Scott Chaffin, in a comment on this post, requested some tips on smoking turkeys. I’ve been reading Scott for several years, and I’ve seen his proficiency at smokin’ beeves, hogs, and all types of other protein. Visits to his site have left my mouth watering many a time; he often has pictures of the smoky bounty. So I’m flattered that he asked for tips from me. For whatever value I can add, here goes.
I suppose the smoking equipment you have dictates procedures as much as anything. I bought SWMBO a Brinkmann smoker before we were married, so that smoker has to be 30 years old if it’s a day. We talk about upgrading to another rig, but we haven’t. Then we remember all the good eats we’ve had from the old Brinkmann, and put off upgrading for another year. Anyhow, this smoker is a rolled steel one, with a charcoal and wood pan sitting at the bottom, a water pan right under the grille, and a rolled steel domed lid covering the whole thing. There is no provision to add more fuel or wood to our smoker, once the process starts. That’s its biggest downside.
We start with a 11-13 pound turkey. Preferably fresh. We’ve found over the years that fresh ones just take the smoke better. Frozen ones are good, and still just this side of heaven, but fresh ones are better. Make sure your frozen one is completely thawed, if you go that route.
The night before, soak your wood chips and chunks in water. We use hickory; I’d like to try mesquite, but SWMBO forbids it.
The smoking process takes 8-9 hours, so on on the day of the Great Smoke, take your beautifully thawed bird, and wash it inside and out. Pat dry. Then, SWMBO will butter the bird, inside and out, and season with a little salt, black pepper, oregano, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and some powdered garlic. Quarter an onion or two, and break up 3 or 4 stalks of celery, and put these loosely in the cavity. You can quarter an apple or an orange for the cavity as well. Don’t pack the cavity too tightly. We also slip a little onion and celery into the neck hole. We’ve never brined our turkey, though some coworkers brine theirs, and report good results. Take the neck and giblets out, and make stock with them. The pan drippings will be way too rich for gravy.
Into the water pan, add some water, wine (red or white, we usually have red), salt, black pepper, parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, powdered garlic.
Get the charcoal pan completely full of charcoal, soak with the Kingsford lighter, and fire up. The trick here, with our equipment, is to get the charcoal lit up slowly so it won’t go out for 8 hours or so, and yet lit strongly enough so the soaked wood won’t kill the fire. When the coals are ready, drain the water from the chips and wood chunks, and distribute them evenly over the coals. I usually put on a good layer of wood chips, then 8 – 12 chunks, depending on size. By and large, the more chunks you can use, the better. They last longer, and produce a better smoke. Working quickly, put the water pan in place, followed by the grille, and the buttered bird, breast up. Cover with the dome, and retire with your beverage of choice. After about 4 hours, remove the dome, and have a look see. If you need more water, pour some in; we’ve even been known to baptize the bird during this procedure. Recover with the dome, and wait another 4 hours.
At the end of 8 hours, your coals and wood are pretty well spent. Uncover the bird and check; the leg should move easily in the joint. We usually finish up with a little oven time, an hour or 45 minutes at about 325o, and check with a meat thermometer.
After that, carve, serve with side dishes of choice, and dig in. And if you want an outstanding sammich later (and who wouldn’t), check here.
I just made myself hungry.
-k-
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