Need Turkey Help

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countrysmoked

Smoke Blower
Original poster
May 20, 2009
132
10
Kansas
I butchered two of our turkeys yesterday and it being my first time plucking turkey I messed the time in the scalding water up, apparently not enough time like 20 seconds and the feathers don't all come off very well. So on the next one I doubled the time in the scalding water and the skin pulled off with the feathers so apparently it was too long. So here is the problem, I now have two 24 pound skinless turkeys that I want to smoke. one to eat Thursday and the other to smoke and then freeze. I plan on brining them with this brine.
  • [font=&quot]1 gallon hot water[/font]
  • [font=&quot]1 pound kosher salt[/font]
  • [font=&quot]2 quarts vegetable broth[/font]
  • [font=&quot]½ lb brown sugar[/font]
  • [font=&quot]1 pound honey[/font]
For 24 hours then pulling from the brine and rinsing and applying a dry rub and letting it set for a few hours to absorb the rub then basting well with apple juice every hour while smoking until covering with aluminum foil when the outer layer gets to a good crisp brown. Then continuing until internal temp is 175 pull and let rest for an hour then carve and serve.


My problem is the rub recipe. I don't have a good poultry rub recipe and was hoping somebody here would share one. Thanks in advance
 
I can't help you too much on the rub, other than to say that Sage, Rosemary, salt and pepper seem to work well for me.

For the birds, if they are totally skinless, I think you are going to find it difficult to keep from drying out. I'd get a couple packages of bacon and lay strips all over those birds. It will insulate it a bit, but also keep the outer surface moist throughout the cooking.
 
Plus 1 on the bacon. yes bacon blanket will be good. Maybe even have some water pans to give off some moisture to help keep things moist a bit.

For a rub I like to use equal parts of granulated garlic and onion, lemon pepper, garlic pepper, kosher salt and 1/2 the amount of paprika, chillie powder and brown sugar. For me it does well for all kinds of meats.
 
A 24 lb turkey is a bit on the high side of getting good results from smoking.
Would suggest gettin that critter down to size with 2 12lb pieces. Definitely brine them and a good rub will make you a hero for sure.

Hickory and apple or any good fruitwood works wonders on turkey or chicken/

A water pan filled with applejuice and a white wine add a super touch as well/

I personally would not want to try a whole 24 lb'r but 2 12lvs make it a snap.

Jack~
 
Personally with my poultry I don't care for the sage/lemon pepper/normal things folks use with birds.
Not that I am against them just personal preference.
When I do turkey I either brine in a strong flavor infused brine or if I do a basic brine I like to either do a naked bird (keep the turkey flavor prevalent) or a garlic, black pepper, salt light rub.
Also on the top of turkey favorites are cajun rubbed, I don't have a favorite cajun rub recipe but there are thousands out there.
 
Here's a video that shows how to spatchcock a chicken. Same premise would apply to a turkey.



Makes it a little smaller so it isn't in the danger zone so long when it's cooking.

Dave
 
I have plucked my share of birds. Scalding them in water does work and works well but has its drawbacks as you have already found out. A better method is to pluck the bird immediately after slaughtering it. You have about a 5 minute window where the feathers will come off really easily. I can pluck a freshly killed chicken in just over a minute and a turkey in just under 4 minutes.
 
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