Turkey Question

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mrwizardgi

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jul 14, 2008
164
10
Nebraska
My wife and I bought a turkey before I ever got my smoker. I've been reading about buying the 'all natural' turkeys that haven't been injected with broth and seasoning etc., but this one is (5% broth and other seasonings). My question is before I smoke this should I still brine it or will the brine make it extra salty? Thanks for your help...

J-
 
It's hard to find a non brined bird. 5% ain't bad. I always brine mine any way, and rinse under cold running water. You may also want to inject some of your favorite falavors in the breast plus give it a rub and smoke that turkey. have fun and let us know how it turns out. I have never had a salty one yet.
 
I have had a lot of luck with those 5% baby's. I just find a food can (like 40 ounce beans, etc)big enough to hold my turkey. I like to cook 14 pounders on a can with some beer or whatever.

Mince garlic, olive oil, fresh basil---put it Under the breast skin, then rub with your favorite rub, smoke it at 275 till breast is 163 or thighs 175 and pull it and let it sit(temps will rise) or just hold it in your smoker at 200 degrees.

You'll be surprised how fast a 14 pounder will cook standing up---3.5 to 4 hours!

Don't forget a drip pan because its good to baste with as ya go along. Feel free to add some beer or butter or both to the pan to get started basting with:-)
 
Interesting question!

Is the broth a salt based type or "all natural"? If the supposedly "tell all" label does not mention salt or sodium levels I would still do a brine. It really depends on how the bird was treated before you got it.

Just my .02.

I raised my own turkeys up till a few years ago and will start again soon. For roasting, which is how your commercial turkey was intended, my birds were superior because of the feed they received when I was "finishing" them. Commercial growers use broths and seasonings to accomplish the same thing.

Bottom line, brine for smoking, do nothing extra for roasting.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!
 
This is exactly the expertise I was expecting! Thanks so much for your answers and ideas.

The turkey is only 12 lbs.-ish. I am going to try and find a can big enough to hold it standing up. That is a wonderful idea! If I can't, what should I expect for a cook time? I was planning the better part of a day (10+ hrs.). Does that sound reasonable?

This will be my practice for Thanksgiving. Instead of doing one big bird this year I'm going to smoke a smaller one on my Char-griller and fry one on my Masterbuilt. I've never fried a turkey before so I thought why not? I have to get myself a 30qt pot and all of the accessories first though.

Again, thanks for all of the help and info. This forum rocks!!!

J-
 
I have a nice food grade 5 gallon bucket. Some folks get them at their local grocery store from the baking dept. Brine 12 hours. Jeffs brine recipe is good. Mine about that same size take only just under 5 hours smoked at 240-250 till the bird hits 180
 
Darn! I was waaaaaay off on time there! That's good though. I can start'er in the mornin' an eat'er up fer lunch! I'm doing this on Saturday (back to school tomorrow and starting a new school year!) so I'll provide some q-vue and let you know how it goes! Thanks again!

J-
 
If ya don't have any 5 gallon buckets for brining in. Depending on how big the bird and your fridge. I have 2 drawers on the bottom that I will put whole chickens in a plastic bag. A few towels around it to take up dead space and then close up the drawer. I probably could put a 12 lb turkey in mine.
 
What a great idea steve! I've seen the threads before for can-up-the-butt turkey, but a pic is worth a thousand words!
 
Thanks! The Lang seems to work well with cooking them that way---good convection:-)

It is a simple, fast, and foolproof way to feed a lot of people fairly cheaply---just don't plan on any leftovers!!---there won't be any left!
 
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