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please help - thanksgiving smoked turkey

eddy-turn
eddy-turn Posts: 36
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
What's the best set-up for smoking a turkey?[p]direct or indirect?[p]brine or no brine?[p]water pan or not?[p]thanks,[p]eddy-turn

Comments

  • J Appledog
    J Appledog Posts: 1,046
    eddy-turn,
    Indirect
    Brine
    Depends if you want to make gravy.
    JCA

  • eddy-turn,
    On my store's web site (check my profile) I just posted a technique that I've used recently called "Grasshoppers face-down Holiday Turkey" that gets great. Also, I have a basic technique as well as Mad Max's which is also a great one. [p]Also , just posted my basic Turkey Gravy recipe and there's a bunch of other stuff have fun. [p]Click on "recipes and cooking" on my web site listed on my profile and keep eggin! [p]freddy-poo2_2.jpg

    [ul][li]http://SmokinGuitarPlayer[/ul]
    Fred A. Bernardo , owner of Tasty Licks BBQ Supply in Shillington, Pa. 
  • > What's the best set-up for smoking a turkey?[p]The one that works best for you.[p]> direct or indirect?[p]indirect[p]> brine or no brine?[p]If you buy a frozen turkey, it has probably already been brined/injected. Do not do it again.
    If you buy an enhanced turkey, such as a Butterball, it has already been brined/injected. Do not do it again.
    If you buy a fresh turkey, it may benefit from brining/injecting.[p]> water pan or not?[p]- If you use Mad Max’s method, the wine and drippings make a water pan, of sorts, within the roasting pan.
    - I have always used a Spanek vertical roaster with orange and apple juice in a drip pan. So, yes, I have used a water pan of sorts.
    - If you choose to spatch cook a turkey, ..... don’t know, never tried it.

    [ul][li]More on brining[/ul]
  • SmokinGuitarPlayer,
    enjoyed reading the grasshopper story.. . .. before i learned the ice bag trick, breast side down was one of the ways i had tried .... only downside (no pun intended) was that it didn't leave the bird looking very attractive, so most people recommend turning it breast side back up about halfway through the cook for appearances and it isn't the easyest manuver with a hot, heavy bird. ...but it does work pretty good for moist breast meat ... . [p]another trick i once used for a couple of years (again, pre-ice bag, was to take an old terry cloth towel and lay it over the breasts during almost the entire cook, and then baste right over the towel. ..again, worked pretty well to insure moist breast meat, and you could pull the towel off for the last hour of the cook to brown up the bird. . .. [p]all that being said, ice bag still works the best. . ..

  • I have a cousin who puts the turkey, pan and all, in a brown paper bag, seals the bag, and then wets the bag with cooking oil. This then goes into her oven for the entire cook. At least, she didn't mention opening the bag up at the end for browning.
  • Michael B,
    yep, forgot about that one as well...... there was a time (i want to say late 70s,early 80s) when paper bag cooking was all the rage (pot roasts and veggies, fish, poultry, etc) .. .i think i tried it once with the turkey, cutting it open for that last hour for browning. .. more of a pain in the butt than it was worth as far as i was concerned. .. .the orginal technique called for using a heavy grocery store paper bag, but then i think, people like the "glad bag" folks caught on to the fad and you could buy "roasting bags" at the grocery. ... .

  • mad max beyond eggdome,
    And let's not forget .... crispy skin....One of my many OLD-ITALIAN-AUNTS always uses MARGARINE on the bird in place of butter for crispy skin. Upon investigation, it turns out that it has a higher melt/burn temp I think. Also, I saw that "lotta bull" dude dumping it on his chicken on that TV contest/show last year and he won hands down ... ok ....gotta go back to work ... have fun eggin!

    Fred A. Bernardo , owner of Tasty Licks BBQ Supply in Shillington, Pa. 
  • SmokinGuitarPlayer,
    remember fred, if you are teaching MMT, its NOT about the skin, crispy skin is a bonus, but not the focus. ..no one should ever sacrifice to the perfectly done meat and great drippings for gravy simply to get crispier skin. .. the skin will be ok, but again, its not the focus...

  • Ever wonder how they do it for television and movies? Get the skin so perfect? Nice and crispy... Even color... I saw it on a *Here's how* show a few years ago.[p]
    [ul][li]Here's the tool they use[/ul]