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So it's Thanksgiving... you're looking to spice up your holiday bird but you're just not sure how. Sure there is the deep frying option, but you don't really feel like setting your house (or yourself), on fire. So what do you do? The answer is quite simple my friends... Smoke it! In the following instructable I'll guide you through a step by step process that will be sure to impress the taste buds of all your family members and friends.
I would like to take this opportunity to make sure I thank mnlang for his instructable, "Pulled pork on a Weber Kettle Grill" , which introduced me to the process of smoking and got me hooked to this cooking process.
So without further ado... Let's smoke a bird shall we?
I would like to take this opportunity to make sure I thank mnlang for his instructable, "Pulled pork on a Weber Kettle Grill" , which introduced me to the process of smoking and got me hooked to this cooking process.
So without further ado... Let's smoke a bird shall we?
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Alright so if we're going to smoke a turkey we're going to need a few things, so let's have that list...
First thing is first... you're going to need a turkey. Now I know what you're saying, "But Bryan... what kind of turkey should I get?" I am not going to tell you exactly what kind of turkey you are going to buy, instead I am going to give you some guidelines. Whether you want to visit your local butcher, pick up a frozen turkey from the super market, or buy one of those really expensive all natural turkeys, these guidelines will help you get the perfect bird for smoking.
Turkey Guidelines
• The turkey should be anywhere from 10-14 LBS. The turkey in this instructable was 13.2 LBS. Anything larger than that and you are going to have very long cook times. If you need to provide for a larger number of people consider making more than one turkey.
• The Turkey must be thawed! You are going to need to prep this turkey a day in advance. So make sure you leave yourself enough time to get everything done.
• Make sure your turkey is not flavor injected or pre-brined! This is super important! you are going to be doing enough seasoning and you don't want some factory's prefabricated turkey filler effecting your hard work.
Now onto the Brine... Now if you're new to the whole brining process, don't worry we'll get into more detail later. All you need to know is that you are going to need...
1. A 5 gallon bucket. If you are concerned about poly vinyl chloride, you might want to get a bucket that uses food grade plastic.
2. 1 Half gallon of vegetable broth
3. 1 Half gallon of apple juice. Not from concentrate, don't skimp out on me!
4. 1 Gallon ice cold water
5. 1 TBS Thyme
6. 1 TBS Paprika
7. 1 TBS Rosemary
8. 1 Cup Salt
Now for the smoke ... Here are the items you are going to need to cook the Turkey. I mean, you're going to want to eat it right?
1. A smoker - I use an old fashioned $25 charcoal grill, but if you've got something fancier by all means use it!
2. Charcoal
3. Charcoal Chimney - This isn't necessary, but I prefer to use it. You can light the charcoal without using any nasty lighter fluid. In the words of the great Hank Hill, "Taste the meat, not the heat."
4. Aluminum lasagna tray - the 99¢ store has these for way cheaper than your grocery store.
5. Wood Chips - I use a half and half mixture of apple wood and hickory
6. Meat thermometer - This is an absolute must. You are going to need to use this to make sure your turkey is done. You definitely don't want salmonella. You can use a regular meat thermometer or a fancy digital one. I have this one that I got at Lowes. It doesn't have the best reviews but I've never had a problem with it.
Alright, so there is the list... I know it seems like a lot but trust me, it's totally worth it. So let's get cooking!
First thing is first... you're going to need a turkey. Now I know what you're saying, "But Bryan... what kind of turkey should I get?" I am not going to tell you exactly what kind of turkey you are going to buy, instead I am going to give you some guidelines. Whether you want to visit your local butcher, pick up a frozen turkey from the super market, or buy one of those really expensive all natural turkeys, these guidelines will help you get the perfect bird for smoking.
Turkey Guidelines
• The turkey should be anywhere from 10-14 LBS. The turkey in this instructable was 13.2 LBS. Anything larger than that and you are going to have very long cook times. If you need to provide for a larger number of people consider making more than one turkey.
• The Turkey must be thawed! You are going to need to prep this turkey a day in advance. So make sure you leave yourself enough time to get everything done.
• Make sure your turkey is not flavor injected or pre-brined! This is super important! you are going to be doing enough seasoning and you don't want some factory's prefabricated turkey filler effecting your hard work.
Now onto the Brine... Now if you're new to the whole brining process, don't worry we'll get into more detail later. All you need to know is that you are going to need...
1. A 5 gallon bucket. If you are concerned about poly vinyl chloride, you might want to get a bucket that uses food grade plastic.
2. 1 Half gallon of vegetable broth
3. 1 Half gallon of apple juice. Not from concentrate, don't skimp out on me!
4. 1 Gallon ice cold water
5. 1 TBS Thyme
6. 1 TBS Paprika
7. 1 TBS Rosemary
8. 1 Cup Salt
Now for the smoke ... Here are the items you are going to need to cook the Turkey. I mean, you're going to want to eat it right?
1. A smoker - I use an old fashioned $25 charcoal grill, but if you've got something fancier by all means use it!
2. Charcoal
3. Charcoal Chimney - This isn't necessary, but I prefer to use it. You can light the charcoal without using any nasty lighter fluid. In the words of the great Hank Hill, "Taste the meat, not the heat."
4. Aluminum lasagna tray - the 99¢ store has these for way cheaper than your grocery store.
5. Wood Chips - I use a half and half mixture of apple wood and hickory
6. Meat thermometer - This is an absolute must. You are going to need to use this to make sure your turkey is done. You definitely don't want salmonella. You can use a regular meat thermometer or a fancy digital one. I have this one that I got at Lowes. It doesn't have the best reviews but I've never had a problem with it.
Alright, so there is the list... I know it seems like a lot but trust me, it's totally worth it. So let's get cooking!
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One difference, we used a digital thermometer with a remote sensor. This allowed us to keep the lid closed until we needed to add charcoal and keeps the heat in the smoker.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Couple of things you might want to add to the process.
I use a meat injector and use either apple cider or orange juice, gives the bird a fruitty flavor, but not over powering. Ihave also jumpred a single can of fruit cocktail in the cavity as well. this helps to keep things very moist.
I have also used cherry chips with much success as well.
Once again great ible, and happy smoking.
Thanks again and happy smoking to you too as well!
By the way, I really dig your cigar box guitar. I was tempted to buy one from daddy mojo guitars a while back but I held off. Maybe I'll just make one instead.
On a side note, my wife and kids were not a fan of turkey until i started smoking it.
Sunshiine
Sunshiine