Smoking a turkey?

Yes, I know they are hard to light.

Never smoked a turkey before. Going to kill a few birds on Saturday and I am going to try smoking a bird or two, or three, for Thanksgiving. Any tips or tricks?

All I have to smoke it is is a Big Chief smoker.

Many thanks.

Brine it in some time of brine that has apple juice in it.Use apple chips or cherry when ya smoke it.Good luck,
SZ

It'll probably take forever in a Big Chief.

2qts apple juice
1gal water
1cup salt

i've done a similar brine for wild birds, then wrapped the breast in bacon and smoked low and slow. i finished it in the oven to make sure it was done. sliced thin for sandwiches....good eats! btw, the breast was off the bone. don't know how a whole bird would go.




willy

Used this for chickens - worked great

1 gallon water
1 cup salt
1 cup sugar

KISS

Kind of convinced I need a better smoker to do this right.

Traegers are SPENDY. Bradleys are more my speed.

Any suggestions on where to buy?

I love my Bradley...I bought it at G.I Joes on closeout so I don't know who has the best deal anymore. Shop the internet would be my best guess.

I think I'd not spend the money on the digital version and stay with the manual type. If you don't peek much and get a feel for the temp control I find the temp. to remain steady...which is important for a good finished product.

Good luck with your search.

I usually smoke'm in the head with a 12 gauge.

pictures please

Read a bunch of reviews on the Bradleys, now I am depressed.

Almost looks like if I want to get what I want, I'll need to build my own. Want smoke, infinite adjustability from 100-300 degrees, reasonable capacity, and repeatability.

Good news is I have the skills. Bad news is that I need to source parts and limited time.

Wish I would have kept that old Fridgidaire from Westport. Perfect steel shell to start with. Dammit.

Temps over 200 isn't smoking it's roasting.

Understood, but I don't want it to take more than a few hours to get up to temp.

Here is my current method. It was pieced together from several smoking websites about a year ago. I use a propane water smoker and plum wood (because I have a big pile of it) but any fruit tree wood will work. The key is the brine and keeping the smoker between 225 and 250 degrees F...and not over cooking. Get an instant-read thermometer. This method will yield a smoked turkey that is almost as tender as a fried one but 100 times more flavorful.

Smoked Turkey

•Make brine:
oSimmer the following for 15 minutes to dissolve the sugar and salt:
2 qrts apple juice
2 qrts orange juice
2 cups kosher or coarse salt
½ cup brown sugar
10 cloves
1 T nutmeg
oAdd 1 gallon of cold water
oAllow brine to chill in fridge
•Use a 10-14 lb non-seasoned/non-brined turkey (fresh if possible)
•Rinse with water
•Separate skin from breasts and thighs
•Soak in brine overnight in fridge
•Rinse and pat dry
•Season inside, outside, and under skin with the following rub:
2 T olive oil
2 T onion powder
1 T paprika
2 t. sugar
1 t. celery salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. sage
½ t. cayenne
•Smoke 30-40 minutes per lb at 225-250º F using 3-4 trays of fruit wood. Ensure the breast reaches 160 º F and the thigh is at 170 º F
•Allow to rest breast side down under a foil tent for 30 minutes

Bradleys are a good smoker Dogfish. I love mine but the temp will not get up to were you want it. I have hard time on cold days touching 200'. Sweet for fish though.

I have a second propane smoker for hotter temps when doing stuff like brisket. I actually can use the smoke generator off the bradley as I cut a hole in the propane smoker and fitted it. Very nice to just place the pucks and walk away.

Dogfish,

I bought my four rack Bradley from cabela's a couple years ago and love it.I can smoke from 100 degree's to 300 degree's and the pucks feed automatically so your not having to open the door letting out the heat and smoke all the time to change chips/puck's.It will take some getting used to @ first but it's money after you get it dialed in as far as timing and temp's.I have done lotsa smoked pork shoulder roast for pulled pork sammy's and also smoked chickens that turned out awesome for dinners.Done plenty of smoked salmon and jerky also.I even bought four extra meat racks and have inverted them to turn my smoker into a 8 rack when needed.I have learned that doing smaller batches of fish turn out better then larger batches.Go get yourself one you want look back.Good luck,
SZ

That is within the perfect size range for smoking.

My smoker is made by Masterbuilt and retails for $160-$180...not to bad considering how much use it gets. It holds temp between 200 F and 250 F. I've never tried lower (for that I'd use my Big Chief) or higher temps (that would be a job for the grill). The 225-250 range is where you want to be anyway for pork shoulder, ribs, turkey, chicken, brisket, etc.

Dogfish, I've also got a Bradley and it works fantastic. I've done fullsize (15lb) briskets for 16 hrs and they turn out perfect. I try to stay between 200 and 225 deg. so I don't know if it will get as hot as you say you want. Had a Little Chief before this and the Bradley beats it to death.

Oh yeah, bought it at the old Sportsmans warehouse in Federal Way, can't remember what it is called now.

this is how us city boys do it. first time using the photobucket deal so I am not sure as to how this will turn out:

[img][IMG]http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l494/papaslap/PB261257.jpg[/img][/img]


[img][IMG]http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l494/papaslap/PB261258.jpg[/img][/img]



[img]http://[IMG]http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l494/papaslap/PB271259.jpg[/img][/img]

Chasbo's pix:

Damn, that looks good!

and with the pan we save the juices, as long as there are no "flare ups" along the way.

Andy,
I'll look up the brine I use tonight.
All I use is a Weber kettle type BBQ, charcoal with wood added during the process. Two small piles of coal tucked up against the sides with the bird in da middle. Easy to control the temp. I've got three if ya just wanta test it out.

Nothin like brining a chiken for a few hours then stick'in it in the bradley four 4 hours @ 210 degrees with some apple wood,then throwing it on the dinner table with some spuds.Family loves it and it's so easy a cave girl could do it.Good luck,
SZ

I'm keeping my brood stock birds, 3 hens and a tom, and they were all hatched June of 2010. Lost one large hen to a dog/coyote/coon in August.

The other 32 or so have hatch dates ranging from May through July, maybe even August. The bigger toms are in the 10-15lb range, I guess. I'm killing 10 to 12 on Saturday and processing them myself. I have quite a few reserved for folks @ $3/lb. I'm losing money or just breaking even on these birds, but it will help defray the costs (or buy me a schmoker). The rest of the birds are smaller and will likely be up to weight by Christmas, when I'll cull a few more.

Everything I'm reading says 10-14lb birds are perfect for smoking. These birds are lankier than the broad breasted birds we killed together last year, so it is possible that larger birds (above 15lbs) would be fine to smoke.

Thanks for the kind offers and tips. Much appreciated. I may be giving you a call Jim.

I was thinking of smokin a bird in the Bradley.

Maybe a breastage and couple drumsticks. Would any preoven cooking be required or just alot the time and temp?

I am a rookie Bradley smoker--lil chief's got benched

I predict a picture-mentary of a "Dogfish Built" smoker in the future?

Coho, it depends on how much smoke flavor you want. My wife doesn't like alot of smoke so I start it in the smoker and then when I think it's enough I've either pulled it out and finished in the oven (if I need it done faster) or just quit putting biscuits in the smoker if time wasn't an issue. Both ways get it there. Good Luck.

Andy,
I think this came from Parker, but here it is:

1 gal water
1 gal Apple Juice
1.5 cups Kosher Salt
20 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons BLACK Pepper
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

Brine over night, rinse, dry, butter under skin, toss on the bbq covered with cheese cloth soaked w/butter. Remover cheese cloth at mid point.

220 max temp

Yank it off when the breast hit 160.

I did this for 36 men in BC a few years back and they keep wantin more!

Yep.....pork butts for 20hrs without opening the door. If it needs more temperature I smoke then transfer to the oven or grill.

I want a constant temp and smoke from 125-200 degrees.

I also like a 1 hour Alder smoke then a slow roast on Prime rib....the oven time helps to create the base for a good Au Jus or gravy.

I'm thinking it would be a little hard to get lit

Just think of the last time you burned off miscellaneous hairs.
That was a turkey smoking and it was easy to light.

If you're not burning off miscellaneous hair from time to time, you're not having fun.

By far one of my favorites.... Except I run the brine around 24-30 hours on a 18-20lb bird...

I was fortunate to find a great deal on a Traeger about 5 years ago. It's still running strong... Well worth the money vested...

Keith

I used to do a 'dry rub' mixed with butter.

I quit smoking seagull because it ends up tasting like ham.

If you brine your seagull, you cant use the drippings for gravy.

First of all, thanks Knophish who gave me an electric Charbroil smoker to try out. We'll see how that goes. Much appreciated. Didn't have a chance until now to say thanks as I was busy hunting with the boys, and getting 10 turkeys butchered and bagged.

Buying fixings to smoke the turkey tonight. I might buy a cheap small one to practice on today and then do the main course bird. Thanks for your help folks. This is exactly the info I was looking for.

Here they are, all ready for dinner.

Using the Paker brine. Split one of my 11lb birds. Went in at 8pm. I figure I'll take one half out around 5-6 am, a 9-10 hour soak, and the other around 1-2pm for a 17+/- hour soak.

I have hickory chips, cheese cloth, butter, etc. Buying a remote thermometer tomorrow.

Seeing how this bird isn't thick, and it is split, any idea on how long I should expect this to take? Is this a 4-6 ordeal, or should I expect it to take longer?

Smoker is a Charbroil H20 electric smoker.

Does the sucker look like a mummy turkey wrapped in cheescloth and basted in butter, or should I just wrap a few wrappings around the bird?

Thanks.

Jim, I'll probably give you a call.

For a whole bird the guideline is 30-40 minutes per pound...for a half bird I'd guess about 25 min per.

BTW, get an instant read digital thermometer, not a remote.

I have a 14 pounder goning into brine tonight...

From last year.....how to make a 20 lb turkey smoke just fine in a big chief.

Went like hotcakes.

I have a digital thermometer, so I am good there. Do you ever add water in a bowl? The reason I ask is that the smoker I have has that as an option.

I might add that the legs/thighs were folded and stood on end in the smoker, then spead for the photo. Whole thing was done in less than eight hours......all the way through. No brine, no water. Delicious.

I use water in the bowl (and thus don't do the cheese cloth thing).

Those pix are making me hungry.

One more thing: I think it is very important to loosen the skin around the thighs and breast to allow better interaction of the meat with the brine.

Dogfish, at 200-225 deg. my chicken halves take about 4 hours.

This thread comes up every year. I use a Bradley and smoke a 14lb bird in about 4.5 hrs. 225F max at the end. Here is a link to last years thread with the recipe. 2010 smoked turkey thread Its about halfway down the first page.
I'm only doing one thing different this year...we have a larger group so I'm smoking two!

Test bird is at 159 degrees now, in the thigh. 11 more degrees, and we have dinner. Testing one tonight so I don't totally screw up Thanksgiving dinner.

Turned out well, and Iearned a few things.

Need a bit more brown sugar in the brine, like 3-4x recipe, and 30 minute/lb smoking is right on for my skinny split birds. Brine time was good at 20 hours without loosening skin on breast and thighs. Rinsed the halves and patted dry. Amount of salt was fine. Just missed a sweet finish that I am accustomed to with smoked meats.

Pretty close first try. Thanks for all of your help.

A friend of mine puts up some awesome smoked Chinook with this Maple Sugar Cure. Sounds odd but her smoked salmon eats sort of like ham.
Maple Sugar Cure might work for turkey as well.
http://www.azlwebdesign.com/marketsupply...mp;keyword=cure
The wife wouldn't like the nitrite, though.

Andy throw yourself one of there 5.99 jobbers together works for me.. Side and top vents keep the temp as consistant as I need.

Timber, cruious about your "smoker" as I am in the market for one. . . .is your only heat source the charcoal? Just add chips?

I like the simple design !

I like charcoal best but also use a hotplate once in a while as my wife hates the taste from charcoal..
Start charcoal or hotplate and add fresh alder...

How long does it take to do a batch of salmon ( I know it will be weather/temp dependent)?

About 2.5-3 hrs. temp about 130-140. I dont bring smoker to temp just white the charcoal throw on alder and go..

My first try at it. Turned out awesome. Pulled the bird when the breast and thigh hit 165. Kind of like a turkey/ham hybrid, but in a good way...

Nice looking bird Kramer. Smoking a chicken right now, 8.15 lb'er, for tonight.

8.5lbs? sure that isn't a small turkey?

Looks great Kramer

Tasted great.

Did a couple of yard birds at work today with Mr. Parkers brine.
about 5.5 hrs at 215. Not as pretty as Kramers bird but damn tastey.

Two down, two to go.