Smoked turkey

[dirtclod Az.]

I have relatives coming in to town soon.Fourteen Lb. turkey in freezer.I have smoked many things,duck,chicken etc.
Having reservations about smoking something that large over lump charcoal/hickory smoke.Any ideas or "can't go wrong" ways to pull this off?Thanks dirtclod Az.

 

[go_deep]

Something that large I'd go with 4-6 hours of warm smoke (120-130 degree's), then straight into the oven for the finishing temp.

 

[packer58]

I have relatives coming in to town soon.Fourteen Lb. turkey in freezer.I have smoked many things,duck,chicken etc.
Having reservations about smoking something that large over lump charcoal/hickory smoke.Any ideas or "can't go wrong" ways to pull this off?Thanks dirtclod Az.

Do a little research on the web regarding the danger zone while smoking poultry, unhealthy bacteria love warm moist environments such as smokers that operate at low temps. If i remember right, it is recommended that you should get the internal temp of the bird above 143* within 4 hours to prevent bacteria growth. Also at low and slow smoker temps you should keep your bird size down around 12 lbs so you can get the internal temp up within a reasonable time.

 

[go_deep]

Not an issue if you do the proper salt cure.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

Lots of smoke for a couple hours, then finish with heat in the oven. When I smoke turkeys, the hip joints are still pink when the breast meat is perfectly done but still juicy.

 

[nv-hunter]

Good brine and internal temp to 165 and your gold. Smoke 225 to 250 for an hour thenbturn smoker up to 325 or 350 to finish. I wouldn't use hickory but apple or pecan would be good and not so heavy.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

godeep do you mean brining or a salt cure(pink)like I use to make sausage?
nv-hunter your probably right about hickory being a little heavy.Here in Az. I keep mesquite/hickory on handmI'll check into apple.

 

[nv-hunter]

For a true smoked turkey it would be a true pink salt type cure with it being pumped into the bird. For a fast turn around a brine will work and smoke either way about 3 to 4 hours and cook to 165. Thats what we did at the butcher shop.

 

[packer58]

Not an issue if you do the proper salt cure.

That would be my advice for smoking a fresh unprocessed bird. Processed birds (not fresh or fresh frozen) are usually injected with a salt type brine to enhance moisture retention during the cooking process, if the OP is unaware and salt brine's a processed bird (say a butter ball for instance) for safety reasons his hard work will be literally uneatable do to the excessive salt. iv'e smoked many turkeys with my favorite citrus brine and all have been awesome. Just my 2 cents

 

[Slugz]

I do this every Thanksgiving.

I've done it on large smokers...Weber grills offset cooking.....gas stoves offset cooking. They all work well and come out great.

Start with oak/hickory mix then finish with cherry. Monitor the temp.....baste in its own juices mixed with butter.

Put some stuffing the last few hours in a tin foil covered pan next to it. The take off the tin foil after a few hours to crust up the top of the stuffing.

If you go the brine route then utilize orange based and add some honey into the baste of juices and butter.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Citrus brine sounds great! thanks guys, I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[go_deep]

If your unsure of the cure process, just cold smoke the turkey for a couple hours, them go straight to the oven.
You tube likely has a bunch of step by step videos also.

 

[Fink]

There's probably a million different ways to smoke a bird, and come out with good results. Poultry isn't like a brisket or a pork butt, where you're smoking/cooking on low for long periods of time to break down tough cuts of meat. You're really just trying to get the good smokey flavor, so I smoke my turkey and chicken a little hot - 300 to 325, until it hits right around 160. I think you'll be sad if you pull it at 165, only to watch it coast up to 170+, and then be dry.
My unsophisticated pallet seems to not really be able to tell the difference between the many fruit woods, but it can tell when hickory has been used to smoke a bird. I usually smoke with white oak and apple wood, mostly because it's readily available to me, and because it can't overpower the meat like hickory can sometimes.
Bottom line - use whatever wood you want, cook at a temp somewhere between 250 and 325 (250 if you want to drink 10 beers while it smokes, 325 if you wanna drink 3), and pull it at 160, wrap and let it sit for an hour and cool off

 

[wy-tex]

Look for some Hi Mountain turkey or game bird brine, it works well. Make sure to rinse the bird well before putting it in the smoker.
Fruit wood would go well with a brined bird, but oak or pecak would also be really good. Keep the smoke light throughout the smoking process.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Thanks guys I think maybe smoke for 1hr then finish off in oven. I have oversmoked food(duck) before and didn't like the outcome.Only have hickory and mesquite at my disposal and mesquite is way to strong for poultry.Might just run over to Sportsmans and see what they have.Only thing is once in the door my shopping cart magically is full of hunt/fish equipment!Ouch!!

 

[Gr8bawana]

Thanks guys I think maybe smoke for 1hr then finish off in oven. I have oversmoked food(duck) before and didn't like the outcome.Only have hickory and mesquite at my disposal and mesquite is way to strong for poultry.Might just run over to Sportsmans and see what they have.Only thing is once in the door my shopping cart magically is full of hunt/fish equipment!Ouch!!

I didn't know it was possible to "over smoke" when I first got my smoker. I smoked some chicken thighs and kept heavy smoke the entire time the were smoking. It was awful. My wife said it tasted like chicken that got caught in a house fire.

 

[6mm Remington]

I used to have a cheap Brinkman Briquette smoker and did numerous turkeys on it. I used applewood and they turned out great. I did as large as a 22 pound bird on it too. I now have an electric 40" Masterbuilt Smoker and love that thing. It's got an internal meat probe with a digital display where you just push a button and get the internal meat temperature without opening the door.

I really like Apple Wood chips on turkey or chicken. Instead of water in the pan inside I will put good quality apple juice in there to give it just a bit more flavor. It always turns out great. 165 is what I have gotten the meat temperatures to and it has been incredibly juicy and great tasting.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Wishin' I had an electric smoker.Birthday coming up in May.Maybe Momma will buy me one.My brother tends to oversmoke his meat,smokes on 100% of the time,Yuck.He also has a cool meat thermometer thats remote. Inside watching the game with a cold one, never has to check his smoker.

 

[6mm Remington]

Wishin' I had an electric smoker.Birthday coming up in May.Maybe Momma will buy me one.My brother tends to oversmoke his meat,smokes on 100% of the time,Yuck.He also has a cool meat thermometer thats remote. Inside watching the game with a cold one, never has to check his smoker.

I'm finding with the electric smoker at least that it's pretty tough to "over smoke" the meat as you describe. Now on the briquette smoker I could over smoke on it easily enough if I kept adding chips as the process went along.

The 40" smoker cost me $400.00. The 30" one is less, but not that much less. I would really suggest the larger smoker. It's nice to have that room for extra meats and other items. I did baked potatoes on it the other night and put them in earlier as they take a longer amount of time, maybe 2.5-3 hours at 225 degrees. I also smoked rib-eye steaks to a perfect 145 degrees medium-rare! Oh my were they good as were the potatoes. I poked large round holes in the potatoes so more of the smoker flavor would get inside the potato. Not too strong, just perfect!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Ive been looking at the 30" elect.smokers and feel they may not be large enough.I love big racks of pork back ribs and would probably have to hang them to fit.400 bucks is pretty steep for a smoker.(40")