Apple Brined Turkey (from Naked Whiz) -- cooking technique help please...

Unknown

I have just brined a 13.5 lb turkey and will be smoking it in a large Egg today. I have the V-rack and drip pan but no fire bricks. Is everything going to be OK if I place the bird on the V-Rack with water in the pan and cook at 325 degrees? I am counting on it taking about 4 hours with this method.[p]Thanks.

YB

Larry,
Everything is fine...I would cook at 350°.
Larry

djm5x9

Larry:[p]Last weekend I cooked a seventeen pounder with a little nectarine wood for smoke. The bird was brined in an ice bath in the sink for about an hour just before the cook. The cooker was preheated to about 250º dome, placed the seasoned bird flat on its back (never turned), and let it smoke for about twenty minutes for a light smoking. No rack, no water or drip pan, nothing . . . Just bird and fire.[p]The bird was cooked in the 325º to 350º range after the smoke. I allowed about twelve minutes per pound to help me estimate when the breast would be about 150º to 155º internal. At that time I took a meat thermometer and checked the breast and it was 153º internal. The bird was pulled, placed in a large glass pan and covered with foil and allowed to rest for fifteen to twenty minutes.[p]The result was a fully cooked (temperature continues to rise during the rest), tender, moist breast, with legs that were fully cooked too. We had two great meals off of that bird and the remainder was made into a large pan of lightly smoked turkey pot pie.[p]Good luck with your cook!

Car Wash Mike

djm5x9,
Could you please go into a little more detail on the brine. A friend asked me to cook his 22 lber. on Sunday. I'd really like to avoid a bad bird.
Thanks,[p]CWM

djm5x9

CWM:[p]I take rock salt for making ice cream and boil to dissolve. The brine is poured in a clean sink bowl with ice added to cool. Additional ice and water are added to cover the bird and give it a good chill while in the sink. The dilution is about a cup and a half of rock salt to enough water to cover the turkey. It is only in the brine for about an hour and not over absorb salt. The bird is rinsed well before being removed from the sink and placed on the grill. By the way, I have had poor success (too salty) with twelve and twenty four hour brines.