- Apr 20, 2009
- 26
- 15
Hi all,
So I volunteered to do a Smoked Christmas Feast this year...a Turkey and a Ham (good thing I treated myself to a second smoker this year!) and looking for some advice on the Turkey here...
Unfortunately I did not do all the shopping and I was given a 20lb Turkey to smoke...here was my plan and hoping you could all chime in with some suggestions.
The Turkey is thawing now and I was going to use the Buttermilk Brine from the Newsletter but after reading some posts about safely smoking a 20lb bird, I also want to add 1 oz Tenderquick per Gallon of Brine to help cure the meat and protect against the danger zone.
Questions:
1 - Will combining the Buttermilk Brine and Curing with Tenderquick be good/bad for the flavor?
2 - How long should I brine for? I was planning on 24 hours for the Tenderquick to work but wasn't sure if that was too long for the Buttermilk.
Going to use the GOSM Big Block for the Turkey (saving the new MES for the Ham) and probably going to crank it to 300 or higher for safety. I have a Turkey stand (similar to a beer can holder for a Turkey)..or should I just do Breast up? I suppose I could spatchcock but I've never tried that before...
Any other thoughts or suggestions are all welcome.
Thanks!
So I volunteered to do a Smoked Christmas Feast this year...a Turkey and a Ham (good thing I treated myself to a second smoker this year!) and looking for some advice on the Turkey here...
Unfortunately I did not do all the shopping and I was given a 20lb Turkey to smoke...here was my plan and hoping you could all chime in with some suggestions.
The Turkey is thawing now and I was going to use the Buttermilk Brine from the Newsletter but after reading some posts about safely smoking a 20lb bird, I also want to add 1 oz Tenderquick per Gallon of Brine to help cure the meat and protect against the danger zone.
Questions:
1 - Will combining the Buttermilk Brine and Curing with Tenderquick be good/bad for the flavor?
2 - How long should I brine for? I was planning on 24 hours for the Tenderquick to work but wasn't sure if that was too long for the Buttermilk.
Going to use the GOSM Big Block for the Turkey (saving the new MES for the Ham) and probably going to crank it to 300 or higher for safety. I have a Turkey stand (similar to a beer can holder for a Turkey)..or should I just do Breast up? I suppose I could spatchcock but I've never tried that before...
Any other thoughts or suggestions are all welcome.
Thanks!