhand]

I probe EVERYTHING.

I haven't seen someone suggest a QOTD in forever, but here's my submission.