Smokin' a Turkey

[JLA]

Now after they are cooked, I have the wife stuff the turkey with Broccoli Rice and cheese mix. Its a neatly convenient spot for a side. I just dont like putting it into a raw bird because it generally increases cooking time, which increases how dry the meat could end up.

[geds]

I was thinking about loose fresh sage, thyme, and some parsley leaves just to add fragrance and flavor as it cooks. Maybe some garlic too, but since I am using a garlic butter rub, I don't want to over power it.

[JLA]

That would be fine Geds. it would be loosely stuffed in there and will cook down. Im talking packing a turkey with stuffing or Yams or something like that. Packing it tight with as much as it will possibly hold.

[geds]

Went to Wally world today to buy supplies. They had a poultry seasoning mix of fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary - so I got it. They had apple wood chunks - looks like particle board disks about an inch thick. The did not have my Kingsford Mesquite so I wound up with Oak charcoal chips rather than briquets. It was that or hickory briquets and I didn't want to go with a hickory flavor on poultry.

I guess I'll soak the apple wood chunks tonight so they'll last longer.

[JLA]

The royal oak charcoal is good. pops alot. but it burns long and hot. Should do well for you.

[Bobitis]

Originally Posted by geds

I was thinking about loose fresh sage, thyme, and some parsley leaves just to add fragrance and flavor as it cooks. Maybe some garlic too, but since I am using a garlic butter rub, I don't want to over power it.

Sounds good to me as well. Nice little touch actually.

But I gotta say that I never heard of stuffing a bird and using the hot oil method. Sounds like a sponge to me.

When smoking, I want all that smoke on the inside as well as out. Stuffing would undermine the process. I spose ya could put the stuffing in a pan outside the bird if ya wanted smoked stufffing.

Smoke is good, but it only goes so far. If'n ya got no contrasting flavors, ya might as well lick the cooker. Meaning the device that does the cooking. I mean the contraption that holds the smoke. The metal thing with the grill.

[todd51]

Hey Josh and the rest of you how about picture of:

the cooker. Meaning the device that does the cooking. I mean the contraption that holds the smoke. The metal thing with the grill.

Most of what you all are saying is Greek to this old Yankee

I thought a "smoker" had to do with cigars and brandy

[JLA]

Here she be Todd.. My homemade smoker rig. The big barrel was once a 150 gallon residential propane tank, the firebox is 24"X24" 1/4" steel plate, the little pit is a heavy guage Cabelas smoker. The steel is 3/16 thick and the firebox has an open top with a grill so i can sear steaks and burgers right over the fire. The trailer was once a 6"X6" utility trailer. With both smokers it still holds 1/4 cord of wood and my propane bottle and 'toolbox'. I welded a gas turkey fryer burner to the side of the little firebox, the flat top of the big firebox doubles as a griddle for cooking Eggs, bacon and sausage for breakfast. And to top it all off she is equipped with 17" wheels off a '97 Cobra wrapped with NExen 3000 215 45s.

[geds]

The stuffing I was referring to is just the herbs so they release aroma from the heat. I could make a paste and rub them on the inside or just set them on the inside. They shouldn't block much smoke.

The stuffing I saw on a deep fried bird was not a corn bread stuffing, but onions, apples, peppers... then, lower the bird in head first so the stuffing doesn't fall out.

It's dark now, but I'll take photos tomorrow and post them.

[geds]

That is a fine lookin' rig Josh! Makes my little smoker embarrassed - smoker envy!

[JLA]

she sure cooks good. Yall try to make the TFF TX meets. I take er out and BBQ for everyone and we set around and BS for 2 days..

[todd51]

Goodness that is some rig. I bet if you pulled that thing into my neighborhood you would be followed by the Fire Marshall, the Bomb Squad and maybe Homeland Security. But I should not be surprised you are a Texan after all. Thanks for showing.

[cpttango30]

NEVER EVER EVER EVER Stuff a turkey.

By the time you get the stuffing to a heat that will kill the bad goopy stuff you have over cooked your turkey and it will end up like the one on Christmas Vacation. (You know that movie don't you?)

[geds]

We don't actually eat stuffing here. We make a cornbread dressing that is served separately from the bird and you put cranberry sauce and/or milk & egg gravy over it. MMMM Good!

[glens67]

Originally Posted by jack404

i use the easy wider's you can lay one one strip and gum the edge , then lay doiwn another strip and double the width , keep going until you have enough to roll your turkey ,

but how you gonna light it ??

Jack I have had that problem with Phesant.. But which end do you suck on? Is it Puff or PU.
Glen

[Silencer]

Originally Posted by JLA

depends on temp. Thats why i use them poppers. And chek it every 30 minutes or so.

Ewww, never use those! They don't always work!

I always use a probe thermometer. They only cost $30 so there's no reason to have a few lying around.



Brine your turkey breast in one gallon of water, one cup Kosher salt and one cup of sugar. Don't brine if the breast has added 'water salt solution' injected. It will be too salty. Brine for at least 8 hours before adding to the smoker.

Smoke over low heat (220 or so) with a mixture of smoking woods. I love half oak and half hickory for turkey. Add to smoker only after the outside skin has completely dried. A small fan is good to use to dry it completely, and to keep the flies from landing on it.

[geds]

Silencer - I'd like to get a thermometer like you have. Where did you find one? Can you leave it in the meat while cooking - the cable looks pretty long?

[JLA]

Ive never had the poppers fail me. Been using them for years.

[geds]

Here's the setup before lighting the fire.

I have the drip pan in place under the grate and the water pan (containing orange peel and about a cup of water) beside the entrance to the fire box.

[Bobitis]

Geds, a cup won't last long at all. Start with a quart. Check at the half way mark and add if needed.

I have a weber Bullet and do my turkeys dry. But my butts and briskets will eat up half a gallon in 4 hours. But it's not 'indirect' heat.

MeThinks yer on the right path.

[JLA]

Thatll do it. Just mind that water. It goes fast.

[Silencer]

Originally Posted by geds

Silencer - I'd like to get a thermometer like you have. Where did you find one? Can you leave it in the meat while cooking - the cable looks pretty long?

Amazon.com has great deals on them. Right now, I'm sure doing a Google 'shopping' search well find a great deal, as would searching Amazon.

Polder is the make of mine. Decent quality and has never failed me. But, the cable 'probe' part has. Purchase several of them if you get a good deal on them. The smoke and grease eventually cause them the fail. But, the trade off is worth it!

This is the one I have... http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...u=SPM683972001

It can read two temps at once. It will take the temp of the BBQ or oven, and the temp of the food at the same time. Works for homemade bread as well as meats. A MUST HAVE item for my cooking.

Originally Posted by JLA

Ive never had the poppers fail me. Been using them for years.

Trust me, those things aren't reliable. Try a meat probe for all your meats. You'll be surprised how well these these probes work. I was when I first used mine. But, if you're happy with what your using, no sense in debating about it. Happy smoking!

[geds]

I found one today and am ready to put it to use tomorrow. I checked the calibration in a pot of boiling water and found it reads 5 degrees cooler at 212 degrees. I figure that will translate to about 4 degrees at 165 degrees.

Thanks!

[geds]

Here's the process and results. Your advice was spot on! This was the best turkey we've ever had no matter how it was prepared! VERY moist, slightly smokey flavor, EXCELLENT!

This was a 9.5 lb breast. I peeled the skin back (like removing a t-shirt) and rubbed the bird with a basting sauce (1 stick I can't believe its not butter and 2.5 tsp of minced garlic). Then pulled the skin back down and pinned it with a toothpick to prevent it uncovering the bird as it shrinks during cooking. Took one package of "fresh" poultry seasoning from Wal-Mart (parsley, rosemary, thyme) and stuck the loose stems inside the cavity.

Set the bird on the rack with the cavity facing the fire box. Just inside the cooking chamber I placed a small cake tin with a navel orange peeling in about two cups of water. The water never evaporated, so I never had to add more water (although I was prepared to do so).

I cooked between 275 and 350; once it got above 350 for just a few minutes. I used a probe thermometer so I could monitor the cooking temp of the chamber and the temp of the bird. I discovered in the process that the temp gauge on the smoker was WAY out of calibration. (I checked the calibration on the probe and found it reads 4-5 degrees warmer, so I set the alarm at 156 degrees - assuming the bird would continue cooking and warming about 5 degrees after taking up.)

Edited to add fuel description: Used Kingsford Regular for initial start then burned oak chip charcoal. I added two apple wood disks when I added new fuel (3 times). The apple wood came in a package from Wal-Mart and was made of small chips fused into a particle board composite "hockey puck" about 2.5 inches in diameter.

I lit the fire at 7:30 and took the bird up at 11:30. I wrapped it in heavy duty aluminum foil and then a dish towel. We let it sit 30 minutes before unwrapping and beginning the carving process.

These photos show the set up, about an hour into the process, taking up, wrapping in foil and then a towel.

[geds]

Sorry about the blurred photo of the finished bird on the grill!

Here are the photos of the carving and serving. We cut the skin off. Then carved.

Oh, forgot to mention that I basted the outside of the bird every hour with more of the same basting sauce (I added another stick of I can't believe its not butter).