First Turkey


 
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Dennis Lubertozzi

TVWBB Member
Tomorrow I'm going to be smoking my first turkey on the WSM. I've just started the brining process and well post some pictures as I go.

One question I have. I wasn't able to get a hold of any cherry or apple chunks. I have chips of both apple and cherry, and chunks of mesquite. I've read that mesquite is too strong for poultry. Should I make a foil pouch for the cherry/apple chips? Never used chips before, so I'm not sure what's best.
 
If it was me, I'd soak the chips in water (although many say it doesn't make a difference) throw some on when you start and then maybe some more about 1/2 way through your cook. Or maybe even divide by 1/3 and add twice during the cook. Just my .02
 
Hey Dennis...I'd follow Larry's advice.

I have yet to use chunks. I always use chips for my smokes. I always soak my chips for at least 30 minutes before throwing them into the smoker. I've tried using chips without soaking and they certainly burst into flames,so I wouldn't recommend you do that. Just sharing my experiences.

I saw some chunks for sale at Cabela's about a month ago but didn't pick them up. They had mesquite, alder, and hickory chunks. They had more of a variety of woods in chip form, so I picked-up some apple.

Good luck dude.
 
I had planned on updating this thread throughout my cook, but it didn't work out well...

So I started out with brining the 14 lb bird last night. My brine consisted of a gallon of apple juice, 2 cups of kosher salt, 2 cups of dark brown sugar, 1 cup of regular sugar, about 5 oz of ginger thinly sliced, and 4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped. I brined the bird for about 12 hours, took it out of the brine, rinsed it off, patted it dry with some paper towels, and then let it rest in the fridge for about 2 hours.

I lit up the cooker using the standard method and used 2 full chimneys of charcoal. I used apple wood chips, as I didn't have any chunks on hand. I put the bird on at about 9:45 am and the smoker settled at about 350, measured at the lid. The cooker held this temperature for about an hour and a half, at which point the temperature abruptly dropped to around 310-320 measured at the lid. I opened up the door and noticed that some of the 2nd chimney full of charcoal never really got going. I gently stirred up these coals and w/in about 5 minutes the cooker was back up to 350 and didn't budge for the rest of the cook.

At about noon my thermometer was consistently measuring 160 throughout both of the breasts, and the thigh was reading about 180-185. I took the bird off after only 2 hours and 15 minutes. I was pretty surprised at how quickly the bird was done. I left the bird to rest lightly covered by aluminum foil while my roommates and I worked on getting the gravy and sides ready.

A little aside on the gravy here - the drippings that came off the bird were unbelievably flavorful. The gravy I made was some of the best I've ever tasted.

I carved up the bird and my friends and I began to dig in. The breast meat was amazingly juicy. The leg and thigh meat showed good smoke penetration, and had a great smoky flavor. I think one thing I learned from this cook was that I could have done with less smoke wood. Though my friends and I enjoyed the flavor of the dark meat, I think I would have preferred just a bit less smokiness.

Overall, the first turkey cook was a great success. Here's a link to some pictures I took.

Pictures of my first smoke.
 
Great results for your first bird, ya done good!!! I love the gravy from turkeys cooked this way, don't get any better.

Ben
 
Nice looking meal there. I like it when you see someone willing to just take the whole leg and put it on their plate. It doesn't make much sense to me to see someone shred off all the meat and skin, just to pile it up loosely on the plate.

I'd be tempted to pick it up like a chicken leg, but that would probably get me voted off the adults table, and back to the land of the kids and grandkids
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Did my first turkey this weekend, used the Apple Brine recipe from this site, and it was awesome, best turkey I've had. highly doubtful I'll ever do another one in the over. Yours looks gorgeous, and I'm a leg man myself!
 
Can someone walk me through the best way to turn drippings from the apple brined / smoked bird into gravy?
 
Tom, I don't have my method documented but MAD MAX'S GRAVY method is pretty close to mine (and I don't have to type it out). I used a 10 x 15 roasting pan on the bottom grate that catches the drippings. You can also cook her in the roasting pan.
 
Dennis...darn nice looking bird there!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Chips:
I'd be tempted to pick it up like a chicken leg, but that would probably get me voted off the adults table, and back to the land of the kids and grandkids
icon_smile.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Save me a seat. If they weren't meant to be eaten like that...then why do they have a handle?
 
You can also try a "Capon" some time, I like it much better than Turkey, and It's a big amount of bird as well.

It's a big mutant rooster that's been castrated as a youth, and it has a lot more flavor than a turkey and the meat texture is more tender overall.

I'm not doing any more turkeys unless someone specifically requests one.
 
P. Bart, good call on the capon. Big bird, great flavor, and lots of meat. They are certainly comparable in size to a small turkey. I use them a lot when I make spaghetti sauce, as they hold together well. Haven't slapped one on the smoker YET though...
 
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