Smoking & indirect BBQ a whole turkey?

[richardvoyageur]

Hello again smoker friends, let me throw this by you.  I'm thinking of smoking a whole turkey.  Because I believe the skin will be too rubbery with the lack of heat, I'd like to finish it in my Weber S620 (huge surface area for indirect cooking!) for the remaining time.

I have some questions if anyone can help:

what smoke to use?  I currently have mesquite, hickory, pecan, apple at home to pick from.  I'm thinking a mix of apple and pecan might do for a nice mild taste?

Will 4 hours of smoke be enough? 

I'd prefer not to brine, will this kill my chances of a really nice juicy bird?  If I don't brine, can I apply a rub to the turkey, and if so, how long before cooking?

So here's my rough plans right now, these can and will change with suggestions from you guys:

rub/brine
smoker @ 225F for 4 hours with apple/pecan
into the BBQ it goes, indirect @ 300-350F with drip tray underneath (I'd like to collect it for gravy)
Remove at around 160F or so with hope of hitting 165 while resting

how's that sound?

[muebe]

Your plan sounds good to me but I think you should be closer to 250F if possible in the smoker and vent wide open of course ;)

Apple and Pecan is a great combo.

I think 4 hours smoke is plenty. The longer you smoke the more chance of rubbery skin.

It is always better to brine if you can but still should be good without brining. I would inject some butter and garlic into the bird.

You can apply a rub to the skin right before smoking. You are just basically flavoring the skin. Rub under the skin to flavor the meat too ;)

Others smarter than me will come along with better info  :)

[KyNola]

Richard, you have been given great info from Muebe.  He is dead on with getting the heat to 250 in the tower.  One thing, poultry is a smoke SPONGE!  It really absorbs the smoke so 4 hours will be more than enough.  I would probably go 3.  Check your turkey package and see if it mentions something about it being injected or brined in some sore of solution.  A lot of time it will say something to the effect of "a 15% solution to insure a moist product".  If you see that, brining is now more of an option than necessary.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[wthr_dude]

I have not tried a turkey yet but have done several whole chickens.  I have tried brining and just putting a dry rub on them.  After several attempts I gave up on the dry rubs, for me brining is the only way to go.  Like KyNola said it will definetly soak up the smoke with a good brine so be carefull not to overdue it. 

[cajunboudreaux]

 I do an injection of my favorite seasonings. just fill a tall cup of cola about half way a few shakes of tabasco,garlic powder,onion powder,cajun seasonings and what ever else you want. place cup in fridge over night. stir occassionally. When you are aready to smoke your bird. Inject it. Cover with frenches yellow mustard and sprinkle seasoning . Covering with mustard will hold in all your juices and keep the skin from being rubbery. That is my thing i cover everything in mustard. If you decide to brine that is fine just cover with mustard before smoking. place bird in smoker..
Here is what i do. get heat up to 240-250 and smoke 3 hours with hickory and every 4 puck being pecan. I take out the bird and deep fry it in peanut oil at 2.5 minutes per pound. you can finish it on the grill as well. i do a bunch turkeys every thanksgiving for folks and the love it... like they have said poultry sucks up some smoke. Good luck, you will not be disappointed in what ever you decide.