Smoked Buttermilk Brined, Butter Stuffed Turkey

By tonyglib

From the November 2011 Smoking Meat Newsletter

Ingredients

• Buttermilk Brine for Poultry
• 1 gallon buttermilk
• 1 gallon water
• 2 cups kosher salt
• 6 TBS Jeff's rub recipe
• Garlic, Rub and Chive Flavored Butter
• 1 lb "real" butter
• 2 Roasted Garlic heads (see directions below) or 2 TBS minced garlic (easier)
• 1/2 cup of Jeff's Rub recipe (adds amazing flavor)
• 3 TBS of fresh chopped chives
• 12 lb Turkey

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

Brining the bird

Pour buttermilk into 1 gallon pitcher. Add 1 of the cups of salt and stir until the salt is dissolved. Add the 6 tablespoons of rub and stir again until well mixed.

Pour brine into brining container.

Pour water into the 1 gallon pitcher and add the last cup of salt stirring until it is completely dissolved. Pour into brine container with buttermilk brine and stir both together to mix.

Once the 2 gallons of brine are in the brining container, it's time to submerge the turkey in it.

Remove the packaging from the turkey and be sure to remove the neck, giblets and anything else that might be in the birds cavity.

Place turkey down in the brine and use a heavy plate, bowl or even a bag of ice to weigh down the turkey if it tries to float. It is important that it be completely submerged.

The turkey must stay between 33 and 39 degrees for it to be safe so the fridge is the best place to keep a brining turkey if possible and you have the room.
If you cannot use the fridge then you will have to use one of the following methods:

1. Add some ice to the brine (see photo above) to get the temperature down to where it needs to be. Use a thermometer to make sure the temperature is in the "safe" zone.

2. Place the turkey with the brine in a very large ziploc or plastic bag. Set the closed bag down in an empty ice chest and pour ice all around the bag to keep it cold. This will keep the brine from being diluted.

I usually just use the first method since most of the ice does not melt throughout the night and I have had really good results using that method.

Let the turkey brine for 10-12 hours then rinse well under cold water and set aside.


Seasoning the Turkey

I usually place the seasoning on the outside of the turkey and try to get a little under the skin wherever possible but this time I had this bright idea to flavor some butter with my rub, some garlic and a few chives and to stuff that under the skin.. all the way under.

Great idea so let's make up that butter.. it's easy!

Let butter sit on counter for several hours to soften slowly. Place butter into medium sized bowl and beat on low speed for about 1 minutes or until it is nice and creamy. Add rub, garlic and chives and use a fork to fold it all in and make sure it is well mixed.

I wanted the butter to be cold when I put it under the turkey skin so I formed it into a rectangular block, wrapped it in wax paper and placed it into the fridge a few hours before I needed it.

You can use the minced garlic in this recipe and it is very good but I am partial to the smoke roasted garlic and if you want to take the time to do it, it's not difficult and I think you'll really like it.

How to Smoke Roast Garlic

Make sure the garlic head is clean. Cut off the top about 1/2 inch down or so just so you can see the top of some of the cloves. Leave the skin on.. it won't hurt a thing.

Place the heads of garlic in individual foil boats.. just press some foil around the bottom of the head but leave the top spread open.

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top and place them in the smoker at normal smoking temps of 225-250 for about 2 hours or until they are soft and mooshy.

Cheat: roast in the oven at 275-300 for about an hour. No smoke but it'll still be good.

When done, let them cool for a bit then use a butter knife to pop the cloves out of their little cocoons. Mash them up a bit and you have garlic puree that can be spread on toast or added to butter for some flavor.


Stuffing the Turkey with Butter

The turkey has been brined, rinsed and is ready for some flavor. Take the flavored butter out of the fridge, and slice about 1/3 of it into pieces that are about 1/8 inch thick.

Now, in order to properly stuff the butter under the skin we have to very carefully loosen the skin from the meat so we can really get up under there. Lay the turkey breast side up and work your hand under the skin little by little all over until it is loose from the top and from the sides.

Starting with the sides and working toward the top, stuff the pieces of butter between the meat and the skin so that it completely covered with the butter. No need to massage it or press it smooth. If you have some extra pieces, throw them into the cavity of the turkey and it's ready to smoke. A little rub on the outside for good measure!


Smoking the Turkey

Whether you are using a gas, electric charcoal or wood smoker, do what you have to do to get it going and set it to maintain about 240 degrees. Once the smoker is holding steady and producing light smoke, place the turkey directly on the grate breast side up.

If you are cooking a 12 lb bird which is the recommended size for smoking, it will take around 6 hours at 225-240 degrees +-30 minutes.

Use a digital probe meat thermometer to tell you when the turkey reaches 165 in the thickest part of the breast or thigh.

Don't use the little red popup to tell you when it 's done.. it is normally set to 180 degrees and that's overcooking the bird. I usually remove and discard.

Important: When smoking meat, use time to estimate and plan, use a thermometer to cook.

Once the turkey has reached it's goal temperature, remove it from the smoker and set it aside with foil tented over the top for about 20-30 minutes before carving, poking or messing with it. This allows the juices to redistribute through out the meat. If you cut it early, the juices will all run out onto the cutting board. It's worth the wait.. trust me.


A Few Words About the Smoke

Unless you are using a wood smoker, you will want to keep adding chips/chunks for about 3-4 hours for that nice smoky flavor. My usual recommendation is to keep the smoke going for about half of the total estimated cook time. If you expect the turkey to take 6 to 7 hours then just do some quick figuring to come up with 3-4 hours of smoking action.

I recommend using cherry, pecan or perhaps apple. Any fruitwood is great and I especially like plum and cherry on the turkeys. Any good smoking wood will work if you are limited on options. I have used nothing but oak before and it was very tasty.

My recommendation is to be as choosy as you're able to be.. if all you have is pecan, oak or perhaps hickory then that will work just fine.



Summary

Thaw turkey for 3 days in fridge or 5 lbs/day
Unwrap and remove "stuff" inside turkey
Brine turkey 12 hours using buttermilk brine (recipe above)
Rinse well
Use hands to dislodge skin from meat
Stuff flavored butter (recipe above) under skin
Prepare smoker for cooking at 225-240 degrees F
Place turkey on grate breast side up
Cook for about 6 hours or until 165 degrees F
Let turkey rest (tented)for 30 minutes before carving


Notes:

Never stuff a turkey that is to be smoked. The low and slow method of smoking meat allows the meat to stay in the danger zone of 40-140 degrees F (the temperature at which bacteria grows best) for too long. To remedy this, make the dressing in the house and stuff it in the turkey just before serving.

I do not recommend soaking wood chips/chunks in water. I have not found it to be beneficial.

If your smoker has a water pan, use it. You can also add juice, beer, broth and even spices, onions, garlic, etc. to the water pan to help flavor the meat. I cannot prove that this works but many folks claim that it does.