I use a Big Green Egg.

Smoked a whole bird last year and it came out decent. I didn't brine it, just seasoned liberally, butter and herbs under the skin. Ran at about 275.

It was ok. Looked fantastic. I am just not crazy about turkey.

Thinking of spatchcocking this year and brining beforehand.

If you've got any tried and trued smoked turkey methods, I'm all ears.

I'd like to read some feedback. Post this in the BBQ thread in the Bear Cave. You'll get a lot of feedback. I may buy just a turkey breast and smoke it.

ScruffyD said:

---

I use a Big Green Egg.

Smoked a whole bird last year and it came out decent. I didn't brine it, just seasoned liberally, butter and herbs under the skin. Ran at about 275.

It was ok. Looked fantastic. I am just not crazy about turkey.

Thinking of spatchcocking this year and brining beforehand.

If you've got any tried and trued smoked turkey methods, I'm all ears.

---

I've fiddled with turkey for 35+ years now. Have a Traeger pellet grill, a Bradley smoker (auto feeds compressed pucks), and a Webber propane grill now. Had a bullet-styled smoker and New Braunfels smoker in the past. Did the Cajun fried thing a few years when that first came out. Have to say the fried was my favorite, but I'm too lazy to want to mess with all that oil and then disposing of it after. My Dad has an original '70s vintage Kamado pot that still works great. We've gotten some really good turkey off of it. Tried various brines over the years, but can't honestly say it made enough difference to fool with. I think the process you outlined above is about as good as it gets. Spatchcocking will shorten the cooking time.

A couple of years ago, I had one turn out really nicely but it was probably more work than I like to put it in. I seasoned the bird liberally and let it sit open in the fridge for a couple of days before hand. Coated it with melted butter while it was still cold and put back in the fridge. This gave it a solid coat of butter. Gave it a few hours on the Bradley for the smoke flavor, then transferred to the Traeger at a higher temp to cook and crisp the skin. Can't get crispy skin on the Bradley which is just for smoking. Finally, got the Webber very hot then gave the bird a few final minutes to really crisp the outside. Yeah, a bunch of steps. Everyone loved it. I've also just done the whole thing on both the Bradley or on Traeger, as well as smoking on the Bradley then finishing in the oven. When it's all said and done, nothing wrong with just roasting it in the oven. It's all about the dressing for me anyway, lol.

We don't have much use for dark meat so I buy bone-in breasts and smoke them. Not the big lump of fake breast. I'm a big believer in brining. A few years ago I tried a very close version of the Pioneer Woman's brine and we really liked it so I stick with that flavor profile.

This will be my first time to use my Traeger (bought it in June). I like apple wood. I will baste with butter this year for the first time. I think I'll use Meat Church Honey Hog rub, probably.

I brine for 20-24 hours. Not sure if it's necessary, but just to be sure. It always turns out really great. Pull it at 160-163 degrees. And the final and very important step is to wrap it in foil, then a towel, and into a cooler. I won't touch it for at least 45 minutes. Next week it will be more like 90 minutes considering how far we will be driving.

I love turkey and think a good smoked turkey is the best, no question.

BaylorOkie said:

---

We don't have much use for dark meat so I buy bone-in breasts and smoke them. Not the big lump of fake breast. I'm a big believer in brining. A few years ago I tried a very close version of the Pioneer Woman's brine and we really liked it so I stick with that flavor profile.

This will be my first time to use my Traeger (bought it in June). I like apple wood. I will baste with butter this year for the first time. I think I'll use Meat Church Honey Hog rub, probably.

I brine for 20-24 hours. Not sure if it's necessary, but just to be sure. It always turns out really great. Pull it at 160-163 degrees. And the final and very important step is to wrap it in foil, then a towel, and into a cooler. I won't touch it for at least 45 minutes. Next week it will be more like 90 minutes considering how far we will be driving.

I love turkey and think a good smoked turkey is the best, no question.

---

Where do you buy your bone-in breasts and about how big are they in weight?

Thanks,

midgett said:

---

BaylorOkie said:

---

We don't have much use for dark meat so I buy bone-in breasts and smoke them. Not the big lump of fake breast. I'm a big believer in brining. A few years ago I tried a very close version of the Pioneer Woman's brine and we really liked it so I stick with that flavor profile.

This will be my first time to use my Traeger (bought it in June). I like apple wood. I will baste with butter this year for the first time. I think I'll use Meat Church Honey Hog rub, probably.

I brine for 20-24 hours. Not sure if it's necessary, but just to be sure. It always turns out really great. Pull it at 160-163 degrees. And the final and very important step is to wrap it in foil, then a towel, and into a cooler. I won't touch it for at least 45 minutes. Next week it will be more like 90 minutes considering how far we will be driving.

I love turkey and think a good smoked turkey is the best, no question.

---

Where do you buy your bone-in breasts and about how big are they in weight?

Thanks,

---

My grocery store just started selling them last week. I bought two at 9lbs each. I've bought as small as 6-7lbs.

Best smoked turkey I ever had was done by a friend of mine. He started smoking the turkey while it was still frozen. Low and slow was the key -- he smoked it for something like 18 hours if I remember correctly (it's been a while).

The white meat on the turkey was moist and delicious--more moist than average smoked turkey dark meat.

His theory was that the juices got locked in while it was defrosting. I don't know -- I just know it was great.

I Cajun style deep fry store bought and often a wild turkey that we shoot most years. If you pluck, leave the skin on, and fry them whole, people actually really like the wild turkeys.

I have smoked them instead a few years. I brine them, then just salt and pepper and smoke in a barrel smoker using gathered up fallen live oak limbs from around the ranch. I think those smoked turkeys are beautiful - a work of art. They're much more work. But people seem to prefer the fried, so I generally just go back to Cajun deep fry..

Robert Wilson said:

---

I Cajun style deep fry store bought and often a wild turkey that we shoot most years. If you pluck, leave the skin on, and fry them whole, people actually really like the wild turkeys.

I have smoked them instead a few years. I brine them, then just salt and pepper and smoke in a barrel smoker using gathered up fallen live oak limbs from around the ranch. I think those smoked turkeys are beautiful - a work of art. They're much more work. But people seem to prefer the fried, so I generally just go back to Cajun deep fry..

---

Going this route this year. Went to Roam Ranch last Saturday and killed the turkey. Sunday I cut all the meat off the carcass and seasoned it about six different ways in six separate pans. Looking forward to tomorrow.

well, it's like this, man, ......

william said:

---

well, it's like this, man, ......

---

You beat me to it. Was going to say "Start with a zigzag....."

My wife's company usually orders smoked turkeys from Greenberg's for their employees. There was a pretty destructive fire at the Greenberg plant just a few weeks ago, resulting in a lot of lost business. As a last minute substitute, her company ended up ordering from New Braunfels Smokehouse. We opted for a peppered and smoked version. It pains me to admit that it was one of the best smoked turkeys I've ever had. The whole family agrees. Dang. Gonna have to up my game.

curtpenn said:

---

My wife's company usually orders smoked turkeys from Greenberg's for their employees. There was a pretty destructive fire at the Greenberg plant just a few weeks ago, resulting in a lot of lost business. As a last minute substitute, her company ended up ordering from New Braunfels Smokehouse. We opted for a peppered and smoked version. It pains me to admit that it was one of the best smoked turkeys I've ever had. The whole family agrees. Dang. Gonna have to up my game.

---

So sad to hear about it. That was really a disaster.