I want to try smoking a turkey for thanksgiving

Awhile back I posted about smoking ribs on a Weber grill. The ribs came out great...so I decided to try a pork butt, which also came out great. Now, for turkey day, I'm thinking about experimenting with smoking a turkey. There will be a traditional roasted turkey...so I'm not depending on this, but would like to try it.

I could be wrong....but isn't turkey alot different that fattier cuts of meat that are traditionally smoked? Wouldn't the turkey dry out?

Could anyone recommend any cooking times per lb? Recipes?

Would a turkey breast be easier/preferable to a full bird?

I haven't done one yet, my hunting partner swears by smoking turkeys. He said that he takes the whole fresh (not frozen) turkey, and smokes for three hours. He said that it's done by then, but uses a probe thermometer to ensure complete cooking. He uses hickory.


Again I haven't tried it, but this is what he does.

Back before I moved to a loft without a yard, I used to smoke a lot of turkeys...

I used one of those Brinkman "R2D2" smokers...



They have a bowl for liguid that suspends above the heat source and below the meat...as long as you keep it filled with liguid (I used to use applejuice, but beer, water, an herb "tea" of water and herbs" would work as well) that will keep the turkey moist....

I would use the highest rack for the turkey, even though this pic shows the turkey on the lowest rack...



That's too close to the flame.....

Just like aything Low and slow is the way to go with heat...and you could baste it, But I never felt the need to...

Have fun...lucky guy...I miss a good smoked turkey...

I don't remember how long I smoked them for...the time was in the insruction book, but I don't think 3 hours is enough....

I used to use hickory...

Here's a step by step guide...

Smoking Turkey - Step by Step

They recommend at 230 degrees 30 minutes/pound....that makes more sense, IIRC I was smoking the turkeys for between 5 and 10 hours....

You're going to need a lot of rolling papers.

mattmcl said:

You're going to need a lot of rolling papers.

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I was fighting the temptation to say something similar.....You saved me the bad karma of being the first post whore on this thread. Thanks!!

Well, LG, I guess great minds think alike!

On a serious note, I am thinking about smoking a turkey breast this year since SWMBO doesn't care for smoked turkey. I was figuring I would brine it along with the main bird to help keep it from drying out along with a dish of liquid in the smoker. Prolly use some of the case & a half of flat stout I have for cooking & B&Ts!

mr_goodwrench said:

Well, LG, I guess great minds think alike!

On a serious note, I am thinking about smoking a turkey breast this year since SWMBO doesn't care for smoked turkey. I was figuring I would brine it along with the main bird to help keep it from drying out along with a dish of liquid in the smoker. Prolly use some of the case & a half of flat stout I have for cooking & B&Ts!

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That sounds tasty!

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm defintely going to have to try this out. @ 235 degrees...30 min per lb....10lb bird should take me about 5 hours. Because I will be doing this on a Weber grill, I can't use too large a turkey because i don't want it to overlap with the charcoal on the other side of the grill.

BearsWickedBrew said:

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm defintely going to have to try this out. @ 235 degrees...30 min per lb....10lb bird should take me about 5 hours. Because I will be doing this on a Weber grill, I can't use too large a turkey because i don't want it to overlap with the charcoal on the other side of the grill.

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With a weber, can you get moisture in there?

One thing I learned living in Kansas City was that moisture is a key to smoking....One place I used to frequent LC's smoker is an old bank vault...every few minutes they'd throw open the doors and hit it with a blast of a hose and close it back up...



Can you at least pun a metal bowl with liguid in the grill??

Had done one years ago on one of those water smokers. Too smoky because of the closeness to the smoke & you coulda pounded nails with the skin!
Now that the Train is running I did one last year for Christmas or T-day (don't remember which).
Brined it first (POINT!). Rubbed the herbs under the skin. It was sooooo good. Bro-in-law, who can do mean Que, loved it.
This year we're doing one in the oven & one in the Choo-choo. Times per sound about right. I think mine prolly came in around 20/#. Use a probe to be sure.
Also, a great excuse to drink HB all day.

BTW, anyone seen the cell phone commercial about the guy saying he missed the call to thaw the turkey before deep frying it? Hilarious!

Revvy, that picture just made my day!

mr_goodwrench said:

Revvy, that picture just made my day!

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If you ever, ever make it to KC...you have to Try LC's...It's in Ray town...halfway between Lee's Summit, and downtown KC...


It's a nopretension dive of a place.....but they make the best que I ever had...and I tried a ton of places when I was there...



Notice the tall stack on the roof..you Smell the Place about 10 minutes before you get there......




Did I mention the smoker was a bank vault???

Grins evilly...



Roadfoods has a great review of the place...

L C's Bar-B-Q - Kansas City, MO

+1 on the brine. BRINE will make it better even if you do not get that great of a smoke.

Search alton brown and turkey on foodtv.com and look for his brine for a baseline.

If you have trouble with TEMP on your smoker or are a little new. And since you might not want to take too big a chance on Thanksgiving...

tend it and smoke it for like 4 hours... pull it wrap it up in foil. and stick it in the oven @ 225 or whatever.. and keep it like that for several more hours.

you will get a decent smoke line and taste after 4 hours and with the oven heat will be more likely to hit your internal temp with out having to stay up all night.

Just my 2 cents.
Me personally I use a propane smoker and it rocks. Say what you will about "authentic" and such... I focus on results and my smoked meats rock.

T$

To answer Revvy's Question earlier.....in the past, I have put a tray filled w/ water directly above the charcoal on the grill. I've actually had to refill w/ water a couple times. On the other side of the grill i have whatever is being smoked...and underneath that is something to catch the drippings. The metal grill itself has sides that flip open...so I am able to conveniently add more charcoal & wood chips to maintain temp. I also plop my oven thermometer in there to monitor the temp (only downfall is I have to open the grill to check it out). I've got a 12 pound bird....so I figure it should take me about 6 hours to cook at about 235.

Guy's...sorry to bring this up again...but I've done some "smoked turkey" googling...and I've found websites that say smoke @ 325 per pound....and others that say smoke @ 235 per pound. To anybody who has ever done some turkey smokin'- what temp per lb do you go by?

I'm smoking chickens while my dad frys a turkey. I lay the chickens on the pit and smoke them at ~250°F for about an hour. After that, they go into pans, covered in foil and left on the pit until done. Even after they're done, they can sit on the pit to stay warm until everyone's ready to eat. Never done a turkey, but 275° - 325° sounds right. But after an hour or so, cover it in a pan to keep it from drying out.

BearsWickedBrew said:

Guy's...sorry to bring this up again...but I've done some "smoked turkey" googling...and I've found websites that say smoke @ 325 per pound....and others that say smoke @ 235 per pound. To anybody who has ever done some turkey smokin'- what temp per lb do you go by?

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I tend to smoke and fry for that matter at the lower end of the temps. 235 -250 is just about right for smoking a turkey. I don't like the bird over smoked either so I tend to add some wood at the beginning of the session and then again when it has about an hour to go.

Fried turkey @ 325* no higher this way the skin don't look like leather when it come out and it really only takes a few minutes longer than the 350-375 than some recommend .

BearsWickedBrew said:

Guy's...sorry to bring this up again...but I've done some "smoked turkey" googling...and I've found websites that say smoke @ 325 per pound....and others that say smoke @ 235 per pound. To anybody who has ever done some turkey smokin'- what temp per lb do you go by?

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Low and slow....That's what I prefer, so 235-250 for several hours...

Nice.

Since nobody has a single bad thing to say about brining...I figure I should give that a whirl.

Has anyone given this is a shot without using a fridge? I was thinking of lining a coleman cooler with a trash bag...plop the turkey..dump the brine..1 bag of ice..and let sit overnight in a cold garage.

BearsWickedBrew said:

Nice.

Since nobody has a single bad thing to say about brining...I figure I should give that a whirl.

Has anyone given this is a shot without using a fridge? I was thinking of lining a coleman cooler with a trash bag...plop the turkey..dump the brine..1 bag of ice..and let sit overnight in a cold garage.

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Last thanksgiving I brined my turkey outside overnight. It was under 40º so it was no problem. I think leaving it in a cooler with a bunch of ice will be no problem. I don't have any vessels big enough to brine the bird I bought yesterday, so I'll be doing the same thing that you're planning on, but on my back deck.

Ok so... my turkey doesn't say self basting...doesnt say kosher it say's..

"Injected with flavor...ingredients include turkey broth, salt...blah balh"

can i brine or will it be too salty?