Turkey Thanks

[Ok_Longhorn]

I've been making slow but steady progress in my smoking skills mostly thanks to everyone here on this board. So much so that my wife thought it would be a good idea to entrust this years Turkey to me and my smoker.

I read the threads here and saw that almost everyone suggested brining. I have never heard of that but figured you all had been right so far so I'd give it a shot.

To make a long story short, my wife describe our Turkey meal as, "The best Turkey she's ever had".. It was not only good, it was spectacular. No gravy needed. I normally don't eat the white meat as it's just too dry but this was great. I mean, the way she was looking at me throughout the meal I thought I was going to have to post this in the "board that is no longer around and shall remain nameless".

So, in short. Thank you all for your instructions and help. And to those of you who have never tried brining.. Do it..

 

[jimmyjazz]

Great news! Was the skin rubbery? The only time I smoked poultry, the skin was almost inedible. It seems like the heat of grilling crisps it up.

 

[Ok_Longhorn]

I left the actual skin on it and it was blackened but pealed right off. The meat right under it was tough and most of it inedible by us (the dog however loved it). But under that was great.

I THINK I cooked it at a bit too high temperature. I had it mostly between 300 - 350 with it mostly being around 320. It was a 9.5 lb bird (only my wife and two kids) and it cooked about 2 hours 15 minutes. My stupid Acurite digital probe had a failure around 1:45 but didn't realize it for a bit. After I took it inside, I checked with a normal meat thermometer and the breast read 171. So next time I'm going to try for a little longer at a little lower temp.

 

[hullabelew]

That is good to hear. Did you let it dry out in the fridge after brining? One thing you can do is cover the turkey with cheese cloth. Usually, if you let it dry out for 8 hours, the skin gets done perfectly and you don't need the cheese cloth.

 

[shorty]

I am glad you tried the brining method. It makes no difference how you cook your turkey, brining makes it better. My husband hated turkey leftovers, but I cannot keep him out of them if it has been brined.

One tip you may want to try on your next smoked turkey is to cover it in foil after 2-3 hours. They say it has taken in all of the smoked flavor in that amount of time. Continue cooking until it is done.

I do put it in a very hot, 450 degrees, oven for 30 minutes to crisp the skin. Covering with foil and crisping the skin in the oven has prevented the layer of tough meat.