I experimented with this one time, but my injection was a soy sauce based mixture. Came out pretty awesome, but I could not remember for the live of me what I did exactly to repeat it.
For Thanksgiving I am smoking my bird this year. I don’t understand though why there is such a variance in the smoking time?
Every year, people apply a quick smoking process, when deep-frying their turkeys on their wooden decks. Unfortunately, the entire house tends to get smoked, too. Dropping the bird into an overly full hot-oil vat is especially effective, more so if the bird is still laden with ice. Pyrotechnics become the appropriate holiday dinner bell.
I’ve done turkeys “low and slow” at 250 and also at around 325 and much prefer the hotter, faster cook when it comes to the skin. I find it rubbery at the low temps and nice and crisp when cooked hotter.
I removed the skin in one piece (silence of the lamb style)
then deboned the turkey (except for the wings)
seasoned the meat and reformed the bird
and rolled into it’s skin and tied it up. about 3
hours climbing to 350 and pulled at an internal temp of 159 deg F. used a bit of apple wood.
Mel, that is some top-notch meat porn!!!
My brother used to receive a smoked turkey in the mail via our aunt from a company in Texas. It was delicious in gumbo, but the skin was sooo smokey that it would turn your tongue numb!
Nola-first and foremost-I wish you a fantastic Thanksgiving with all you have been through with your husband. I hope too that things are going as well as can be hoped for with Juan.
Now on the mundane; the differences in smoking times are due to differences in smokers, cooking temp, size of the bird, and how the bird is prepped.
As to the differences in smokers, a Weber with fire baskets on either side is going to cook a turkey differently than a BGE with a platesetter between the fire and the bird and just as one more example, a vertical insulated smoker with a firebox at the bottom is going to cook differently than a horizontal reverse flow style of smoker made of heavy gauge steel (i.e. the type built and used by Aaron Franklin). Like a budding photographer with a new camera, it is all about getting to know one’s smoker. Each has it’s quirks/characteristics/“behaviors”. Particularly when the conditions are windy, rainy, or cold.
On the topic of how the bird is prepped, a whole bird is going to cook slower than a spatcocked one. Either will cook faster if placed directly on the cooking grate as opposed to being placed in a rack in a deep roasting pan.
Bottom line is this; when it comes to smoking a turkey, it is best to know your smoker and then start with plenty of time ahead as a smoked turkey will hold for well over an hour and can always be kept warm in a cooler with towels draped over it or in a spare low temp oven (though we all know than on Thanksgiving no matter how many ovens you have, they are likely being used for other things).
Also fwiw, I have stopped brining because I think it tends to make the meat rubbery. This year I spatcocked my bird because it is the trendy thing to do-my plan is to smoke it in a deep aluminum pan on a rack with braising liquid (turkey stock and mirapoix) underneath it, skin side down for an hour and then skin side up for an hour and once I have good color I will tent it with foil on top and let it braise until internal temp is correct. Upside is moist meat, downside is that you end up with less crisp skin and you lack the Norman Rockwell whole-bird presentation. We do two birds, so the Norman Rockwell whole bird is my wife’s task with The Silver Palate recipe (first book) in the oven.
Mel:
Great work. I did it once and my wife forbid me from ever doing it again due to the mess I made. I wanted to go for a home made Turducken, but Google told me that to get the inside cooked, the outside gets dry unless your first bone and pre-cook and then assemble and finish. As to that, see the reason I can’t do the turkey alone any more and multiply by 3.
Smoking a whole bird? I think it’s a mistake because it takes too long and the smoke flavor is too strong. I recommend a low temp smoke - something like 4 hours at 175 and then finish in the oven. But that’s a matter of taste, so YMMV.
I’ve seen that happen. The counter to that is to go light on the amount of wood chunks. Smoking low and slow for four hours at 175 imo would make the bird more smokey, not less. At higher temps like 300-325 the bird will stop absorbing smoke within an hour or so. It has been proven that meat stops absorbing smoke once it hits 120-140 internal temp so the faster you get the meat up to that range, the less smoke it will absorb. The whole turkey that I photo’ed below certainly did not have high amounts of smoke on it. Drew mentioned the overly smoked turkey that was sent mailorder from Texas. I will bet anything he is referring to Greenberg smoked turkey-they got a write up once in Bon Appetit or similar and I ordered one and could not believe that anyone would find it palatable let alone enjoyable. I would bet those Greenberg turkeys are in a huge smoke chamber hanging for 6-8 hours. They are practically black. Besides too much smoke, the weakness with slow smoking is rubbery skin. But unlike chicken, crispy turkey skin is not that great anyway. The only way i know of to get pleasantly tasting crispy turkey skin is to deep fry. And it is good. Just a lot of mess. Every five years or so, I get up the desire and willingness to deep fry.
FWIW, not one member of my family will eat chicken or turkey skin so the dog gets it all. I’ve never bothered to try to get it anywhere near crispy as it would be waisted.
Double entendre.
autocorrect for the slim
Temperature. Low-n-slow @ 225F or go for a ‘warm smoke’ @ 325-350F. I prefer the latter, which usually takes about 3 hours with a 12# bird. I use an offset smoker with almond wood - which I’ve found to be nicely neutral.
Secret Weapon: Pull the bird when the breast is at 160F, then pack into a cooler that has been lined with a layer of warmed firebricks (heat retention), and let rest for a hour or two. The long rest assures even distribution of juices and even doneness.
Thanks for reminding me, Mitch! I am 90% certain that the turkeys came from Greenberg.
My brother found the white meat to be okay for a weird “dip” he made to serve with chips. I believe that the mayonnaise in the recipe helped tame the smoky, dried-up effects of the smoking process. He used the rest (dark meat and bones) in gumbo with locally made “Down Home” sausage.
I did low and slow at 225F. With a little EVOO to shine up the skin.
We’ll see…
Show us the “herb” stuffing.
12# Kosher bird at 325 on the Weber. Mainly apple, cherry, maple and some orange and peach wood. Paprika, porcini mushroom, Herbs de Provence rub. Took just under 2 hours. My best turkey yet.
I did a dry/wet brine (dry brine but wrapped in plastic) with salt garlic and herbs for 2 days, then about 4 hours at 275-300. Had meant to go higher but I was on the dregs of the summer charcoal so air flow wasn’t as good. Turned out amazing, only used about half cup of apple wood as least years came out too smoky.
