Thanksgiving meats

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lsmoguy

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 15, 2013
22
11
Kansas City
Hi all,

With Thanksgiving coming up, I have just reserved an eight pound turkey breast and an eight pound spiral ham.
Both uncooked meat.
My plan is to smoke both and serve for Thanksgiving dinner.

I welcome any and all suggestions for smoking these hunks of meat!

I am curious, should I brine both, or just the turkey breast?

The following is my plan for smoking the meat:

turkey:
-brine for 24 hours
-rinse off, coat with EVOO, rub, then place in plastic wrap overnight
-pull out of smoker when internal temp reaches 160, and let "rest" for 30 minutes
*based on what I have read, turkey takes about 45 minutes per lb, so I can expect to smoke this eight lb breast for about 6 hours.

ham:
-coat with EVOO, rub, then place in plastic wrap overnight
-stand ham up with flat side down placing skewers vertical in meat to hold meat together while smoking
-place ham in aluminum pan to catch juices
-while in smoker, spray ham with apple juice every 45 minutes to keep moist
-smoke until internal temp of 150
-near last 30 minutes, place glaze over ham
-pull ham out of smoker and let "rest" for 30 minutes

I am planning on using hickory chunks while smoking.  Would it be better to use apple, since I will be smoking a ham and turkey?

I have never smoked a ham before, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

How long would an eight lb ham take to smoke to 150 degrees?  Would the consistency be like that of a pork shoulder?  Roughly 2 hours a lb?
 
Last edited:
Spiral cut hams are usually "ready to eat" and just need to be reheated.  Hence the term "double smoked" as they were smoked once when the meat company cooked it, and then again by the end user in their home smoker. You normally just heat and add the mixed glaze towards the end of the re-heat/smoke. 

If yours is "ready to eat" or pre-cooked then there is no need to take the temps to 150*.  Check your label to see what you have though.
 
A mix of 1 part hickory an 2 parts apple would be my go to.
 
I brine my turkey every year, but only for about 12 hours. If you soak them too long, I think they end up with a lunch meat texture that just seems weird to me when it isn't sliced super thin. I take it straight out of the brine, dry it off, and right into the smoker. I don't think you need the EVOO, since the skin always comes out great for me, but it certainly won't hurt.

Hams like that I usually set my grill up for indirect, and "bake" them. I make a glaze of brown sugar and burbon and spices, and just add that for the last 30 mins or so.
 
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