Woods to use with turkey

Hello All,

I'm wondering what your favorite woods are for smoked turkey. I know that apple is a favorite one but I don't tend to like it too much for some reason. I also don't like a ham like taste in turkey...so I think hickory is out.

I like mesquite smoked chicken and would like to do some salmon fillets at the same time that I do the turkey breast. So I'd like to find a wood that would work with both of them. I'm smoking the turkey for someone else and the salmon for myself.

Has anyone ever tried turkey smoked with mesquite? I don't want to ruin someone else's turkey breast.

The fish would be on the lower rack.

By the way if anyone is looking for mesquite I've been very happy with this supplier..they also have pecan and hickory:
http://www.brazosmesquite.com

They sell a gigantic box of either pecan or mesquite or mixed for $30 postpaid.

Robert

I used several large chunks of cherry on our Thanksgiving bird. It was delicious. I can't compare the results with other woods, because it's the first turkey I've smoked. I've done a lot of chickens with cherry, though, and it's my favorite.

Steve

Robert,

In pre-WSM years, I smoked many mostly non-marinated or brined turkeys with mesquite wood and found the strong smoke flavor of mesquite to be necessary but the overall results to be acceptable. I say pre-WSM because before the guys/gals of this web site got me 'hooked' on the WSM, smoking foods for me was a real chore that I did with little planning and/or interest. Now it's nearly an every weekend occurrence where I experiment with different types of meats, marinades, etc and woods as I did this Thanksgiving when I smoked two turkeys, one with Chris's apple cider brine and the other with the Jamison Holiday paste, using a 50/50 combination of cherry/apple wood and got tremendous results?2lbs. left over from 23 lbs. of bird! Hope this helps but the best advice I could give you would be to just experiment till you reach your own personal satisfaction level.

John

I have had great luck with pecan (a type of hickory) in various types of smokers and with various types of meat. Also, I have had good luck with maple (both hard and soft), especially on poultry and fish. I agree with Mr. Lancaster's advice to experiment as much as possible. Incidently, John, have you tried the sweetgum wood yet? I would be interested in hearing about your results. My guess is that it will work just fine. As a matter of fact, I am going to look around for some just to give it a try.

I have done up 5 turkeys in the past few weeks and experimented with mesquite, hickory, oak, alder, and just charcoal. (by the way, all were cooked in either Weber Kettles or a Brinkman smoker that thinks it is a WSM [modified by me to replicate WSM conditions]

My all-time favorite, and the first one completely consumed at a recent pot-luck was the apple-brine using hickory. Second, and just as good for guests was a honey brine that I also injected into the breast/thigh meat before cooking.

Least favorite was mesquite--just did not do it for me--but, then again, mesquite doesn't do much for me smoking anything--great for grilling.

Oak and alder both had subtle, almost neutral flavor--may choose to use more wood next time.

In all cases, I would add 3-4 large chucks to the charcoal during first part of cooking cycle so smoke was pretty much gone after 90 minutes or so.

The hickory did the best at putting a smoke ring into the meat--the thigh was a piece of art!!

Well, enough about that. If anyone wants to know more about my Brinkman smoker with a WSM personality, give me a shout.


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Dale Groetsema
Big Daddy's BBQ, Fairbanks, AK & Vancouver, WA