Has anyone smoked a turkey breast and sliced it liked deli meat?
Hi there and welcome!Has anyone smoked a turkey breast and sliced it liked deli meat?
Absolutely, about every 2 weeks. We use it for sandwiches, but chilled turkey or chicken is awesome in a Chef's salad, and if you stir it into a pasta dish it's outstanding with the light smoky taste.Has anyone smoked a turkey breast and sliced it liked deli meat?
That looks excellent. If my schedule and weather cooperate I will give this a try.Absolutely, about every 2 weeks. We use it for sandwiches, but chilled turkey or chicken is awesome in a Chef's salad, and if you stir it into a pasta dish it's outstanding with the light smoky taste.
I either use a flavor brine (PatioDaddio) or Pop's curing brine, and in addition to immersion I'll inject some too. With Pop's brine, I get the additional safety net of having it last for a few days longer. Now, here is the BEST part. These are all skinless breasts. Turkey and chicken skin is generally rubbery when smoked. So I remove the skin and throw it away, then season the meat. It looks like skin, and you get to taste the rub. Experiment with a few chicken breasts but I'm hooked on this method.
I prefer to separate the whole turkey breast into two fillets... and I do the same with boneless chicken breasts (which are breast fillets). Having the fillets allows you to slice against the grain for better tenderness.
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The sliced breast is skinless, the thigh does have skin-on.
View attachment 467720
Here is a turkey breast I entered in a competition, the meat in the middle is pulled thigh meat, and this breast is skinless too.
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How long do you find using the pops brine do you leave chicken breasts submerged?Absolutely, about every 2 weeks. We use it for sandwiches, but chilled turkey or chicken is awesome in a Chef's salad, and if you stir it into a pasta dish it's outstanding with the light smoky taste.
I either use a flavor brine (PatioDaddio) or Pop's curing brine, and in addition to immersion I'll inject some too. With Pop's brine, I get the additional safety net of having it last for a few days longer. Now, here is the BEST part. These are all skinless breasts. Turkey and chicken skin is generally rubbery when smoked. So I remove the skin and throw it away, then season the meat. It looks like skin, and you get to taste the rub. Experiment with a few chicken breasts but I'm hooked on this method.
I prefer to separate the whole turkey breast into two fillets... and I do the same with boneless chicken breasts (which are breast fillets). Having the fillets allows you to slice against the grain for better tenderness.
View attachment 467717
View attachment 467718
View attachment 467719
The sliced breast is skinless, the thigh does have skin-on.
View attachment 467720
Here is a turkey breast I entered in a competition, the meat in the middle is pulled thigh meat, and this breast is skinless too.
View attachment 467721
Also, what temp are you smoking them at and how long roughly? Do you hit a certain internal temp and then finish them off at a higher temp? I was thinking about starting them on a low temp in an electric vertical smoker then transferring to the big green egg to finish.
How long do you find using the pops brine do you leave chicken breasts submerged?
I've made some subtle changes / improvements in the last 3 years, which is a good thing. For some background, there is some leeway in Pop's recipe (for instance the salt, sugar and brown sugar is listed as 1/3 cup to 1 cup, and Pop's also included Splenda option in a later post)... so I have refined "my" preference of how I mix Pop's Brine. Next, I've incorporated a sous vide option for finishing. So, I'll bring you up to speed.Also, what temp are you smoking them at and how long roughly? Do you hit a certain internal temp and then finish them off at a higher temp? I was thinking about starting them on a low temp in an electric vertical smoker then transferring to the big green egg to finish.