Smokin' a Turkey??

[The Quadfather]

Well,it's almost Turkey time. If I missed people's smoking ideas/recipes for whole turkey, sorry.. but I didn't see anything.

Anybody have any experience smoking a whole bird? Type of wood, Temp. brine/rub recipes?? HInts suggestions.. etc.
My smoker is a Green Mountain pellet smoker if that helps.

[Amx]

I didn't know they made turkey cigars.

[BentRod]

Hey Quad,
I smoked one a couple years ago. I recommend brining a turkey no matter whether you're going to roast or smoke it.
I smoked mine at around 220 with Alder chips for about 4 hours using the recipe I was following.....which turned out to be way too short as the center of the bird was not completely cooked. We ended up finishing it off in the oven while we ate the other one as I'd fortunately prepared two birds (one roasted) just in case the smoked one didn't turn out. The parts of the smoked bird that were cooked through were really good though. However, by the time we were done with the left overs from that smoked bird...I was pretty sick of smoked turkey. I apparently have gotten over it as the thought of it is making my mouth water right now.
FWIW.

[The Quadfather]

Geez, I'd hate to have to make 2 birds, lol. I've got a pretty cool electronic thermometer that is part of the smoker. Hopefully i will know when its done. Thanks for the reply. Ya, everything out there says to brine a turkey either way u cook it.:

[BentRod]

Geez, I'd hate to have to make 2 birds, lol. I've got a pretty cool electronic thermometer that is part of the smoker. Hopefully i will know when its done. Thanks for the reply. Ya, everything out there says to brine a turkey either way u cook it.:

We had a big crowd that year, so one bird would have been cutting it really close. Sure glad I did one each way though as that other sure saved my bacon!

[Bodofish]

What I've done is cold smoke the turkeys but you need to have a smoker that will operate at 100 degrees or less. Smoke the turkey for a few hours then into the deep freeze to bring the core temp back down. Then cook the bird as you normally would, stuffing it is ok. I don't know about anyone else but my family would revolt if the turkey isn't stuffed with a tasty home made dressing. You must not try and cook a turkey that's been stuffed in a smoker, chances are real good someone will get sick. Lysteria is not one of the more pleasant food born illnesses.

I brine mine in apple juice.

[The Quadfather]

bodo.....when u say that u cold smoke it for "couple hours and then freezer it forawhile". you said finish it off th normal way u cook it. did u mean in the oven, or back into smoker?
i can smoke down to 80 degees......sorry for the boneheaded typing. im typing on a phone and squidding at shilshole!

[MotoBoat]

Quad, I do not have any turkey smoking tips. But am curious how the squid fishing is doing? Is your bucket full of ink, yet?

Seems like every time I am on a pier, and look into someone's bucket of squid. There is a bunch ink in there, from the squid!

I wasn't sure what Bodo was saying either. I got the part about smoking the bird for a couple hours, then freeze to reduce the core temp of the bird. But then finish cooking in the oven, after freezing is okay. But back in the smoker after freezing is going to cause Listeria or something??.

[rseas]

Hey Chris, I smoke a turkey every year and have had people travel 1,200 miles just to have it. I always order a fresh turkey as the guest of honor just for the occasion. We do an oven baked turkey in addition to the smoked turkey and it is awesome but the smoked turkey is stuff legends are made of. Give me a call and I'll share my process with you.

[Bodofish]

bodo.....when u say that u cold smoke it for "couple hours and then freezer it forawhile". you said finish it off th normal way u cook it. did u mean in the oven, or back into smoker?
i can smoke down to 80 degees......sorry for the boneheaded typing. im typing on a phone and squidding at shilshole!

Yeah, the freezer is just to get the temp down fast till you put it in the oven. I smoke it a couple days ahead of time to make it easy. I've also deep fried after smoking and its killer. Don't get me wrong, i love them cooked in the smoker but I really like them oven baked so I can stuff them.

Again, don't cook a stuffed bird in the smoker, bad juju.

[Bodofish]

To add.... cold smoke in smoker and then roast in the oven like you would any bird. The bird is still raw when it comes out of the smoker.

[Rich McVey]

I put mine in a white food grade bucket to brine in a spiced saltwater solution for 2 days before smoking.

I used garlic, rosemary, ginger, pepper, salt... not sure what else.

Smoked it until the center (thickest part) of the breast was 180 degrees. I used Cherry wood and I kept the water pan full. Im not sure how long it took, it was all about temperature.

[The Quadfather]

Thanks folks.... I'll get back to this when I have a minute.

[racfish]

I smoke turkeys in my Barrell BBQ. I smoke with applewood. I'll keep 2 large metal juice cans in the BBQ with apple juice in them. This adds some sweet steam to the smoke. . At first I cover it loosely in foil to cook the inside well then uncover the last half hour to 45 mins to darken up . I had one 9in my freezer from a while ago. I thought I'd do one Sunday and experiment for Tday when I do a fresh one.Remember if you use wood to soak the wood in water so it dosent flame up real hot. Applewood will burn hot if not moistened down.

[racfish]

I smoked a 10 lb bird for 3.5 hours using applewood then finished it in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes more. It came out great. I had a hot turkey sandwich for dinner. The turkey sat in freezer about 10 months so I used it. Now this time of year I buy a couple more at this good pricing time of year.

[Bodofish]

Oh my, that do look worth a gobble!

[Gringo Pescador]

Duncan, what temp do you smoke at?

[sickbayer]

Oh my gosh Duncun that looks subloodyperb! I recently smoked my first turkey turned out great but I know there is stacks of room for improvement. Could I get your reciepe for the brine? I smoked mine at 250 took about 4 hours. I did read that protein will keep absorbing smoke flavour up until a certain temp then it will not absorb anymore. So I'm wondering why you cooked yours so long while keeping it moist. Really like the lard and butter idea you do.

[Rich McVey]

I smoke at different Temps for everything but the ladies say I am always smokin!!!!

The thing about smoking is understanding how smokey you want the taste and that depends on the eaters. I love heavy smoke flavor but the wife... er ex-wife does... er did not. Thus you see 2 turkeys in the photo, hers and mine. Hers was on the bottom because it was entered into the smoking phase later. See I like to get that smoker up to 300 degrees... Put the wood bin literally on the lowest height off the flame, then get the wood burning. I then draw the temp down to around 170. I smoke the whole box of wood like this the first time which takes about 1 hour to burn up. Then I but in a fresh box a little higher off the flame still at 185-190 which takes much longer to cook around 3 - 4 hours to totally burn up since it was never started at 300 like the first box. I then move the turkey up to the top rack and let the lesser smoke flavored bird join the party at 2 hours into that cycle. Keep in mind that second bird is going to jump into the oven a bit earlier to gain some temp. In general I like my birds internal to be around 165-170 at the deepest place (w/o) stuffins.

For turkeys I find all the smoke flavoring is maximized in the first 4 hours of cooking. If you add wood after that you are really wasting it and just over powerfully flavoring the exterior which causes that black nasty fumy look. For Bacon wrapped birds the final roast in the Oven is key.

For other stuff like Ribs (which I will declare to be a master in) I think the first two hours are the key in smoke flavoring and while I would like to share my recipe I won't. I would then have to hack into this website, shut it down, erase the server and hire hit men to kill every user that read my post. And while that sounds cool, I recently was warned again that this is a family website and although the though of slaughtering thousands of fish and adult fishermen does not bother me a bit, the little kids would cause me at least a few night of sleep. So I apologize but you will just have to try my cookins sometime and then try to figure it out, which is half the fun if you ask me.

Jerkies, Salmons, Tuna, Halibut, Pheasant, Duck, Grouse, Game Hen, Elk, Moose, Bear, Coyote, Big Horn, Horse, and yes my friends even the occasional rabbit and squirrel have been the guests of my smokers. Think you know how to smoke? Go down to the pet store and buy a hundred guppies, If you can take those out mix them with chips and hear nothing but ooohs and aaahs from your party guests, well you might be ready for the next step. Another reason that my wife will never find another Man to replace me... My smoker has been seasoned in a way that can not be re-produced. I can just set meat in there without even lighting it and I promise it will taste better!

Ok, now lets start talking ribs...

[SoDakboy]

I know this thread is old but I have a fairly easy smoked turkey recipe. I'm a "keep it simple stupid" kinda guy...

Since I'm usually a procrastinator I will brine my whole frozen turkey the night before in enough brine to cover the bird (I use a simple Rubbermaid tote bin thing, freshly cleaned of course). The Brine is 1/2 G of water, 1/2 C sugar, 1/4 C table salt (if you have kosher salt or sea salt then 1/2 C of that). Make as much brine as you need to cover the bird. This brines and thaws the turkey for me.

The next morning I rinse, and dry the bird.

Note: For faster cooking times, and since I have the room in the smoker, I like to cut the bird in half right down the breast bone and spine with a cleaver. It doesn't make for the best table presentation but I usually carve and set out on a buffet anyway.

Then season your bird anyway you like.

This is the smoker I have http://www.lowes.com/pd_332738-42600-CB ... tt=smokers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll fill up the firebox with charcoal and then add water soaked wood (I did mesquite last year, turned out great. Fruit woods like apple and cherry are popular. You can do hickory but I think it tastes more like ham then) inside aluminum foil packets.

In my water bowl I'll do water or fruit juice. I've also done a cheap bottle of whiskey (add the last hour or half hour of smoking, and careful to spill any on the coals).

I then throw on my bird halves. As a rule of thumb I do a half hour per pound. (24 lb bird cut in half = 6 hours, compared to 12 hours it would take if it was whole). With a full firebox my smoker usually reads 225-250 degrees.

The bird comes out delicious, moist, and smokey, and the skin gets a beautiful dark brown. I usually get a lot of complements.