How to Smoke a Turkey

Smoked turkey. Done right, it's a gourmet treat. The succulent and juicy light and dark meats infused with the flavor of seasonings and smoke really get the taste buds dancing. Smoking turkey right isn't that hard to do, either. It takes a little time and a few pieces of equipment, and anybody can do it.

To start, get the necessary equipment together. You'll need...

-Smoker or a grill
-Seasoning injector
-Food grade bucket (maybe)
-Spices, seasonings and herbs for the rub
-Brine Ingredients
-One or two turkeys, 10-14 pounds
-Smoking wood
-Heavy duty aluminum foil

To begin, you'll need to choose a good quality turkey. Most frozen turkeys you see have been injected with a preservative solution containing who-knows-what along with some flavorings. These turkeys can be used, but be aware that they are already flavored and salted to some degree, which means you'll have to adjust the level of saltiness and flavor of your brine accordingly. Ideally, the best turkey for smoking is a fresh, unfrozen natural turkey. Natural mean that nothing has been injected into the flesh.

After acquiring your bird, it's time to do some preparation. Clean out the body cavity and the neck cavity up front. Rinse well. Check for any big chunks of fat dangling around the edges of the skin, and remove any loose flaps of meat.

Now for some flavor! You can take two paths here. The first, longer (and more traditional) path, is to brine the turkey in a bucket full of flavored brine. This can take up to three days, so if you're going this route, leave yourself plenty of time. The second path is much shorter and easier. There's no brining bucket to contend with, but you do need to be able to use a brine injecting syringe.

To bucket-brine a turkey, the first step is to make the brine. Basic turkey brine can be made by combining 2 gallons of cold (38-40 degrees Fahrenheit) water with 2 cups of kosher salt (or 1-1/3 cups of canning salt), along with one cup of white sugar. You can substitute brown sugar for the white if you like. That's the basic recipe. Now if you want more flavor, it's time to get creative. Combine a few of your favorite spices and herbs to the mix. Maybe a little garlic too? You decide. I like to add one cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon black pepper and 1 tablespoon onion powder to the brine. Combine all the ingredients, making sure the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.

Place the thawed and prepped turkey neck end down in your bucket, and pour in the brine. Place a brick wrapped in foil over the bird to keep it submerged. Place the bucket in the fridge and let it sit for 24 to 36 hours, depending on the level of saltiness you desire. For a pre-basted bird, give it 12-24 hours.

After the allotted time, remove the bird from the brine and rinse it well. Pat it dry with clean towels in preparation for the next step.

Before we go to the next step, allow me to describe the second, easier and quicker path. For this, you'll need an injector, available at most stores. Mix up about one pint of brine, which will be injected into the turkey. Here's a recipe I really like.

One cup cold apple juice
One cup cold water
Two tablespoons salt
One tablespoon sugar
One clove fresh garlic, crushed
One half teaspoon white pepper

Mix the ingredients well, then inject about one ounce into each leg, each thigh, and each side of the breast. Push the needle in, then as you begin to pull it out, very slowly inject the fluid. Ideally the bird will be refrigerated for 12 hours after injecting it, before it goes on the smoker. But if you're in a hurry you can start cooking it right away.

-----------

Before smoking your turkey, it helps both with the flavor and appearance to season the bird inside and out with a dry rub mixture. The rub shouldn't need any salt, but a little sugar, onion powder, black or white pepper, garlic powder, poultry seasoning and paprika would all work well. Mix a combination of these spices up and dust the inside and out with them.

Now it's time for smoking! If you have an actual smoker, set up up to smoke at a higher than normal temperature. In the past I've smoked turkeys at 250 degrees, but I've found that it works great smoking them at around 325 degrees. It's almost as quick as oven baking a turkey. If you have a grill, use the indirect method (with the heat source not being directly under the turkey). Bring the temperature of your smoker or grill up to 325F, add a foil wrapped package of soaked smoking wood (I like apple), and let 'er smoke.

Give the bird about 15 minutes per pound, then wrap it in foil and finish it off. Bring the internal temperature of the thigh up to about 170 degrees. Remove the turkey from your outdoor cooker and place it in a clean, dry picnic cooler. Close the lid and let the turkey rest for at least 30 minutes before serving it.

The turkey will be tender, flavorful and juicy. It's equally good served hot or cold.

If you love eating ribs, visit my new lens, How To Smoke Pork Spareribs.