Turkey tips?

[SOILhunter]

Anyone have any tips for doing whole turkeys? Practicing my first one tonight and I have to do 4 on Saturday. My plan was rub down with olive oil and dust is with dinks rub, onion garlic and orange peel in the cavity, then smoke around 250-275.

[Gizmo]

That's sounds really good. For an added pain pull it off around 150 degrees and spray it down with apple juice/water and place in an oven bag with light dusting of flour inside. Back into the cooker until the little button pops out (165 degrees?) That'll drive a little more moisture back into it. At least that's how I did the last one - worked great!

[SOILhunter]

What does the flour do for it Rick? I had thought about putting it in a covered foil pan with butter but I was afraid of getting a soggy bird.

[The Czar]

Brine it.....that is the secret.....to brine is to get the golden bird.....and I like to cook mine about 225.....

[SOILhunter]

What do you use in your brine DC? It's too late to brine my practice bird but the 4 for Saturday could still be done...

[The Czar]

Lots of sugars and salts....I will try to find my ratios when I get home.....

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[Rodcrafter]

I haven't tried this one yet, but it sounds good. I'll be trying it soon.


http://www.smoking-meat.com/november-10 ... urkey.html

[SoloQue]

I like to peel 2 or 3 apples, cut them into quarters and stuff into the breast cavity. I'm with DC, a good brine is the way I go. I'll dig out my recipe when I get home and post. Fairly simple but I have never had a complaint..

[alleyrat58]

+1 for brine - here is a tried and true recipe:
2 Cups Kosher Salt
1 Cup white sugar
1 TBSP cracked rosemary
1 TBSP Thyme
1 TBSP TWSS Chicken Rub (Birds and Bones would be a good substitute or your favorite poultry rub)
1 Gallon water

Bring water to boil, stir in salt and sugar until dissolved. Add herbs and rub, allow to simmer for 10 -15 mins.

Allow brine to cool overnight in refrigerator. Mix about 2 cups of vegetable stock with the brine, place the turkey in a brine bag with enough ice to keep it cold overnight. Then add the brine/stock. Tie it up and wait until time to cook.

Then rub and love it!

I cook about 30 turkeys every year with this recipe.

[SoloQue]

Like anything it all boils down to preference but here is my recipe for a poultry brine

Start with the following in a large sauce pan
1 Qt Apple Juice
1 box of Chicken Broth
1 cup Kosher Salt
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Soy Sauce
4 Vegetable Bullion squares
4 TBSP Seasoning (I usually stick with simple poultry seasoning for a turkey)
Bring all this to a light boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer 10 minutes.
At this point add 2 quarts Ice Water
Pour Brine into a non reactive container and refrigerate.

To Brine, I place a brine bag inside a 5 gallon plastic bucket and ease the bird into the bag so that the breast cavity is pointed upward. Now add the brine so that the cavity gets completely filled and overflows into the surrounding bag. Ease the bag up and slowly twist shut so that you have removed as much air as possible which also helps to ensure that the whole bird is now immersed in the brine. Twist the bag snugly closed and place an old dinner plate face down over the twist to help keep shut. Now top all remaining headspace in the bucket with mounded ice to be sure and maintain less than 40F during the brine. I then set the bucket in the sink since it just wont fit in my frig. For a Turkey I brine 12 hours, if you go too long I feel you can end up with a mushy bird. After brining, remove the bird and thoroughly rinse all of the brine off (inside and out) and pat everything dry. Whenever possible I like to allow time for the bird to rest in the frig over night after being patted down. This step makes a marked difference to me in the intensity of the final brine flavor. On the morning of the cook I stuff the cavity with peeled and quartered apples and rub everything down with margarine and a light dusting of poultry seasoning. At this point I'm sure everyone has their own preferred time and temp for cooking but I shoot for around 225 - 250F. I just put a foil tent over the bird when the skin gets the darkness I am looking for.

I use these same ratios for my cornish hens but I use my BBQ rub in place of the poultry seasoning and only brine for 4 hours

[SmokinFF]

<null>

What he means by that is. "I like to try everyone's samples. I don't really cook, so when I get home I'll look up some brine recipes online"

[SOILhunter]

3 hr cook time 225-250 15lb bird..she's resting now, will let you know how it tastes soon!

I think this goes here? ;)

[Smokeone]

Looks good, except that appendage!

[maccas66]

Whats a Brine bag?

[SOILhunter]

Taste test was good! I was really surprised the breast was as moist as it was...hopefully they turn out this good on Saturday. I used mostly pecan and but a few small splits of cherry and ash were thrown in as well. Man does that pecan smell good!!

[The Czar]

Smoking fff.........That is enough out of you.....what it means is I need to ask the wife where the book is at!!!

Alan---my brine bag ends up being my cooler with the turkey and solution in it....

[SoloQue]

Whats a Brine bag?

Similar to an oven roasting bag but actally labeled as a brine bag as it is a bit more durable. Wal-mart sells them.

[alleyrat58]

Whats a Brine bag?

Alan - when you were here I was using these large plastic bags to hold the meat once it was rubbed. That is what I use. In the super markets here you can actually buy a 'brine bag' which is designed for that purpose.

Like DC said, there are times when I will just throw the turkey in a bucket or cooler and let it brine over night.

[SMOKIN JAY]

Hey Solo whats the average time you cook that bird for ? sounds great and would like
to try it this holiday..

[Tom_Heath]

Now I am quite the amateur on the topic of turkeys, Unless your asking me something about DC, then I can let ya know for sure he's a turkey.

Serious now.

I don't care for a bird quite that dark. I like to keep an eye on it and then make a foil tent when it hits that perfect golden brown.

I also like to do mine on an over-sized beer-can chicken holder. This makes it a quart size turkey butt cooker. Gotta have good headroom in the cook chamber this way.


When I first started to read this thread, all I could see was the top half of the first pic. and I thought you were cooking a small hog. Until I scrolled. Now Now when I saw the last thread, I just glanced down and thought YIKES,,,, that sucker has got some serious Junk going on.

Sorry my mind went straight to the gutter again,

[maccas66]

Thanks for the info guys!, I`ll have to get my hands on a Turkey soon!

[SmokinFF]

Mac, should we ship ya a US bird? Do yours in Aussie land have meat on them or is it just the ribs?

[Gizmo]

I've heard of boneless ribs but not meatless...

[SoloQue]

Hey Solo whats the average time you cook that bird for ? sounds great and would like
to try it this holiday..

I plan for about 5.5 - 6.0 hrs with a ~12 lb bird cooking around 240 - 250. I usually have a tin foil cap ready to drop over the bird once the skin gets to my liking. I should warn you I have found the bird to be almost fall apart tender when pulling from the smoker. I think you will enjoy the brine flavor.

[maccas66]

Thanks SFF our turkeys are well covered with meat, just not as large as your`s over there!

Rick that just about somes it up mate!.................................