- Mar 28, 2011
- 11
- 10
Well, I did my first meal on my birthday gift from my wife this weekend. My brother and his family came down so I had 7 mouths to feed. I did two (2) boneless skinless turkey breasts, four (4) boneless skinless chicken breasts, and one (1) GB bacon cheddar Fatty (for a different forum). I brined both the turkey and chicken for about 12 hours. I did a citrus herb rub on the turkey breasts and used a store bought (Penzey's Galena St Rub) Q rub on the chicken breasts. To do a little test on my own, I wrapped two of the chicken breasts in bacon to see if they would be juicer.
I set the smoker at 240°F and added a 1/2 cup of chips about every 1/2 hour. I used an equal mix of Alder and Apple. I would also spritz the turkey and chicken breasts when adding the chips. The turkey breasts went in at 1:30 pm, chicken at 3pm. I was getting crunched on time so for about the last 45 minutes I turned the smoker temp up to 275°F to get the breasts up to temperature.
All in all the smoke flavor and taste of both the turkey and chicken breasts were excellent. I was a little disappointed with the moisture of the birds though. I wouldn't necessarily say it was dry, but getting there. Got plenty of compliments on it, but I was still a little disappointed with the juiciness of the meat. The two chicken breasts that I wrapped in the bacon were a little bit more juicy, but not by much.
Any tips? I'm thinking next time, with those cuts of meat and the lack of fat, I may smoke them at a higher temp so they aren't in there as long? The turkey breasts took a little over 4 hours, chicken breasts around 2 hours. Has anyone foiled breasts before? I'm wondering if that wouldn't have helped also.
All in all it was great and the MES worked pretty flawlessly. I am a little concerned regarding the smoke it is producing. I would have periods of no smoke then I would look out and the chimney would be billowing smoke. I sent Darryl a PM about the retro kit with my unit's Serial #. Sorry for no Q-view. I have to ease my wife into this new obsession she started. I already had her thinking I was nuts by mounting carrying handles and putting the unit on casters.
I set the smoker at 240°F and added a 1/2 cup of chips about every 1/2 hour. I used an equal mix of Alder and Apple. I would also spritz the turkey and chicken breasts when adding the chips. The turkey breasts went in at 1:30 pm, chicken at 3pm. I was getting crunched on time so for about the last 45 minutes I turned the smoker temp up to 275°F to get the breasts up to temperature.
All in all the smoke flavor and taste of both the turkey and chicken breasts were excellent. I was a little disappointed with the moisture of the birds though. I wouldn't necessarily say it was dry, but getting there. Got plenty of compliments on it, but I was still a little disappointed with the juiciness of the meat. The two chicken breasts that I wrapped in the bacon were a little bit more juicy, but not by much.
Any tips? I'm thinking next time, with those cuts of meat and the lack of fat, I may smoke them at a higher temp so they aren't in there as long? The turkey breasts took a little over 4 hours, chicken breasts around 2 hours. Has anyone foiled breasts before? I'm wondering if that wouldn't have helped also.
All in all it was great and the MES worked pretty flawlessly. I am a little concerned regarding the smoke it is producing. I would have periods of no smoke then I would look out and the chimney would be billowing smoke. I sent Darryl a PM about the retro kit with my unit's Serial #. Sorry for no Q-view. I have to ease my wife into this new obsession she started. I already had her thinking I was nuts by mounting carrying handles and putting the unit on casters.
