I just bought a six rack digital Bradley smoker today at Bass Pro. We are wanting to do a whole 15lb Turkey for Thanksgiving and have never smoked anything before. so I someone could give me a good recepie to follow I would very much appreciate it. Brine, rub, wood choice etc. Thanks Troy
Here is a place to start.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?180-Our-Time-Tested-and-Proven-Recipes (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?180-Our-Time-Tested-and-Proven-Recipes)
Troy, here's what I did to smoke a nine pound turkey breast. You might be able to use some of the info as a guide. Check back on this post later, as I am working from memory and will update from my smoking notes when I get home.
The breast was already "pre-basted" so I didn't brine it. (Most turkeys are already basted. Look for something printed on the wrapper to indicate that the bird was injected, or something that says a certain percentage of moisture was added. This means that a salt solution (brine) was injected into the bird. No need to brine further.)
No rub. Jan's Rub is the rub of choice for many who monitor these forums. Check other posts for a link to the recipe.
Just smoked with apple (I prefer a lighter flavored smoke) for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, if I remember right.
Smoker temp at 250. Preheated for an hour.
Also put three aluminum foil wrapped bricks into the smoker that had been heated in the oven to 400 degrees. Two bricks below the turkey and one brick above. After sitting on the counter for an hour or so, the turkey was about 45 degrees when it went into the smoker. The bricks helped the smoker recover from the addition of a lot of cold meat, which reduced the cooking time.
Also put boiling water into the puck bowl to help with temp recovery.
Vent full open to let moisture from brined bird escape. (poultry has a high moisture level on it's own, brined, even higher)
Pulled the bird when the internal temp got to 165 (about 4 1/2 hours). Tented and let rest for 1/2 hour before carving.
If your bird gets done sooner than you had expected, use the FTC (foil, towel, cooler) approach to held keep the bird warm. I've used the microwave instead of the cooler. After an hour, the meat was still so hot I had a hard time handling it with my hands to remove the meat from the carcass. If you don't have a big enough cooler, use a couple of extra towels, many layers of newspaper, a cardboard box, or anything that helps contain the heat and insulate the bird. I'd bet you could keep the bird above the danger range (40 degrees to 140 degrees) for up to a couple of hours if you insulated it well enough.
A smoked bird will not have a crispy skin. If you want a crispy skin, take the bird out of the smoker when the temp reaches 155 - 160 and finish in a 325 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes.
Also, check other posts on the poultry forum. Lots of great information.