First time smoking a turkey...how do YOU do it?

hmm, 350 plus, like roasting.

Spatchcock the turkey and go hot - 400-425 range. It will be done 80 to 100 minutes.

Unless you buy organic,farm to table Turkey,it already has been brined.Rub it down ,smoke it up.300 -400,til it is done,but not overdone.

With regard to the brine - I am of the opinion that brining benefits all turkey, even the frozen ones that come "enhanced with a solution" - though you'll likely need to reduce the salt content in your brine if using a turkey that's been pre-injected/enhanced/whetever. You'll need to let the bird brine for at least 24 hours before your cook, and be sure you rinse off all the excess before the bird goes on the cooker (otherwise, the skin winds up WAAAAYYY too salty and with an awful texture.) I like using five-gallon paint buckets to brine in. Put the thawed bird in the bucket, dump in your brine, put the lid on the bucket, then put the bucket in an ice chest and dump ice all around it to keep the brine/bird cool. There are other methods out there (brining bags are popular, and easy to store in the fridge...) but this one has always worked for me.

As for the brine itself, there are hundreds - if not THOUSANDS - of recipes out there. A simple Google search for "turkey brine" will yield dozens of results. You can also buy pre-made brine mixes at many kitchen stores like Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table.

Here's a simple brine to get you started, just in case you can't find anything else...
- Four quarts vegetable broth
- One cup sea salt
- One tablespoon dried sage
- One tablespoon dried crushed rosemary
- One tablespoon dried thyme
- Three tablespoons whole black peppercorns
Combine all ingredients in large pot and bring to boil, allowing ingredients to incorporate thoroughly. Let cool. Mix with one gallon of cool water to make brining solution.

As for the cook, if you're running temps of 300-325F in your smoker, you can expect cook times of 4-5 hours for an average (12-15 lb) bird. You're shooting for an internal of 165F in the breast and 180-190F in the thigh/legs. Once you reach that, pull the bird and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. With regard to wood choices for turkey, white oak and pecan are both solid options, as are any of the fruit woods. My last yardbird cook was over a mix of pecan and peach.

Finally, I COMPLETELY agree with LYU that your first smoked turkey shouldn't be on Turkey Day itself! Do a "trial run" this weekend to get the feel for things. If you don't want to pick up a second whole turkey for "practice," shell out a few bucks less and pick up a bone-in whole turkey breast. They're pretty forgiving, will let you get a sense of "how things flow" when smoking turkey, and are pretty damn good eating when all is said and done!

If you need more guidance or have more questions, check out the "Talking Turkey Thread" on the Q-talk forum. Wading through all those pages may take a while, but there's a lot of good advice there.

Hope this helps. All the best for a wonderful Thanksgiving! Let us know how things turn out!

Smoking a turkey is really very simple, however most people tend to over think the process making something easy, more difficult.

You can start with our Brethren Ultimate Turkey Thread. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120494 Lots of information here to answer all your questions.

Here is a guide to smoking the turkey by PatiDaddio, simple yet awesome.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1450009&postcount=1

Turkey, like most poultry has a lighter more delicate flavor. One does not want to lose the lighter flavor of the meat with an overpowering smoke flavor. The difference between a great turkey and a good turkey may be the type of wood you are using, the amount of wood, or possibly the temperature you are cooking at. Because of this careful consideration should be given to the smoking temperature as well as the type and amount of wood being used.

You will get many recommendations, but I prefer to smoke my turkeys at 325 degrees and I prefer apple wood chunks, or an apple/cherry wood chunk mixture. But you will have to find what works for you and your tastes.

I also feel one should really consider the benefit of using a brine, not only for moisture, but for imparting great flavors as well. If you plan to brine, make sure you do not select an "Enhanced" turkey as these birds have already been brined by the processor. If the bird is "Enhanced" and you brine it, you may end up with a slightly over-salty flavored turkey, and it may also effect the texture of the meat.

I prefer the flavors imparted by Patio Daddio's Ultimate Thanksgiving Brine.... The flavor is truly awesome!!!!
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1087814&postcount=1

Here is a guide to smoking the turkey by the same person.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1450009&postcount=1

There is also a good article in Smoke Signals Magazine starting on page 26...
http://issue13.smokesignalsmagazine.com/

and of course the Brethren Unofficial Turkey Thread....
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120494

and lastly Wampus Smokes a Turkey.....This mirrors the article in Smoke Signals above.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176618

Good luck and keep us posted.

I dry brine mine and cook it just like a chicken 325-350 until it's done I either spatchcock or cut from the tail forward to just past the hip joint then cut the spine so that all the white meat is in one piece and the dark meat is in one piece. Since the breast will sometimes get to temp first it avoids over cooking.

Brine, spatchcock, smoke at 350 until the breast reads 165-170 and the thigh is 180.

MariettaSmoker said:

Any advice on brine? Never done it. Can someone explain how and what to use?

Click to expand...

Since you live in Marietta, go to the Bed Bath & Beyond and they have a packaged brine mix along with a heavy duty brine bag for about $6 or so. I used one last year, and it was excellent. No muss, no fuss, mix with water in the bag and insert bird and put in fridge overnight. Cook until the breast is about 165 or so, and it will be excellent. Good luck and enjoy. I cooked mine on my Webber, and it was ready in about 2 1/2 hours. Everyone raved about how tasty and moist it was.

Omar

EVERYTHING you could ever want to know can be found in the extremely extensive BBQ Brethren sticky thread on smoking turkeys, found at the very top of the sticky threads at the top of this Q Talk forum. EVERYTHING!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120494

http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/11/...-thanksgiving-fast-easy-way-spatchcocked.html

Seriously

Bludawg's like me. I quarter the bird and dry brine 24 hours out. 6 hours out I smother the bird in Memphis Dust (under the skin and over the skin too). Then smoke at 350 over apple chunks. Quartering allows you to pull each piece as soon as it hits temp, reducing overdone portions, and it exposes a greater surface area to smoke and heat circulation. Cooks faster and gets more even taste distribution.