Thanksgiving Turkey!

To many of you what I am about to say could be considered heresy.  Certainly Benjamin Franklin will roll over in his grave when I say this, not to even mention these guys.  So...here's the thing...I don't really like Turkey.  I know, I know Turkey is WONDERFUL! Turkey is low in fat. Turkey is GREAT!  I have been told this all of my life.  At its best, turkey is usually a little bland to me.  At its worst, turkey is too often bland, dry and kinda mealy. 

This year I vowed to change this (sorry Mom...nothing against you).  I decided that I would take matters into my hands.  I decided to smoke this year's bird.  To be clear, I have never cooked a turkey.  At most I only eat Turkey once a year and sometimes not even that much (completely bypassing the Thanksgiving bird for Ham is often my Thanksgiving MO.)  And when I say that I have never cooked a turkey that doesn't mean I have never roasted a turkey but smoking a turkey is old hat.  I have never smoked a turkey either.  For some reason my mother decided that she would allow me take this task on.  And not to provide too much literary foreshadowing...but the turkey was awesome.

After much research, I was able to determine that there is one...and only one key to making a great smoked turkey.  Some will say that you should cook it hot.  Some will say you should cook it low.  Some with lots of smoke...some with only a little.  But everyone seems to agree on one thing...brining is the key.  So brine we did.

Since I had not smoked turkeys before, I decided to do a couple test runs the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  When smoking any meat planning is key, especially regarding timing.

Timing
To brine a turkey the turkey must be thawed.  The brine must first be boiled, and then be chilled.  And then once the brining process begins, the turkey must sit in the fridge at least overnight.  So for a Saturday cook, a frozen needs to be purchased at least by Tuesday, and preferably Monday.  Brine should be made Thursday and chilled overnight.  Turkey should added to brine Friday morning (ish).

Okay.  Now that we have beaten the timing to death.  Let's brine!

Brining
At the simplest, a brine is simply a salt solution that is usually used to preserve food (think pickles, brine is what changes cucumbers into pickles).  For brining you can you use pretty much any liquid you want. Water, apple juice, chicken broth, poor man's chicken broth (water plus 1 bajillion bouillon cubes), etc.

The key decision in brining is not actually about the liquid, it is about the salt content.  For a very fast brine you should use lots of salt, for a slow brine use less salt.  Or said differently, the more salt you use the faster the solution will absorb into your bird.  My test run turkeys were not flavorful enough in my opinion, so for the Thanksgiving bird I made the brine twice as strong.  The final version is below, this will make enough brine for one turkey 12-14 lbs.

Brine Recipe

• 3Q Apple Juice
• 1 1/2 Cups kosher salt
• 1 Tbs red pepper flaks
• 1/2 Tbs celery seed
• 1 ancho chili
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/4 C honey
• Rosemary, two large sprigs
• Sage, 15 leaves bruised

The brine should be boiled for 15 minutes and then chilled over night. 

Once chilled it can be used at any time, but you should that the flavors of all the spices will get stronger over time.  I purchased a few plastic containers at Sam's Club to use for brining the turkeys overnight.

Smoking
When you are ready to smoke the turkey, take it out of the brine and rinse thoroughly and allow to drain on a rack for at least 30 minutes.  Pat the the turkey dry and then either baste with oil or butter and sprinkle liberally with black pepper and kosher salt.

I smoked my birds between 325 and 375 for about 3.5 hours.

The key to smoking the birds is all in the rotation.  I started my turkeys with the breast (neck) facing up and toward my fire box.  After an hour I rotated the 180 degrees, breast still up but thighs toward the SFB.  After another hour I flipped the birds, leaving the thighs toward the SFB.   All of this rotation accomplishes a few things:

1. The entire bird gets a lovely golden color (and that golden color is key because it is not only pretty, but also indicates where the heat and smoke are going).
2. The thigh meat can handle more heat than the breast.



This is about 1 hour in, before first rotation



This is 2 hours in, before flipping



Same time as above, different angle



This is after flipping



This is the 2nd most important step, allow to rest! At least 45 minutes...



Plated and ready to eat!

So, let us review.  To smoke a turkey to tasty perfection you need to do a few simple things:

1. Plan ahead.  This is not an endeavor that can be planned and completed quickly.  If you are planning to cook on Saturday, you need to start the process on Monday.
2. Brining is key!  The speed of which is determined by salt content.  And remember, your brine MUST be chilled otherwise you risk poaching your bird.  Gross.
3. Smoke the bird in a way that you feel comfortable...a fast 3.5 - 4 hour smoke worked for me, do what works for you.
4. Allow the bird to rest. DO NOT, I REPEAT...DO NOT skip this step.  It will be a waste of time and money if you produce a wonderfully juicy bird only to get a little impatient and leave all of the juicy goodness on your cutting board.