Frozen Turkeys....how to start and unthaw, brine then smoke ???

[Rooftop777]

Hey all, I want to smoke 2 turkeys but they are frozen, I think at least 10 lbs each. Thinking of putting in cooler frozen with plastic on in cooler until thaws, then ass brine for 24 hours, then smoke. Any other way to do it ?

Please help, thanks :D

[tskeeter]

Rooftop, if the turkeys are "enhanced", as most frozen major brand turkeys are today, there is no need to brine.  How to tell if the bird is enhanced?  Look for printing on the package that tells you the bird has been injected with a brine solution.  It might say something like brine, flavor solution, or water added, or talk about moisture added, or something that gives you the idea they did more to the bird than slaughter and dress it.

Thawing the birds in a cooler will work.  But, I think you'd want to be pretty careful to make sure that the temperature in various parts of the cooler don't get uneven.  It would be bad if the outside of a bird started to spoil while the center of the bird stayed frozen because of temperature differences in the cooler.

If you can shoehorn the birds into the fridge, that would be my choice for a defrosting method.  The temperature is more consistent and it is better controlled.

[KyNola]

Good advice from tskeeter.  Only thing I will add is that you want to preheat your Bradley as high as you can get it because when you place 2 cold turkeys in it, the temp in the tower is going to drop like a stone and will struggle to come back up for quite some time.  I would even consider smoking them in the Bradley as hot as you can get it and then move them to your house oven to finish cooking normally.  Poultry is not something you want hanging around in the temperature danger zone too long and I fear 2 cold turkeys being heated by the equivalent of 5 100 watt light bulbs could indeed be there too long.

Others who are much more of an expert than me will come along with much better advice.

[Saber 4]

You have gotten excellent advice above and all I can say is keep us posted and let us know how it turns out.

[Rooftop777]

thanks for advice, yes I think fridge will be my choice. Then in oven after smoked for a few hours so that they get that nice smoke taste.
Don't know what you mean by shoehorn the turkey though ??

I have an oil-less turkey cooker I can finish it in, it will cook those birds. It's called "The Big Easy" by Char-Broil. Takes no oil.
thanks for advice all,

[TedEbear]

The TBE is a popular cooker around here for finishing turkeys after smoking them for a few hours in the Bradley.  I have one myself.  Makes the skin nice and crisp.

Here's a link to a whole list of discussions on here about using a TBE in conjunction with the Bradley:  TBE and Turkey

[Saber 4]

The TBE is a popular cooker around here for finishing turkeys after smoking them for a few hours in the Bradley.  I have one myself.  Makes the skin nice and crisp.

Here's a link to a whole list of discussions on here about using a TBE in conjunction with the Bradley:  TBE and Turkey

Excellent suggestion, I also love to use my SRG to finish the turkey after smoking in the Brad

[tskeeter]

thanks for advice, yes I think fridge will be my choice. Then in oven after smoked for a few hours so that they get that nice smoke taste.
Don't know what you mean by shoehorn the turkey though ??
I have an oil-less turkey cooker I can finish it in, it will cook those birds. It's called "The Big Easy" by Char-Broil. Takes no oil.
thanks for advice all,

Rooftop, a shoehorn is a device that we used to use to lever our feet into a pair of snug fitting shoes.  I was trying to find a concise way of saying "if there is any way you can fit the turkeys into the fridge". 

[Rooftop777]

its being brined in fridge right now

[Rooftop777]

rinsed turkey off from being in brine, put rub on it and placed in smoker at 300 F