Lunch Time: Turkey Sandwiches

[PolishDeli]

Started preparing today's lunch a few evenings ago.
Here is how it went...

Day (1) evening:
Two boneless turkey breasts injected with, and immersed in a simple cure.​

Cure recipe:

Day (2) evening:
After 24 hours, the turkey was removed from the cure, and soaked in cold fresh water. The water was replaced every 5-10 minutes, for a total soaking time of ~30 min.
The breasts tied together....

...and slathered with a paste of mustard/black pepper/paprika/chili powder.
This was rolled up in saran wrap and refrigerated overnight.

Day (3) morning:
Into the smoker.
Start temp 150°F. Upped the temperature by 25°F every 30 min or so, until the smoker was at 250°F. Apple and Cherry wood were used.

After 4 hours:

Finished in the oven to IT 165°F.
Lost some of the bark when removing the string.

Let cool for ~ 1hour, and then let chill in the refrigerator for a few more hours.
Slicing time:

Day (4) noon:
Sandwich time!
Smoked turkey breast on homemade rye with lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, and white cheddar.

 

[PorkBones]

Nice write-up. The turkey looks great!

 

[fcjasonk03]

Very nice pictures. That sandwich looked very meaty and delicious

 

[smokerjim]

looks great, glad I use pop's brine though, I think I would need some college to follow your chart

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Hell yeah that sammich looks awesome! Nice smoke. I've got a couple in my freezer I need to put in the smoker.

 

[pushok2018]

Damn! I run out of my smoked turkey... Your sammy looks so delicious... Like!

 

[drdon]

Wow! THAT is a sandwich! Can you explain why you stepped the temperature? I understand the brine, but I thought you could just start at 225°F-250°F.

 

[SmokinAl]

Fantastic looking sammie!
Al

 

[tropics]

That is mouth watering Likes
Richie

 

[gmc2003]

Thats a sammie I could wrap my hands around and chow down.

Point for sure
Chris

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Mighty Tasty!!
Nice Job!!
Like.

Bear

 

[PolishDeli]

Whoa, a featured thread…Thank guys.
I appreciate the feedback and the likes everyone!

fcjasonk03,
I had to get a new phone recently. The camera has a “food” setting, which actually works pretty well.

Smokerjim,
Depending on the meat I’m curing, I like to use different cure levels or different amounts of salt and sugar. I built a calculator that let’s me tinker with those numbers. It essay to use. Just enter the meat weight, water volume, and brine strength wanted - and out pops the amount of cure, salt, sugar, and injection needed (in various units).

drdon,
The step up in temp was to help control the temperature and to prevent billowing white smoke.
If I set the temp to 250°F right away, the temperature way overshoots, and then takes longer to stabilize. In the mean time, all the wood starts to smoke white. I end up with a creosote crust, and less smoke penetration; since the outside of the meat gets too hot too fast. Stepping it slowly, I’ve found that the temp swings are only about 10°F. The agreement between the sensor in the smoker and the inkbird probe is within 5°F.

Thanks again!