Smoked Turkey
Save oven space and learn how to smoke a turkey instead!
Servings 1 large turkey
Equipment
- Thermoworks Signals BBQ optional
- Thermoworks Billows optional
Ingredients
Brine
- 10-20 lb turkey defrosted
- 6 whole oranges quartered
- 1 gallon unsweetened apple juice
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 8 cloves fresh garlic sliced thinly
- 15 whole cloves
- 4 oz fresh ginger sliced thinly
- 6 whole bay leaves
- 1/2 gallon water approximately
Instructions
Brine the Turkey
- Boil: Add the apple juice, brown sugar, and salt to a 6 qt stock pot and heat on high, whisking to dissolve the brown sugar. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove from the heat and let cool completely.
- Add Turkey to the Bucket: Unwrap the defrosted turkey and remove the giblets from the turkey. Add the turkey to the bucket, legs up.
- Fill Bucket: Quarter the oranges and squeeze each quarter over the turkey before adding it to the bucket. Repeat for all quarters. Add the ginger, garlic, cloves, and bay leaves. VERY slowly add the cooled apple juice brine to the bucket and then water to finish filling the bucket or whatever you're using so that the turkey is submerged. Important: Keep in mind that backsplash when adding the juice and the water will contain raw turkey, so keep your workspace clear or add on the floor with a towel underneath. The slower you add the liquid, the less backsplash it will create.
- Cover and Brine: Add the lid to the bucket and then store the bucket in a fridge or outside ONLY if temperatures are consistently below 36℉. Do not store outside if temperatures ever go above 36℉, do not store in the sun, and beware of below freezing temperatures, as that will freeze your brine. Let brine for 12-24 hrs.
Dry Turkey
- Remove from Brine: Set out roasting pan and rack on a baking sheet. Gently remove the turkey from the brine and place on the rack in the roasting pan. Remove any pieces of cloves, ginger, garlic, or bay leaves that may be stuck to the outside or inside of the turkey.
- Dry: Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Place it all - the baking sheet, roasting pan, and turkey in the fridge (uncovered is best, but also very loosely covered with foil is OK) and let it dry for another 12 - 24 hrs.
Prep Smoker
- Prep Wood/Charcoal: In a cleaned smoker, add 4 wood chunks to the charcoal ring. 1 in the center and the other 3 evenly spaced against the perimeter of the ring. Add the charcoal, covering the wood to just below level with the top of the charcoal ring. Place the charcoal on the wood in a volcano shape, leaving the one center piece exposed at the "opening" of the charcoal shaped volcano.
- Light: In a Charcoal Starter, add 15-20 briquettes and light them, allowing them to get hot (usually 10 - 15 minutes to be ready)
- Smoker Setup: While the coals are heating up, line the smoker water bowl with foil and fill it with hot tap water and return it to the smoker. Put in the lower grate in the smoker, and on that grate, place a heat-safe tray (like a metal baking pan) for collecting drippings. Then add the upper grate. Open the top vent and keep the other two slightly open. These bottom two vents are what will help control the temp of the smoker (if not using a temp control system).
- Signals BBQ Setup: If using a temperature monitoring system like the Signals BBQ, run the probe through the silicone access port. Pull it through far enough to be able to reach the turkey, but with enough left to reach the monitoring device.
- Billows Fan Setup: If using a probe-based temp monitoring unit with airflow control like the Billows, fully open one vent and keep the other two closed. With the one open vent, cover 2 of the holes with high-heat tape. Use the one remaining hole to connect the fan - follow the detailed instructions from Billows unit for grate attachment and set up.
Smoke the Turkey
- Add the Bird: Once the turkey has dried, season the outside with salt and pepper and then place the bird on the top grill grates and (if using monitoring system) add the probe into the breast of the turkey.
- Smoke to Temp: For a moister turkey, the smoker temp should consistently be at 225℉, and the turkey will cook for about 30 - 40 min per pound. For a slightly crispier skin but slightly drier meat, keep the smoker temp at 275℉ to cook at 20 -30 min per pound. For faster cooking and an even crispier skin but a bit drier turkey, keep the smoker temp at 325℉ to cook at about 15 - 25 min per pound. See recipe notes for tips on maintaining smoker temperature.Your turkey is done when the internal temperature at the breast is 160℉-165℉ and temp at the innermost part of the thigh is 170℉ - 175℉.
- Remove From Smoker: Remove the turkey from the smoker, and loosely cover it with foil and let it rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. It will continue to rise up to 5 degrees in temp before starting to cool. During this time, it will also lock in moisture.
- Remove Drippings Tray: While the turkey is resting, remove the baking pan from the smoker that was collecting the turkey drippings and use those drippings to make smoked turkey gravy!
- Serve and Enjoy: Carve and enjoy for your favorite holiday meal! Be sure to save the carcass to make smoked turkey stock!
Notes
Substitutions
Bucket: You'll need this for a larger turkey. If smoking a much smaller turkey, like a 10 lb turkey, and a stockpot big enough to keep it submerged in the brine, then of course use that instead!
Apple Juice: You can also use sweetened apple juice; if so, reduce the brown sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
Maintaining Smoker Temperature Tips
No Billows Fan: The vents of the smoker are your temperature controls. It is best to keep the top vent wide open, and then the lower vents are the main controls to adjust temperature. If the smoker is running cold, open the vents slightly; if it is running hot, close them. Keep in mind, a little bit can go a long way when changing vent openings.
With Billows: This is the benefit of this unit! The fan system does the work for you by monitoring the smoker's temperature and adjusting accordingly to maintain the temperature you set.
Food Saftey Considerations
Brine: Be sure to let the boiled part of the brine cool completely before adding it to the turkey. Not letting it cool can potentially cause the growth of bacteria in your brine bucket.
Temperature Control: From brine to smoke, maintaining proper temperature is vital for food safety at all stages of this process. While the bird brines, it must be kept below 40℉, whether by refrigeration or ice packs. While cooking, it's important that the temperature of the turkey does not stay between 40℉ and 224℉ for more than 4 hrs.
Splash Back: It is very important to be aware of splashback when you're adding the brine to the bucket with the raw turkey. To prevent splashback, pour the liquids in extremely slowly, and to also prevent any spread of foodborne germs from the raw turkey in the splashback, add the liquid to the brine bucket in a space that is free and clear of any clean dishes or other food.
Drying Turkey in the Fridge: For the best results, dry the turkey uncovered, or at most, loosely covered with foil. Leaving a turkey uncovered in a fridge is safe, as long as proper measures are taken to prevent cross-contamination. Keep it on a rack/pan and place a baking sheet underneath to catch any liquid that may drip off of the bird. Also, always store on the bottom rack of the fridge and do not let it come in contact with other foods in the fridge.
