Okay, I have seen a lot of threads on poor turkey turn outs. So I thought I would post up here how I do it, and I've never had a complaint. Some may disagree with my temps and times, but it ain't broke so I'm not gonna fix it...LOL
First off I have never brined a turkey, not saying it is a bad process, just not something I have tried. I have however used injection seasoning with good results results.
I heat my smoker to about 225.
While it is heating I prep my bird, I remove all packaging, the gizzards and neck, and I cut the flap of skin off of the hole opposite the legs.
I then rinse the bird, make sure you do a good job at this!!
During the ENTIRE prepping process I have ice packs (I use frozen veggies) on the breasts!! This keeps them colder than the bird and makes them finish at a closer time to the rest of the bird, thus making them JUICY!!!
Just before putting the bird on the smoker I sprinkle a little paprika on the skin of the bird.
After it is on the smoker I baste every 45 minutes to an hour with a mixture of EVOO and butter, the mix is not exact, but I would put a bit more oil than butter, this keeps the butter in a liquid state. Now separate into TWO bowls, put one in the fridge, and one at room temp. When basting the turkey use the COLD baste on the breasts!! This will help keep them just a tad cooler and help them finish the same time as the dark meat.
Smoke until the bird is up to temp 165 degrees, remove, wrap in foil for 20 minutes, carve and enjoy!!
Hope this helps! Should be a good starting point, and from here I would only vary one step of the process at a time, so that you can evaluate the effect of each change on their own, and decide how to do future birds.
This also works GREAT for whole chicken!!
First off I have never brined a turkey, not saying it is a bad process, just not something I have tried. I have however used injection seasoning with good results results.
I heat my smoker to about 225.
While it is heating I prep my bird, I remove all packaging, the gizzards and neck, and I cut the flap of skin off of the hole opposite the legs.
I then rinse the bird, make sure you do a good job at this!!
During the ENTIRE prepping process I have ice packs (I use frozen veggies) on the breasts!! This keeps them colder than the bird and makes them finish at a closer time to the rest of the bird, thus making them JUICY!!!
Just before putting the bird on the smoker I sprinkle a little paprika on the skin of the bird.
After it is on the smoker I baste every 45 minutes to an hour with a mixture of EVOO and butter, the mix is not exact, but I would put a bit more oil than butter, this keeps the butter in a liquid state. Now separate into TWO bowls, put one in the fridge, and one at room temp. When basting the turkey use the COLD baste on the breasts!! This will help keep them just a tad cooler and help them finish the same time as the dark meat.
Smoke until the bird is up to temp 165 degrees, remove, wrap in foil for 20 minutes, carve and enjoy!!
Hope this helps! Should be a good starting point, and from here I would only vary one step of the process at a time, so that you can evaluate the effect of each change on their own, and decide how to do future birds.
This also works GREAT for whole chicken!!