Smoked Turkey

By á-48530

Plan to start the process around 4 days before the big day for this smoked turkey. Takes a little effort but the results are amazing! Please note, the prep and cook time do not include the brining and thawing of the turkey.

Ingredients

• BRINE:
• 12 to 14 pound turkey but no larger than 16 pounds for best results.
• 1 pound kosher salt (weigh it, not all salts weight the same)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 quarts vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon wholly allspice
• 1 tablespoon candied ginger, chopped
• 1 1/2 gallon heavily iced water
• AROMATICS:
• 1 red apple, cored, sliced in 1/8ths
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• SKIN:
• Canola oil
• Yard Bird (or your favorite) poultry rub

Details

Servings 10
Preparation time 35mins
Cooking time 350mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

4 days before:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator; allowing 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. Turkey must be completely thawed 1 day before smoking.

2 days before:

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

1 day before:

Combine the chilled brine with 1 1/2 gallon of heavily iced water in the 5-gallon bucket. Remove the turkey from the plastic and remove giblets. Rinse completely several times. Cut off the excess skin in front of the breast. Place the thawed turkey breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Day of:

Starting with a clean grill/smoker; preheat on HIGH but no more than 450°F for 20 minutes.

Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird breast side up on a roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. Tuck the wings underneath the bird. Rub the skin liberally with canola oil and apply the rub.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird. Rub the skin liberally with canola oil and apply the rub. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 170°F.

Place the turkey and the turkey rack (no drip pan) on the center of the grill breast up, close the lid and reduce to the “Smoke” setting. Smoke for 3 to 4 hours (6 to 8 hrs if you want even more smoke flavor). Check the grill every hour or so to make sure it is smoking.

After Smoking is completed, place the turkey and the turkey rack in a pan with 1 cup of water to catch the drippings if desired. Switch to 300°F to finish cooking the turkey. This should take another 2 to 3 hours depending on the outside temperature and the size of the turkey. Breast meat is done at 170°F and thigh meat at 180°F.

Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.