Smoked Turkey Confusion

[JSaloisSr]

I've read all the turkey recipes I can find on here.  They have all left me confused.  I didn't expect to see so much brine.  What is the reason for the brining and what does it do to the taste of the meat?  I would like a good smoke flavor and be able to eat the crispy skin.  What is the best way to attain this?

[FLBentRider]

Brining adds moisture and flavor. and a little salt  :o

You can smoke it without brining, but I've been brining turkeys for longer than I've been smoking them.

If you want chrispy skin, I would apply 2-3 hours of smoke (@225F) and then pop it into an oven @ 325-350F (uncovered) until you get to the IT you want, I use 165F (dark meat) for Turkey.

[Hopefull Romantic]

Hey JSaloisSR,
The brinning process makes the meat juicier , uniformly seasoned , without tasting salty, just a nice honest flavor. It also provides a "cushion" for the breast meat so that even if it gets a little overcooked it is still juicy! Since it takes longer to cook the thigh than the breast usually this is particularly helpful.

You should brine over night rinse and air dry fro a couple of hours in a cool place, smoke between 2 - 5 hors and finish in the oven till IT reaches 165 in the thickest part of the turkey.

HR

[JSaloisSr]

Hey JSaloisSR,
The brinning process makes the meat juicier , uniformly seasoned , without tasting salty, just a nice honest flavor. It also provides a "cushion" for the breast meat so that even if it gets a little overcooked it is still juicy! Since it takes longer to cook the thigh than the breast usually this is particularly helpful.

You should brine over night rinse and air dry fro a couple of hours in a cool place, smoke between 2 - 5 hors and finish in the oven till IT reaches 165 in the thickest part of the turkey.

HR

What recipe for the brine?

[Hopefull Romantic]

For a simple brine:

1 gallon water
1 Cup Kosher or sea salt. Or ½ cup Table Salt.
½ Cup sugar

This should be good for around 12 - 14 lb turkey, the larger the bird the more brine you would need off course. The trick here is to have ebough brine to submetge the bird completely. I would recommend that you also use whatever spice and ingredients you like, Garlic powder, maple syrup, honey, molassis I even have tried the 5 chinese spices once. Whatever stricks your fancy and in very moderate quantities. In one of my trials before I joined this forum I even put one drop of Mad Dod 357 Siver bullet addition hot sauce in the brine of two turkey breasts, well I had to eat hot turkey breast for two weeks ALONE.

HR

[FLBentRider]

This is the one I use:

1 gallon hot water
1 pound kosher salt
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 pound honey
1 (7-pound) bag of ice

Combine the hot water and the salt in a 54-quart cooler or other suitable container.
Stir until the salt dissolves.
Stir in the vegetable broth and the honey. I let it cool overnight if I have time before the next step.
Add the ice and stir.
Place the turkey in the brine, breast side up, and cover with cooler lid..
Brine overnight, up to 12 hours

[ArnieM]

Hi Master Sargent.  This thread is moving so fast I'm not sure I can get an edge in wordwise.

A basic brine is salt and water - maybe 1/2 cup to one cup of Kosher salt per gallon of water.  Most people add sugar, sometimes white but I prefer brown; light or dark doesn't matter to me.  (Remember, you're getting opinion here.)  The sugar to salt is about one to one for me.  

If you're doing a gallon, bring the above to a boil in about a quart or two of water.  Add any herbs that you're fond of, fresh or ground; sage, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, ...  Or none if you prefer.

You'll have to completely submerge the bird.  You might want to take the target pot, put in the bird and then measure in water.  Adjust the above depending on the amount of water required.  

Cool the brine.  Add ice and cold water to bring it up to about a gallon (or whatever you need) and the temp down to close to fridge temp.  Put the bird in and submerge it.  Yeah, I know this isn't the submarine corps  ;D  If it floats, find a plate that will fit in the pot, invert it and put it on top.  Add a brick (or rock if you wash it first) to hold the sucker down. Then, into the fridge overnight.

A few key points (IMHO), some mentioned previously.

• Keep it in the fridge, unless maybe it's 32-39 outside.
• Before smoking, drain it, wash thoroughly, dry it and put it back in the fridge, naked.  The fridge is like a dehumidifier and will help to dry the skin.  The drier the skin, the crispier.
• Give it a nice rub if you'd like.
  
• Watch the internal temp (IT).  If it looks like it's nearly done but the skin isn't crispy, get it into the oven.  I'd recommend 400 preheated for about 15-20 minutes.  In either case, let it rest for a while before carving.
  

Please post any more questions you might have.

[aces-n-eights]

Some great advice here, as usual!  I have a turkey project coming up and this thread has been very helpful.

Have any of you experienced turkey smokers stuffed the bird with dressing before smoking?  Brine, rinse, stuff, smoke, oven... or do you omit the stuffing and do it separate.

TIA!

[KyNola]

A&E,
I wouldn't recommend stuffing the bird prior to smoking as the temp in the cavity of the bird may not get hot enough to prevent all the bad stuff from growing in there.  Remember that the cabinet temp may only be 250 or so.

I would definitely cook the stuffing separate but that is just my opinion.  I'm sure others will be along with their own thoughts.

KyNola

[FLBentRider]

I wouldn't stuff and smoke.

We do the stuffing separate.

[Hopefull Romantic]

I am with Ky and FLBR on this one. I would cook the stuffing seprately and in case you would finsh in the over I/O the Bradley then I would stuff the turkey after the bradley and before the oven.

HR

[HawkeyeSmokes]

JSaloisSr ' Here's a link to some good information on brining meats from Cooks Illustrated.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howto/print/detail.asp?docid=1630&Extcode=L9HN3AA00

I would agree with the others about not stuffing the turkey while in the smoker Aces. But then I don't like stuffing in the turkey when it's done in the oven and prefer it cooked separate.

[ArnieM]

"Stuffing is evil" from various episodes of "Good Eats".  I think that's especially true when smoking/cooking at a lower temp.  Mix up a bowl of stuffing and put it in the smoker with the bird.  I'd put it on a shelf above the bird to keep the juice out.  However, if you're gonna finish in the oven and cook the stuffing well, the turkey juice might be OK.

[aces-n-eights]

Thanks much for the advice on stuffing.  I may try your idea, Arnie, to put a bowl above the bird for the smoke portion and then transfer it all to the oven.

[ArnieM]

Thanks much for the advice on stuffing.  I may try your idea, Arnie, to put a bowl above the bird for the smoke portion and then transfer it all to the oven.

That should work and the stuffing won't be poisonous  ;D  It'll probably pick up a little smoke flavor.  You might want to take it out and toss it about half way through the smoking time to get a little more smoke into it.  It'd pick up little smoke when in the cavity.

The other problem with stuffing a bird is that the stuffing tends to pull moisture out of the bird resulting in drier breast meat.  Just my opinion.