first time with my cold smoke adapter

[Aether]

1st of all, NO WAY would I do this in a commercial foodservice establishment.  WAY too risky (and the DOH would give you a complimentary colonoscopy if they found out!)!  At home, I would be willing to do this after a 24 hour brine (chicken) or 48 hour brine (turkey) IF I carefully washed and dried the bird(s) in advance.

MOST contamination is surface contamination, the brine will surely kill off surface contamination (this is why rare steaks are generally safe-heat kills off surface bugs).  The brine will also penetrate the meat and act to inhibit bacterial growth in the meat.  I would also take the poultry directly fom the fridge to the smoker, no bringing to room temp first.

A current "fad" in the foodservice industry is "dry brining" poultry.  Basically, kosher salt is rubbed in the cavity and under the skin of the breasts and legs (for a 14 pound bird, 5 tsp. in the cavity, 3 tsp. under the skin of each breast, and 1 tsp under the skin of each leg).  The turkey is then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 to 48 hours after which the turkey is rinsed of excess salt, dried, and roasted.

I'll be at the CIA (Culinary Institute) this week and I will ask some of the faculty their opinion(s) on cold smoking brined poultry prior to roasting and I will post their consensus.