CubinNY wrote:WrigleyField 22 wrote:jersey cubs fan wrote:Any advice on smoking one? I’ve been YouTube researching and still open for suggestions
I have a pretty basic set up. Weber charcoal and I keep the bird on the small side 12 or under is best. Coals and wood on one side in a basket. Water pan underneath. It takes a lot of work to maintain the temp in that setup but I keep a temp probe to keep track. I always brine the turkey (I've used Alton Browns brine recipe in the past) . Spices, aromatics, and wood flavor you can obviously play around a lot with.
I've found you can keep the temp a little higher than a traditional smoke for a little quicker cook and still get a really moist turkey with good smoke flavor in as little as 3-4 hours (where a some recipes say to do up to 6). That tends to be helpful in Thanksgiving specifically when you might be trying to get a meal on the table at 2 or 3.
I don't have a go to recipe, but I'll typically pull up 1 or 2 recipes each time as a refresher.
Any other specific questions, let me know. If you have a good smoker set up with easy temp control it should be pretty easy smoke. Of course need to know the normal turkey trimming and carving steps too, so watch some videos on that if you're not comfortable with that.
I like to use pecan wood. The key is to keep the temperature as low as possible. I don't have a pellet smoker, but if you do it will be much easier. Brining is a good idea. I use a citrus brine. 1 cup of kosher salt/quart of water, 4 limes, about 12 cloves, three cloves of garlic, a dozen cherries, 5 fresh rosemary sprigs, and a bunch of cilantro, and two bottles of wheat beer. Use a grill thermometer so you can make sure the temp is even and consistent, around 225.
Yea I think with a pellet or electric or really any "proper" smoker 225 low and slow is likely great. I find that to be a really tough temp to maintain with just a charcoal weber grill, though. Not the least of which is because 12 pounds of bird is hard to keep even heat distribution in a 22 in kettle grill. So I rotate and check a lot. So I aim for 250, but there's time it definitely exceeds that, up to 275-280. So my skin tends to come out a little more crisp, but the meat is still really nice and tender and moist, and definitely packs the smoke. If I notice the skin getting particularly crisp, some aluminum foil ends up being insurance for the back half of the cooking. And it doesn't hurt that it goes quicker so I'm not rushed in the AM. Seems like after the first hour you get most of the smokiness as well, and I've even just smoked low for 90 minutes and then finished covered on the propane grill low (around 300), just like you would if you were roasting it in the oven.
The citrus brine is interesting. I typically just keep it pretty basic salt/sugar but then make sure to add spices and aromatics as a part of the smoke.
This year we just have a breast an not a full bird. I'm cooking it at my Sister in Laws house so I'll probably just do a "fake" smoke with one of
these that can go in the propane grill filled with some chips. It doesn't overwhelm with that smokiness, but adds a little touch. And of course I'll still be brining it still. I will miss not having any dark meat. But we have a full bird in the freezer and we'll bust it out and smoke it on a nice spring day when hopefully things are calmed down.
Basically I really do want to upgrade to a proper smoker but can't decide on which style I should get (pellet, electric, komado).
