Gonna smoke a turkey breast this weekend but I have a few questions...

[TeddyC]

Hey all I need advice to see if I'm on the right track or not.

I'm 2 smokes into my WSM. This weekend I want to smoke a 6.5lbs turkey breast. Historically, I've always used a Masterbuilt smoker, so I'm new to the WSM world.

I plan on brinning the breast overnight (for 12 hours or so) and then letting it sit for day in the fridge.

On the day of the smoke, I'm not sure if I want to use a paprika type rub on the breast or simply use butter, pepper, garlic and Tony C's.

I plan on using 2 chimney's of charcoal and 2 - 3 chunks of apple wood.

I plan on keeping all grates open to grill the bird at a high temperature.

Here's where I'm confused. In order to keep the bird moist, should I grill it to a certain internal temperature and then foil the bird and let it continue cooking? Or, should I just let it cook all the way to a certain internal temperature (I'm thinking 160 degrees).

Finally, to keep the meat moist for several hours, should I foil the breast and then keep it in a cooler?

Thank you for your assistance.

 

[LarryR]

Here's where I'm confused. In order to keep the bird moist, should I grill it to a certain internal temperature and then foil the bird and let it continue cooking? Or, should I just let it cook all the way to a certain internal temperature (I'm thinking 160 degrees).

Finally, to keep the meat moist for several hours, should I foil the breast and then keep it in a cooler?

Hey TeddyC, cook to "done" temp. If you're brining her you'll have no issues with moisture. When she's done then foil her, wrapper her in a towel and throw her in a towel lined cooler. I assume you're doing this for transport, correct? How long will you be holding her for?

 

[TeddyC]

Thanks for the reply. I have church services from 1 - 3. So I prefer to smoke either early in the am or during services. The problem with foiling is, I'll loose the crispy skin. I don't think foiling is the best route to take .

 

[JimK]

Hey Ted,

Like you mentioned, cook to 160. You shouldn't have any issues with moisture due to the brining. Regarding your question on seasoning/rub, I'll answer with a question: what kind of brine are you using?

Unless you're serving immediately, you'll likely have trouble keeping the skin crispy. I'm not sure what to tell you on that one.

 

[TeddyC]

Hey gang,
So I did smoke the 6.5 lb turkey breast. I have to say, while it was good, I wasn't thrilled.
I brined it for 12 hours, using the Trip Slaughterhouse brine (which I always use for all poultry);
I left it overnight in the fridge to crisp up the skin;
I injected with Tony C's, Cajun butter;
Rubbed with 2 tbps each of paprika, granulated garlic; black pepper
grilled with 2 chimney's of charcoal and 2 pieces of apple chunks.
Man, the WSM handles like a pro. I'm really amazed at how well and easy it is to hold the temperature.
Anyway, after putting the meat in, having all grates wide open and no water in the water pan--the temperature shot up to the highest degree. I shut the lowers down 50% and it held to about 325 degrees.
After a little more than 2 hours (about 2 hours 10 minutes), the meat was at 160 degrees.
I then wrapped it in aluminum foil for about 30 minutes.

I feel the skin was abit soggy. Although I rubbed the rub into the meat, it was still a bit thick on the meat. My girl said that the turkey was great and had a unique flavor. I don't know why I wasn't 100% pleased but the good thing about the WSM is, if it's not perfect, you can try again and again.

I do think in the future, I'm going to mix the fruit wood with hickory and maybe smoke the meat closer to the charcoal. I want more of a smoked and charcoal flavor.

I know this may sound weird but I like poultry to have a strong flavor but I don't like the meat to be soft.

 

[Jon Des.]

Softness might mean overbrined or just overdone. Resting without foil would have gotten you to 165 from carryover, so who knows how hot this ended up. Foiling couldn't have helped the skin much, either. I generally just make turkey breasts for lunchmeat and they don't have skin, but I think you'd need very high heat to crisp turkey skin - maybe remove the water pan?