In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Triple-Digit Turkey Smoking
Rocky Raab
Member Posts: 14,432 ✭✭✭✭
It hit 100 degrees today here in sunny Ogden. Rather than use the kitchen stove, I'm smoking a turkey on my shaded lower patio. Nice little 8-lb bird with some bacon fat trimmings under its skin. Using apple wood chunks in my gas smoker, running right at 225 degrees. I use 30 minutes a pound for cook time in this smoker, so it should be ready right at 5 pm. Cocktails at four.
Smoked turkey and Duke's for sammiches this week. Yummm.
I may be a bit crazy - but I didn't drive myself.
Comments
Sounds delicious!
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
At a hundred degrees my diet would be ice cubes only. I love the UP.
Perfect!
How often do you replace the old and put in fresh applewood chunks?
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
The turkey finished up a bit quicker than I had anticipated, doubtless due to the ambient temps. So it was a tiny bit past perfect - but still delicious. Deep mahogany skin and smoky pink meat.
With it, we had the year's first sweet corn and some yellow squash cooked slow with onions and lots of butter. Green salad and iced tea. Summer fare, for sure. A few hours from now, there'll be strawberry and blueberry shortcake with whipped cream. Red, white, and blue dessert. Ahhhhh...
Kevin, I do not replenish the apple chunks. I use fist-sized chunks and a handful of chips, both soaked overnight. The chips give a quick smoke start, and I see smoke after only a few minutes. There will be smoke for about 45 minutes to an hour, after which it is just moist heat from the water pan and gas. Today, with the high outside temps, 20 minutes to the pound would have been perfect. I never open the smoker until I guess it's close to being done. Today, I gave it 3.5 hours and the meat registered 180 degrees - a bit more than I shoot for, but still fine.
Dang, I missed cocktail hour.
Sounds very good Rocky! Did you brine your bird before smoking? Curious about what brine you used if you did.
I recently smoked a 12 pound turkey. I thawed it out and split it down the middle. Brined in a Kosher salt/brown sugar mix for about 24 hours, leaving everything in the refrigerator out in the garage. I only had hickory chips on hand with a similar type propane smoker to yours. It turned out very well and plenty moist.
I cannot quite remember how long I had it in the smoker. The heat was set to 250 degrees and after a few hours I noticed the temp wanted to rise on its own. Opening the door for the first time and checking bird temp which was 165 on both halves, I called it done.
I really like and enjoy smoked turkey but sure do wish the skin would turn out like a roasted bird! On a roasted the skin is my favorite part. On a smoked, I feel like an Eskimo chewing on a hunk of whale blubber! 😁
This one wasn't brined, but we usually do. Mixture similar to yours. I also shoot for 165 degrees, allowing for it to coast up another five as it rests.