I started out with two fairly large turkey breasts...one was 7.5 pounds and the other was 9.4 pounds. I brined them both. The maple one was done using Jeff's recipe of maple syrup, Kosher salt,
Jeff's rub and water. The other one was brined using only salt, rub and water.
I put each one into an oven roasting bag to brine them. I added the brine mixture and then squeezed out the air and tied it up Into an old milk crate with a few towels to keep them propped up.
After brining for about 14 hours, I rinsed them off with cold water to get any excess salt off and to get them ready for the rubs. You can see that the top one has absorbed the maple syrup from its rich color.
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I then added maple syrup to the top breast and I used a light olive oil on the lower one (to help the rub stick to the birds).
Afterwards, I added the rub to both. I tried to smear it all over and under the skin where possible.
And then they went into the smoker. I had a temp probe in each one since they were fairly different weights and I wasn't sure if they both would take the same time to cook. The maple rubbed breast is on the bottom.
I smoked the on my Brinkmann Vertical TrailMaster smoker for 7 1/2 hours at 245 - 250 degrees. I've had this smoker for only a few months, but was very pleased with its performance (after I did all of the necessary mods to the firebox and other seams).
During the smoke, I used a turkey baster and basted the lower one with maple syrup and rub mixture about every hour. As you can see, I used a water pan on this smoke which also helped keep my smoker clean from the drippings of maple syrup when I basted.
The finished maple breast after 7 1/2 hours on the smoker and about half an hour to rest...ready for carving.
The finished "plain" breast...waiting its turn. Interestingly, both birds were done at the same time. The small one hie 166 degrees when the one on the bottom turned 165. After taking them off, I let them rest about half an hour.
Using an electric carving knife, I sort of "scooped" the large portion of the breast out of each side of the bird. It makes for a great piece for slicing up into uniform slices. I ended up with four of these "halves". They both turned out great. This was the first time I've brined a turkey before cooking it. It was crazy juicy. I'll never cook another without first brining it.
