How To Smoke Your Holiday Turkey

I always smoke my turkey for the holidays. That frees up my oven for all the rest of my holiday cooking. It's really not that hard, but you have to start about two to three days ahead.

You'll Need
Smoker or BBQ
Wood chunks - hickory, mesquite, oak, fruitwoods

The Recipe
Turkey
Salt
Sugar
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Lemon pepper
Rosemary if desired
Tamale pot or cooler
Plastic bags
2 Onions, peeled and cut into quarters
2 Oranges, peeled and cut into quarters
2 Apples, cored and cut into chunks
At least 2 cubes of Butter


Step 1
I always brine the turkey first.

Start 2 or 3 days before you're going to smoke the turkey. Put the frozen turkey into a tamale pot. If you don't have a large enough pot, you can use double layered trash bags (don't use bags made of recycled materials) and then put into a cooler.

Pour one cup of salt, one cup of sugar, 1/8 cup of garlic powder, 1/8 cup of onion powder, and 1/8 cup rosemary (if desired) over the turkey. Cover with cold water. Weigh the turkey down with a plate and cover the pot. Set in a cool place.

If you're using a cooler, do the same thing, then tie off the garbage bag tightly and close the cooler. Use a refrigerator thermometer to make sure the turkey stays at 40 degrees or lower. Add ice if necessary to keep the turkey cold. Soak for at least 24 hours.

Step 2
Prepare the smoker or BBQ grill. A smoker is best but you can use a deep BBQ grill if you prefer. Put wood chunks in the bottom pan and water in the center pan in the smoker.For a BBQ grill, put the pan in the bottom of the grill, centered under the turkey. Make sure it's as big around as the turkey. Fill with water. Surround with wood chunks. Light the wood.


Step 3
Prepare the turkey for smoking. Take the turkey out of the brine. Take the giblets and neck out of the turkey, set aside. Rinse the turkey. Put the chopped onion, oranges, apples and a cube of butter inside the turkey. Add garlic and rosemary if desired. Set the turkey on the grill, breast side up. Brush the turkey with melted butter. Cover the smoker or grill.

Step 4
Smoke the turkey. Watch your smoker closely. You want to keep it hot, so you'll add more chunks of wood at intervals to make sure there's plenty of heat and smoke. Also watch the pan of water, add more water if necessary. Smoke for 4 to 8 hours, depending on the size of the turkey and your ability to keep the smoker hot. Try to avoid removing the lid unless necessary to add water or wood chunks.

Step 5
Check the interior temperature of the turkey. Using a meat thermometer, start checking the turkey at about 4 hours. Stick the thermometer into the breast. When the thermometer reaches about 150 degrees, the turkey is nearly done.

Step 6
Remove the turkey from the grill. Put it into a covered roaster or pan and cover with foil, set aside for at least 20 minutes while you finish preparing your holiday meal.


Step 7
Remove the skin and carve the turkey. The skin will be blackened by the smoke. Remove and discard the skin. The meat will be pink, but you can tell by the texture that it's cooked, it won't be rubbery or yucky. It will be very juicy.

The dark meat may not be completely cooked. Put it into a pan with some of the juice from inside the turkey, cover with foil and either set it back in the hot smoker or put it in the oven for another 20 minutes or half hour while you finish carving the turkey and setting the table.

Step 8
Make Cheating Gravy (see recipe in the next post down) or use your favorite gravy mix. Put the dark meat on the platter and set the platter on the table or buffet. Eat!!

Things to Remember:

• Plan ahead.
• The turkey will be heavy. Ask for help!
• When removing the turkey from the grill, it will be hot and heavy. Use potholders to lift it to a nearby pan. The potholders will wash and you're removing the skin anyway, so it doesn't matter.
• If you drop the turkey, don't trip. Pick it up, rinse it off, set it back in the smoker or on the grill for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove to pan for carving.
• Be sure to keep the turkey cold enough while brining it!!
• Set the grill or smoker somewhere so there's no danger of the heat damaging the side of your house, the fence, etc. It will be hot for a long time.
• Dispose of the hot wood properly. Let it burn out and then pour lots of water over it. BE CAREFUL.