# smoking turkey



## smokedad (Oct 6, 2016)

With Thanksgiving coming up fairly soon, I am going to do a practice smoke run with a 10 - 12 lb turkey.  I plan on brining it overnight .  If you brine a turkey this size, is it necessary to inject it to keep it moist?

I plan on using apple wood for the smoke.  Does turkey, or poultry in general, need more or less smoke for flavor than other meats?  I also have oak and pecan wood available to use - are either of these or a combination better than apple for turkey?

I have a Weber 22" grill I am going to use with charcoal and indirect heat.  I have read that turkey needs to be smoked at higher temps like 300 deg or so.  Is that only for larger birds, or any size?  I haven't smoked anything on the Weber with temps that high yet, so I don't know for sure what all is involved with keeping the cooking temp up besides more charcoal. 

I do want to say how much I enjoy this forum and am very impressed with how helpful everyone is with suggestions, recipes, etc.  it has been a great help to this newbie.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 6, 2016)

Good plan to do a test run.

No need to inject or brine to keep a bird moist.  A properly cooked bird will be moist. The key is to not overcook. Make sure you  have a way to check the internal temp of the thigh or breast. Pull the bird when the IT reaches 165°.

I you want to brine or inject to enhance the flavor make sure you get an all natural bird, that has not been enhanced (injected with brine solution) already.
 

Poultry is milder meat and takes less smoke to get good flavor. All of the fruit woods and nut woods are good choices.

Higher temp cooks will get you either bite through or crisp skin. If you are using a Weber you should have no problem maintaining pit temps between 300°-350°.

Air drying the bird overnight will help with the skin. place the bird uncovered on a rack over a pan and place in the fridge the night before you cook it. This will dry out the skin and allow it to crisp up.

Some other thing to look into are spatchcocking and dry brine methods.


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## uzikaduzi (Oct 6, 2016)

i agree with dirtsailor... i have brined and not brined. i prefer not brined (or injected). i have not tried it with pop's brine which looks pretty good but it's a whole different cooking strategy closer to sausage making. (according to pop's method that looks amazing)

i like to put a mixture of sage, salt, pepper and garlic rubbed between the skin and the meat with either olive oil (i have done butter and the skin was not as bite through... maybe it was the water content in the butter?) spitchcock it and cook at the same temps dirtsailor suggests too... it is so much quicker too, last thanksgiving was like 90 minutes total.


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## mfreel (Oct 6, 2016)

I brine my turkeys, too, usually for 2 days.  I don't inject but make sure you wash it thoroughly.  I like apple and hickory and I do mine at 225-230ish range.  For a 10-12 pound bird, you're looking at about 8 hours.

Here's a pic with my dad.













Turkey.jpeg



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Bacon Wrapped.  I thought it would infuse some bacon flavor.  It didn't.  But it was the MOISTEST bird I've ever smoked.













Turkey Bacon 2.jpg



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IMG_0611.JPG



__ mfreel
__ Dec 23, 2013


















IMG_0610.JPG



__ mfreel
__ Dec 23, 2013


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## smokedad (Oct 6, 2016)

I know if you spatchcock a turkey it probably doesn't look quite as nice on the table as a whole one, but would that alone speed up the process, besides the higher cooking temps?


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## crankybuzzard (Oct 6, 2016)

uzikaduzi said:


> i agree with dirtsailor... i have brined and not brined. i prefer not brined (or injected). i have not tried it with pop's brine which looks pretty good but it's a whole different cooking strategy closer to sausage making. (according to pop's method that looks amazing)


Nothing like sausage making.  Brine/cure the bird (injected with the brine/cure solution) for 3-5 days, rinse, put it in a sock, hang in the smoker at 240° until done.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/239376/20-pound-turkey-cured-and-smoked

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/238208/in-laws-21-pound-turkey-is-done

Both were done with nothing more than Pop's brine, good temp, and smoke...


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 6, 2016)

A spatched bird can look great on the table













9065Turkey800.jpg



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__ Oct 6, 2016


















carving_turkey_horiz.jpg



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DSC_6182+resized.jpg



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__ Oct 6, 2016


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## crankybuzzard (Oct 6, 2016)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> A spatched bird can look great on the table
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Case, those shots are amazing!  Nice work!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 6, 2016)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> Case, those shots are amazing!  Nice work!


Wish they were mine! Honestly our bird never even makes it to the table whole! We're a dish up and then sit down group!


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## crankybuzzard (Oct 6, 2016)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Wish they were mine! Honestly our bird never even makes it to the table whole! We're a dish up and then sit down group!










   I understand that one!


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## uzikaduzi (Oct 6, 2016)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> Nothing like sausage making.  Brine/cure the bird (injected with the brine/cure solution) for 3-5 days, rinse, put it in a sock, hang in the smoker at 240° until done.
> 
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/239376/20-pound-turkey-cured-and-smoked
> 
> ...


yours looks great *CrankyBuzzard* i am trying to find it and failing...  i certainly wasn't very specific with what i was talking about and apologize... there was a thread where pops brined one in his brine and smoked it starting low like 100-120 and stepped it up like you do with sausage 10 * and hour till get got to ~160 IT and served it cold for a picnic the next day... that looked really appealing to me and reminded me of sausage in the way he smoked it.

edit: i must have completely made that whole thing up in my mind because here is the thread i was thinking of... and he doesn't get into temps at all

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/161782/the-picnic

looks really similar to your process too Cranky


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## crankybuzzard (Oct 6, 2016)

uzikaduzi said:


> yours looks great *CrankyBuzzard* i am trying to find it and failing...  i certainly wasn't very specific with what i was talking about and apologize... there was a thread where pops brined one in his brine and smoked it starting low like 100-120 and stepped it up like you do with sausage 10 * and hour till get got to ~160 IT and served it cold for a picnic the next day... that looked really appealing to me and reminded me of sausage in the way he smoked it.
> 
> edit: i must have completely made that whole thing up in my mind because here is the thread i was thinking of... and he doesn't get into temps at all
> 
> ...


We all begin losing our minds after a few years of breathing hardwood smoke!  My process looks like his because I blatantly plagiarized his method...


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## uzikaduzi (Oct 6, 2016)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> We all begin losing our minds after a few years of breathing hardwood smoke!  My process looks like his because I blatantly plagiarized his method...


if its a good method, its reasonable to assume through trial and error, you both could have came to the same conclusion lol.

i have 1 handed down family recipe meat wise for Polish sausage... i was really proud of it, until i read about Poland and realized that during the soviet years, cured meat processes were standardized and they came up with strict definitions of what each product would contain and how much of it... my "family's" recipe is that exact standardization lol... i'm sure 99% of my reciepes are a combination of stuff I've seen here or on amazingribs and just some slight actual input from myself from messing things up lol


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## smokedad (Oct 7, 2016)

Thanks, dirtsailor, for correcting me on the looks of a spatchcocked turkey on the table.  those are beautiful pictures.

when you spatchcock a bird, does it speed up the cooking time since it is more flat on the smoker?


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 7, 2016)

Yes spatching the bird saves time. It also allows the bird to cook evenly so the thighs and the breast finish at about the same time.


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## smokedad (Oct 17, 2016)

I got a 10 1/2 pound turkey to do a practice run for Thanksgiving.  It was only after I got home that I noticed it had been injected with a brine solution - I forgot about looking for a natural bird without the solution.  Will this affect how I prepare the turkey for smoking?  I probably won't brine it now, but is it still OK to inject some flavoring, if I decide to do that, if it has the solution in it already?  

If it makes a difference, I plan on doing the smoke on a Weber kettle with charcoal and apple wood.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 17, 2016)

smokedad said:


> I got a 10 1/2 pound turkey to do a practice run for Thanksgiving.  It was only after I got home that I noticed it had been injected with a brine solution - I forgot about looking for a natural bird without the solution.  Will this affect how I prepare the turkey for smoking?  I probably won't brine it now, but is it still OK to inject some flavoring, if I decide to do that, if it has the solution in it already?
> If it makes a difference, I plan on doing the smoke on a Weber kettle with charcoal and apple wood.



Since it's already injected I would just use a rub on the bird.


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## smokedad (Oct 17, 2016)

Thanks, Dirtsailor, for your quick reply.  Will the rub affect the taste of the meat in a negative way since it is already injected? 

Is it better to put the rub on the skin or under the skin?  I have seen where people do it both ways.


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## mdboatbum (Oct 17, 2016)

You certainly can inject an enhanced bird. Just watch the salt content. As for rub affecting the flavor, most enhanced birds are only injected with salt water, so no, the flavors in your rub won't clash. If you put the rub under the skin it'll have more contact with the meat so will impart more flavor.


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## smokedad (Oct 17, 2016)

Do I need to watch the salt content of the rub as well? 

How much does putting rub or fruit/veggies inside the cavity of the bird affect the flavor?


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## smokedad (Oct 19, 2016)

One other question for everyone.  Since this will be a practice run and my first smoked turkey, I thought I might try a few different things on the same turkey just to see what we prefer.  I plan on spatching it and I would like to try a different rub on each side of the turkey and maybe inject one side and not the other.  Has anyone done this, or is there any reason why I shouldn't try this?  Should I actually cut the turkey in half to do this?


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 19, 2016)

I have done that several times with spatched birds. Usually one side spicy and one side not. No need to half the bird.


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## ironhorse07 (Oct 19, 2016)

I have used BD's method http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171145/bds-pre-holiday-smoked-turkey-a-foamheart-request and it is very good.


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## johnmeyer (Oct 19, 2016)

I tried different rubs on a recent smoke of two tri-tips and found that I could taste very little difference between the two pieces of meat, each coated with a different rub and then cooked at the same time in the same smoker.

Here is my post on the subject:

Here's the rub: tale of two tri-tips

I'll be really interested to hear the results of your using different rubs on turkey. I'm betting that, like my experience, there will be very little difference, but you never know until you try it yourself.


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## brew14me (Oct 19, 2016)

I have done a few birds with different rubs. I found that if the rubs are completely different then you can tell a difference.  Awhile back I found a rub on amazingrib called the Simon and Garfunkel rub. My wife loves it. Whenever I do birds (grilled or smoked) I have to have that on some of it. It's a lot different than your normal rubs IMO. I have adjusted it for our taste just slightly.
Me, I like more "aggressive" flavors so when I do poultry I use rubs similar to beef/pork rubs. More pepper, mustard, onion, garlic in them. Totally different than the S&G rub.


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## pete mazz (Oct 20, 2016)

I just smoked a 14 lb bird last weekend. Spatchcocked, brined and injected. I make the start of the gravy with the cut-offs from spatchcocking. I also cut off part of the wings and throw that in the pot with celery, onions and seasonings, cover with water and cook for 3-4 hours. While the turkey brines overnight, the gravy goes in the fridge so I can separate the fat. I re-melt the fat with some of the now gelatinized gravy and use that for my injection right before throwing it in the smoker. 3 hours at 275 and to an IT of 150-155 in the breast and let it rest for a 1/2 hour to finish up.


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## smokedad (Oct 20, 2016)

Thanks, everyone, for your input.  I plan on doing one side with a SPOG rub and the other with a spicier or hotter rub.  I don't plan to brine it, but I may inject one side of it to see how that makes a difference.  I had said I would use apple wood for the smoke, but I may use a mixture of apple and pecan for it.


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## smokedad (Oct 24, 2016)

I smoked the turkey I had this past weekend, which was between 10 1/2 and 11 pounds.  As this was my first time I didn't brine or inject it, I just rubbed it with a SPOG rub on one side and a spicier poultry rub on the other.  I also put some butter under the skin on 1 side.  I smoked it on my Weber kettle with charcoal, and used a mix of apple and pecan wood.  The cooking temp was about 300 most of the time and it took a little over 2 hours to get to an IT of 165 and then it rested for 1/2 an hour or so before tasting.  The skin was not quite as crispy as I wanted but the meat was nice and moist and the smoke flavor was great.  I couldn't tell much of a difference in flavor between the 2 sides, but I didn't put much rub between the skin and meat either.  The family liked the turkey which is always a plus.  I think I will try brining or injecting next time now that I have a baseline for what smoked turkey tastes like.


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## smokedad (Oct 31, 2016)




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## nchokie (Oct 31, 2016)

Looking to do a practice run as well either this or next weekend. Will look into spatchcocking as well. I guess my only question at the moment is choice of wood and then to brine or not. I'm new to smoking and have only used hickory and haven't done poultry in the smoker yet either.


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## johnmeyer (Nov 1, 2016)

smokedad said:


> I just rubbed it with a SPOG rub on one side and a spicier poultry rub on the other ...  I couldn't tell much of a difference in flavor between the 2 sides, but I didn't put much rub between the skin and meat either.  The family liked the turkey which is always a plus.


Thanks for that update on the difference between the two rubs not being remarkably different. That mirrors what I found on my tri-tip.


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## bigsmoketexas (Nov 10, 2016)

Aight, so i forgot turkeys are sold frozen, is cold water thawing a quick and safe way to thaw it, and now doing so i wont be abke to brine and strictly inject. 

Suggestions?


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## nchokie (Nov 10, 2016)

Yes. If you thaw in cold water and replace the cold water every half hour and flip the bird every time you do.


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## nchokie (Nov 10, 2016)

Should take about 4-6 hrs


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## donegotfat (Nov 10, 2016)

NCHokie said:


> Yes. If you thaw in cold water and replace the cold water every half hour and flip the bird every time you do.


I thawed my test turkey in the bathtub a few days ago, this worked great as I did not need to change out the water, I just filled the tub up.  I pulled it out of the water at about 5-6 hours, then set it for a brine in a bucket that originally held cake icing that I got from the bakery in my local grocery store. It was a 13lb. bird in brine for about 20 hours. I also injected after I pulled it from the brine. I rinsed it really well after the brine to avoid an overly salty taste


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## cindy s (Nov 15, 2016)

mfreel said:


> I brine my turkeys, too, usually for 2 days.  I don't inject but make sure you wash it thoroughly.  I like apple and hickory and I do mine at 225-230ish range.  For a 10-12 pound bird, you're looking at about 8 hours.
> 
> Here's a pic with my dad.
> 
> ...



Hi, this bird looks absolutely perfect in my option. I am attempting my first smoked turkey this year. I will be using a digital electric smoker and a 12-lb farm raised (no infusions) bird. Can you please tell me step by step how to do it?


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## jakester (Nov 15, 2016)

That is a perfect looking turkey! How did you get such a perfect color?


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## jakester (Nov 15, 2016)

I bought a Nature's promise turkey and it saysContains up to 6% absorbed water.  does that mean it's already brined?  It doesn't say anything about salt


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## mistahmoon1203 (Nov 16, 2016)

Is there a "rule of thumb" as to hours per pound at 300 degrees for these birds? or do most just gauge by IT? smoking another bird for my office potluck...just want to figure out how early i need to have it rolling to be ready for a 1pm eat time.


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## stickyfingers (Nov 16, 2016)

You don't need to brine and inject. Either by its self will give a moist result. 300 degrees or so will give you a nice crispy skin. #10- #12 will take about 3.5 - 5 hours.


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## jakester (Nov 16, 2016)

I dry brine and inject and i recommend both. It gives you a very moist and flavorful bird. A nice butter / garlic injection tops it off nicely!


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## cindy s (Nov 18, 2016)

Mine is saying 225 and about 6 hrs to smoke a 11-12 lb turkey? Does this sound about right? With a 165 IT?


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## bigsmoketexas (Nov 22, 2016)

Whats a good temp for smoking a spatchcock turkey?


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## pete mazz (Nov 23, 2016)

I run at 275 but you could go as high as 325.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Nov 23, 2016)

That bacon wrapped turkey looks fantastic!!! I'm speechless. 

Thought I'd seen it all then someone wraps a whole turkey in bacon....

Good for you sir, good for you!


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## bigsmoketexas (Nov 23, 2016)

Pete Mazz said:


> I run at 275 but you could go as high as 325.



So how long of  a cook should i expect for a 10lb'er at 275?


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## nchokie (Nov 23, 2016)

Spatchcocked a 17lb bird. I've been reading that they cook a lot faster that way but don't know any rule for it. Trying to get a 3 pm dinner. TIA.


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## pete mazz (Nov 24, 2016)

bigsmoketexas said:


> So how long of a cook should i expect for a 10lb'er at 275?


If you spatchcock it, I would guess ~2 hours.


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## pete mazz (Nov 24, 2016)

NCHokie said:


> Spatchcocked a 17lb bird. I've been reading that they cook a lot faster that way but don't know any rule for it. Trying to get a 3 pm dinner. TIA.


I'm doing 2 17 lb'ers and I'm figuring ~4 hours @ 275.


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