Smoked  Turkey Recipe

The absolute first step in Smoking a turkey is to pick out a bird that is not the biggest one you can find. The main reason for a smaller bird, 10 to 14 lb. maximum, is the time limitations usually involved. It takes between 6 and 8 hours to smoke a 12 pound turkey and the bigger they get, the longer they take.

Brining your turkey will make it so moist that it is well worth the extra step.

Why does brining Work? The meat's cells have a concentration of salt in them. Brine has a higher concentration of salt than the meat. The osmosis process will balance the concentration of salt between the cell and the brine so in order to increase the concentration of salt (note salt is not adding to the meat) in the cells, the water in the cell moves from the cell (passes through the cell's wall) to the space surrounding the cell.

Brine Tips

• Do not use acidic liquids such as orange juice or beer on poultry. It will make it mushy.
• Rinse meat after brining
• Use kosher salt. It does not contain additives, like table salt.
• Make sure the meat is *completely* covered by the brine solution.
• Do not reuse brine.
• Pat meat dry with paper towels after rinsing
• For full benefits of brining do not cut back on salt

Since brine is very salty a nonreactive container must be used. Plastic buckets, coolers, Ziploc bags, stainless steel or anodized pots, glass bowls, ceramic bowls, stainless steel bowls are all nonreactive. Use a heavy ceramic bowl or plate to weigh down the meat so it is completely covered in brine. is completely covered in brine. I prefer a plastic bucket.

The basic brine is one cup of sugar and one cup of Kosher salt (do not use table salt) dissolved in a 5 gallon plastic bucket. An inexpensive painters bucket will work fine. The night before combine the brine and ice water in the bucket bucket using enough ice water to cover the bird. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, put a plate on top of the turkey with some weight on the plate to submerge the turkey, cover and refrigerate. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

SAFETY REMINDER: Remember chickens and turkeys are prone to salmonella bacteria which can ruin your whole Thanksgiving. Cooking temperatures of 170 degrees F minimum are essential for destroying this bacteria. This temperature is not the OUTSIDE of the turkey, but the inside, so keep that in mind when you decide on a larger bird.

If you are using an Egg or smoker get it to smoking temperature (250 degrees). With an Egg you can either use a plate setter and lay the bird on it's back (my preferred method) or you can use a vertical turkey roaster with a doubled piece of foil under the turkey. Pecan is a good wood for fowl, not too strong as to overpower the the turkey. About two or three hours of smoke is needed the rest will be cooking time.

Your turkey will be done when your meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

"Isn't Life Grate"

Roasted Turkey Recipe

Brining you turkey is an option you may want to consider to be sure your bird stays moist. Refer to the article for smoking a turkey for a basic brine solution.

Roasting your thanksgiving turkey can be done on a gas grill, Big Green Egg or a charcoal grill.

On a gas grill we need to use indirect heat by turning on one or two sets of burners and moving the turkey to the opposite side of the grill. Adjust the burners until the temperature reaches 325 degrees with the lid down.

On a kettle charcoal grill you can use indirect heat by placing coals on either side of the turkey and us a drip pan under the turkey. On a rectangular charcoal grill build the fire on one side and cook the turkey on the opposite side.Cook at 325 degrees.

Use an Egg with a plate setter and your Egg feet to elevate the roasting pan. If do not have the Egg feet any non-combustible spacer may be used. Key here is to have a heat barrier and sufficient air flow under your roasting pan to avoid any scorching in the pan. Charcoal should be filled to the top of the fire box.

The following directions apply to all grill types. Place the turkey in a roasting pan and use a roasting rack to keep the bird elevated from the juices. Use two sticks of butter softened and mix with a little fresh rosemary, sage, thyme or whatever herbs you like. Mix to a paste and smear it it all over the turkey then pour a half bottle of white wine over the bird and save the rest for gravy.

In a large sauce pan place the giblets half an onion, a few stalks of celery and some herbs of your choice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. You will have to keep an eye on the water level topping of as needed.

A 21 pound turkey should take 61/2 to 7 hours. Keep a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and remove turkey at 165 degrees and place on a platter covered tightly with foil. When you remove the turkey do not lose any of the juice in the turkey. Let it run into the roasting pan.

Pour the juice from the roasting pan into a large measuring cup and let the fat separate from the juice. Skim off the fat and add the juice to the roasting pan.

Add 2 sticks of butter to the roasting pan and place on cook top using one or two burners on medium high heat depending on the size of your pan. Using a whisk dislodge all of the drippings on the bottom of the roasting pan and keep whisking constantly so the future gravy will not scorch or burn.

Slowly add flour 1/2 to one cup whisking all the time to make a smooth roux. This should take about 5 minutes.

Add the half bottle of left over wine and cook long enough to burn off the alcohol. Whisk constantly until the mixture is as smooth as possible.

Add the juice from the roasting pan that we saved earlier into the mixture.

Now we add the stock that has been cooking all day a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached whisking all the time. Just in case you thin out the gravy out too much save some stock and dissolve some flour in it so you can thicken the gravy some more.