You will want to put a bowl of water inside the smoker to help retain the moisture inside the chamber (you will want to find a small, metal bowl that can withstand the higher temperatures). Turkey, like most meats, can dry out during the smoking process.
Frosty smoker.Īfter adding a bunch of coals, pecan wood, and apple wood, the smoker reached my desired temperature of 260° F and I placed the turkeys inside, breast side up, and left them untouched for the first two hours. You can tell it’s cold outside when the temperature gauge on the smoker has a little ice on it, even though it was under a tarp the night before. Resting birds for 30-45 minutes before smoking. I let them rest for around 30-45 minutes before putting them in the smoker. I poured some olive oil on the turkeys and then generously applied Loot N’ Booty BBQ brand Gold Star Chicken Rub. Time to brine.Īfter taking the birds out of the brine, I patted them dry with a paper towel. The ice cubes stayed frozen and the water didn’t freeze, which I was happy about. To keep the water temp cool, I threw in a bunch of ice cubes and put it outside in the cooler weather (which varied from low 40s to upper 20s over the course of 24 hours). This meant that I needed to add more water to make sure the birds were fully submerged, which also meant that I needed to add more of the ingredients. Since I didn’t have room in my fridge, nor do I own a second one with extra space, I went the cooler route for the brining. In hopes to give it more of an apple flavor, I decided to improvise a little and added apple juice, a sliced Jonagold apple, some lemon juice, and some rub I planned on putting on the turkey afterward. I’m not fully sure why, but everywhere I’ve read online and folks I’ve talked to with experience say to do it.Ī simple, effective brine is made up of 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, and 1 cup of sugar. We don’t judge here on this website, so do your thing.ĥ: Brine the turkey, for goodness sake. That is, unless, you desire these things. Don’t worry, you don’t need these and can throw the packet away.
#Apple juice turkey brine recipe for smoking full
Dig your hand in there and you’ll find a hidden packet full of giblets, which is a fancy way of saying liver, heart, and other “edible” innards.
#Apple juice turkey brine recipe for smoking skin
Also, you will want to get into the north end and find the skin flap that opens to a cavity. They shoved the turkey neck and a gravy packet up its butt, so you’ll need to get up in there and pull it out. That way, all the juices/solution/blood don’t end up all over your counter/floor/self.Ĥ: There’s more to the turkey than meets the eye. Note: make sure turkey is still in the package while doing this.ģ: When opening the package, you may want to do so over a kitchen sink. If you are impatient pressed for time like me, put it in a bucket or sink full of cold water breast side down. These things can take a couple of days to thaw out in the fridge (24 hours for each 4-5 lbs.) so be prepared. I used one without these labels and it still tasted pretty dang good.Ģ: The turkey will come frozen from the store, unless you found a fresh one somehow. If you can’t obtain one of these types of turkeys, it’s not the end of the world. You get a better quality turkey this way, which means better meat to flavor. When talking about low solution, the rule of thumb that experts look for is 8% or less. Since I had never made a turkey before, I learned some things in the prep that you all who are also new to this should know:ġ: When shopping for a turkey, look for one with a label that says, “minimally processed” and/or “low solution added”.
Smoke: 260° F for five hours, then had to put in oven at 325° F for 60-90 minutes to reach right internal temp of 165° F. Wood: Pecan, with a little apple mixed in and 14 lbs., respectively)īrine: 3.5 gallons of water, 2 C kosher salt, 2 C sugar, 2 C apple juice, 1 Jonagold apple (sliced), 2 T rub, 1 T lemon juice brined in cooler for 24 hours A lot of people have turkey for Christmas as well, so this recipe isn’t just for one day a year. No pressure, just smoke something you’ve never tried for the main dish of the biggest meal of the year. I’ve only been smoking for a few months, but foolishly decided to tell my mother-in-law that I will take on making the turkey for Thanksgiving this year.
Note: this smoke originally took place on Smoked Turkeys.
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