Mike's Smoked Turkey

I found this recipe on the net somewhere. The original recipe appears first, following by my changes.

Turkey: Smoking

Get the basics of the Smoked Turkey For generations people have been dropping turkeys into the oven and roasting for hours. They use stuffings and little pop up timers. Guess what? You can make a great turkey this way. But wouldn't it be great to go one step better? Smoked turkey is more flavorful and is tenderer than oven roasting. Breaking away from tradition can be hard but I'm here to walk you through the process.

The Basics:

Here's what you are going to do. You are going to cook your turkey to an internal temperature must reach 165 degrees F. This means that the coldest part of the turkey is 165 degrees F. This isn't a suggestion. Test in at least two places and remember that turkey bones heat faster so keep the thermometer away from bone and white meat cooks faster than dark meat.

Run the smoker at temperature range of 220 degrees F to 240 degrees F.

The first thing in you need for a great smoked turkey is a good turkey. Now whether you are going to hunt you own or buy one, you want a fresh turkey. A free range Turkey is what to look for. Now I know this isn't always cheap or easy but if you can then I recommend it. If you do pick up a frozen turkey always follow the instructions for defrosting. Also do not get too large of a turkey. A 20 pound turkey will take 10-14 hours and larger turkeys greatly increase food contamination risks. A 12-16 pound turkey will be good.

You also need a smoker, a good meat thermometer, a good hardwood like cherry or apple, and patience. For the smoker you can use a kettle style grill if you are familiar with low temperature cooking in it. Most people don't do turkeys very often so even if you are a master of smoked brisket or low n' slow barbecue ribs you should pay particular attention to what you are doing. Nothing can take the place of experience.

The good meat thermometer is a must. It should read fast and be very reliable. For the wood I recommend a fruit wood because the flavor works best with turkey. Something like a cherry or apple would be good, though hickory and oak can add a nice flavor as well. Be careful not to over smoke a turkey, especially if you are doing a long smoke.

Smoked turkey has a different color and texture than oven roasted turkey. The meat may appear pink and have a smoother texture. This is normal. The smoking process causes a chemical change in turkey that causes this color change. As long as the turkey registers a temperture of 165 degrees F. it is safe to eat no matter the color.

Step by step instructions for smoking a turkey

Step one: Make user you have everything together before you start. The turkey needs to be completely thawed. Remove all the stuff inside and trim off any excess skin. Remove any pop up timer devices, wash in cold water and pat completely dry.

Step two: Prepare your smoker. You will want to build a fire to hold a steady temperature right around 230 degrees F. Since most smokers start hot and cool down as the fire settles into a good smoke that you plan on putting the turkey in at about 250o and let the smoker drop down to the cooking temperature.

Step three: Putting the turkey in at this point will give you a great meal. However there are several options you can follow to enhance the flavor of your bird. One option is to use a brine. This will require you to soak the turkey in the brine for a good 24 hours before you cook.

You could also apply your favorite dry rub. Of course the simplest method would be to brush some olive oil to keep the skin moist and help your turkey develop a rich deep tan.

Step four: Put the turkey in the smoker breast side up. You can use a roasting pan or heavy foil to help reduce any mess or just set it on the rack.

Step five: Wash everything. Once I get a piece of poultry on the grill or in the smoker I like to sterilize everything that might have come into contact with it. Salmonella is not something to take lightly. Once everything is completely clean you can relax. Check the smoker temperature every hour or so to make sure it's behaving properly but you won't need to do anything with this turkey for several hours.

Step six: Calculating 30 minutes per pound at about 230 degrees F, determine the approximate time that the turkey could be ready at the earliest. This is when you want to start testing for doneness. Using a good meat thermometer test the turkey in two different places, leaving the thermometer in long enough to get a good reading. Remember not to get it close to bone. When you have two reading about 165 degrees F. then you can take the turkey out.

Step seven: Let the turkey rest for about 15 minutes and carve. Giving the turkey a rest will allow the meat to relax, the juices to flow and the temperature to come up a little and even out. This is one of the secrets to a great bird. Don't rush to carve or your turkey will be dry.

Smoked Turkey Brine

This brine makes enough for a whole turkey and will not only add flavor but give you a juicier and more tender bird.

INGREDIENTS:

1 gallon water
1 cup kosher of unionized salt
1/2 cup sugar
6 fresh tarragon leaves or 1/4 cup dried tarragon
1 teaspoon black pepper PREPARATION:

The water you use should be unclorinated. If you don't have easy access to good spring water. Boil it first, let the water cool and then add all other ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Place Turkey in large non-metallic dish and cover completely with brine.

Let sit in refrigerator for 24 hours or overnight. Remove Turkey from Brine and dry. Coat with olive oil. Place in Smoker.

Mike's notes;

The brine recipe doesn't make sense to me. 1 gallon of water is hardly enough to cover the bird. That would only cover the back. Leaving the breast completely dry. I suppose the authors intention is that you baste it frequently. Well I've been submerging it completely and it works well for me.

I also don't have anything non-metallic that's big enough to submerge a turkey in. So I put my bird in my 5 gallon chili pot, then add enough water to cover the bird. Then I remove the bird and add the brine ingredients and stir till all is dissolved. Then drop in the bird for 24 hours in the fridge.

From what I read about slow cooking briskette it's my understanding that the low temp slow cook method originated specifically to tenderize the tough meat which is briskette. The slow low cook does much better at tenderizing briskette than a high temp fast cook. Well, knowing that, and knowing that turkey is everything but tough, I see no reason to cook it at the low briskette temps as mentioned above. As you'll see below I've had great success cooking turkey at 250 - 300 temperatures. This allows us to eat by 1 or 2pm without getting up before the Marines.

Thanksgiving 2004 notes

14lb turkey only took about 5 hours to be ready to eat, i.e. I had it on by 6am and it was ready by 10:30 or so where as we didn't eat till 2pm. That was keeping the pit at about 250 or so I think. As I'm typing this it's 2 days before Christmas - I meant to take these notes down right after tgiving. Oh well. Also, we had only 7 adults and almost no turkey left at all. Also had a ham. Probably should have basted the turkey more often, it was almost a little dry.

Christmas 2004 notes

The Thanksgiving turkey was good enough that I was requested to smoke another one. 18lb turkey, in pit at 8:15am, button popped at noon, bird temp 180/190, pit temp between 250 & 300, closer to 300 for quite a bit. Everyone commented how juicy the breast was. I had flipped the bird breast side down the last hour or so in the pit - letting the breast drench in it's juices and olive oil. Then allowed ample time for it to drain with breast side up before presentation. It was atleast as good as previous turkeys.

Thanksgiving 2005

15lb turkey.
The Plan: How it went:

2010/11/26 day after Thanksgiving, Texas lost to aggs. 14lb turkey, in at 325 for 4 hours. Was at 180 throughout. Overnight in vegetable stock brine, 2 hours breast up, 2 hours breast down. It was good. Breast was still not spewing juice but it was not overly dry.