First time smoking meat. Need advice on a turkey breast.

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nomorewine

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 23, 2011
7
10
My early Christmas present (Master Forge propane smoker) is assembled!  It is currently seasoning and I am planning my first meal.

I think I will attempt a turkey breast and I see many different recipes and techniques.  I have a few questions on obtaining a flavorful moist turkey.

Do you brine the turkey?  I see many instructions call for brine. 

Most instructions call for a butter/garlic/herb rub under the skin.  Do you have any other tips before it goes into the smoker?

Do I let the turkey smoke or do I apply a rub during smoking?  I see some call for a butter/garlic rub about every hour and I see others call for a spritz of apple juice/cider.  What do you prefer?

Do I place the turkey directly on the grate or in a pan?

Thank you for any advice.  I would like to have this turn out edible for a Christmas dinner!  Happy Holidays! 
 
Welcome..

This site has tons of info.

I suggest you spend some time reading all the different forums and the WIKIs.

Ask questions and use the handy dandy search tool for specific interests!!

Take the awesome free E-Course!!!

Have a great day!!!

Craig

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/about-jeffs-5-day-ecourse
 
      Make bacon the easy way!!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/109368/more-easy-made-bacon-with-q-view#post_666451

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf
 
My early Christmas present (Master Forge propane smoker) is assembled!  It is currently seasoning and I am planning my first meal.

I think I will attempt a turkey breast and I see many different recipes and techniques.  I have a few questions on obtaining a flavorful moist turkey.

Do you brine the turkey?  I would! I see many instructions call for brine. 

Most instructions call for a butter/garlic/herb rub under the skin.  Do you have any other tips before it goes into the smoker? Coat it with EVOO, then dust it with your favorite rub.

Do I let the turkey smoke or do I apply a rub during smoking?  I see some call for a butter/garlic rub about every hour and I see others call for a spritz of apple juice/cider.  What do you prefer? I just smoke it & baste it with the pan juices.

Do I place the turkey directly on the grate or in a pan? I put mine on a small grate sitting on top of a pan, in the pan put broth, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Use that to baste the turkey with.

Thank you for any advice.  I would like to have this turn out edible for a Christmas dinner!  Happy Holidays! 

Good luck & welcome to SMF!
 
Al pretty much summed it up....... Welcome to SMF NMW.....  How about swinging over to roll call and introducing yourself so we can give you a proper welcome and dont forget to fill out your profile

Happy smoking

Joe
 
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First off welcome to SMF. You'll really like this place for there are a bunch of really good folks here that would just love to help you with just about anything to do with smoking meat. Then if you have any questions you just post them here or yu can try in chat for a faster answer. If you are really new to all of this I would recommend that you look up and take the e-course. It is free and it will also give you the basics on smoking. So with all that said now go and get something to smoke.

Welcome To Your New Addiction
 
Looks like Al has you covered..Deff do the brine. I coat mine with cajun butter before the smoke and no more just let it smoke..Welcome to SMF we are glad to have you here and good luck with the turkey breast...
 
Just remember "If you're lookin' you ain't cookin'." Prep the breast the way you think will work the best, get the smoker up to temp, put the meat in and leave it be. Try to keep things simple. The main goal is to get the turkey breast to turn out tasty, tender and juicy. A bunch of fiddling around with it after you start smoking will not help to achieve your main goal.

The best piece of advice that I can give you is get a decent thermometer and cook to temp not time......I learned that early on and it has saved me many a headache.

I've not been doing this for very long compared to many of the fine folks on here but I've crammed a lot of knowledge into my head thanks to this forum. Follow the advice here and you'll be the hero of many a family meal.
 
I tried a bone in turkey breast for the first time this week. Shmeared it with butter and rub and injected it. Flavor was great but it was as dry as popcorn. I won't try turkey again with out a brine first.
 
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