Smoked Turkey Fail/Pellet Pooper

[airedale]

Well, Wednesday I put a spatchcocked turkey in my Camp Chef pellet smoker at 200 deg. (to maximize smoke) and left it for about 5 hours. I also put a smoke tube full of pellets in there, so it certainly looked like there was plenty of smoke.

I got the same result as last time I tried: A slightly dried out turkey with no noticeable smoke taste.

Guys, I am not interested in being told that pellet smokers don't provide as much smoke as other smokers. I know that. My question is this: For those who have tried to smoke turkeys in pellet smokers, have you succeeded in getting a good smoke taste? If so, what suggestions do you have for me?

 

[rwalters]

I have never had a turkey come off my MAK with a heavy or even moderate smoke profile. It’s always very light. If I want my turkey to have a deep punch of smoke I don’t cook on my pellet cooker. A simple kettle would be a better option, IMO. Typically with pellet cooked turkeys, I’ll dry brine and inject the heck out of it and let it roll at 275° if I don’t care about the skin or 350° if I want the skin. More often than not we toss the skin and go with 275° (personal preference). Either way, the end result is a moist, flavorful bird with just a kiss of smoke seasoning. If a deeper smokier profile is desired, the kettle kicks butt! I can swing either way… lol. Another thing to consider. A lot of people use drip pans when cooking turkeys. If you remove that and allow the drippings to hit the diffuser plate, that will cause a lot of steam and return additional flavor to the bird. A little more work to cleanup afterwards, but not bad with a stiff metal scraper.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Papa Don]

I’ll let you know after today

 

[snadamo]

I’ve done an overnight wet brine and smoked in my camp chef with good results. It was a few years ago so the details escape me but I used pecan pellets and brought it to safe temp and was smoking for a few hours on 250-350 or somewhere near there. I’ve had good luck with meat moisture with my pellet smoker. Turned out great with very light smoke profile. The skin is a wash for me, I just suck at it and just deal with what comes out. I know I slather the skin in butter prior.


Only other things I can suggest is set to “lo smoke” or smoke level 10 (depending on controller version) for the first few hours for extra smoke, and add a water pan for increased moisture. Basically the basic tricks for a pellet smoker.

 

[glitchy]

What pellets were you using? There is a difference as a lot are 70-80% oak or alder base wood.

 

[airedale]

What pellets were you using? There is a difference as a lot are 70-80% oak or alder base wood.

They were single-species Lumber Jack. I don't recall which ones were in the pellet bin but I am very careful not to buy the junk pellets with filler woods. Like the Traeger.

Forgot to mention, we did brine the turkey overnight before the smoking attempt.

 

[glitchy]

They were single-species Lumber Jack. I don't recall which ones were in the pellet bin but I am very careful not to buy the junk pellets with filler woods. Like the Traeger.

Forgot to mention, we did brine the turkey overnight before the smoking attempt.

Even several of Lumberjack’s single species are 60% oak. I think they do a 100% Hickory and 100% Cherry, and a blend or two that aren’t 60% oak. Try using just 100% hickory for a while from LJ or CookinPellets and see if that makes a difference.