I need professional help!


 

Rick Kramer

TVWBB All-Star
Hello fellow Weberinos! Here's the deal: I've got three 7.5 lb whole turkey breasts packaged in a 15% soloution. These suckers thawed out before I expected them to so I probably need to cook them tonight. Beings I won't have time to brine and airdry and all of that other poultry precook stuff, here's my plan. I'm going to try cooking them on the wsm for a couple of hours to give em some smoke flavor and then transfer them over to the oven to finish them off. We would really like a nice crispy skin and of course a tender and juicy inside is important too. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks .... Rick
 
Use a dry water pan and bump the temps up to 325-350. Cook shouldn't last more than a few hours. Cook until breast reads 160* internal. Since the breast is packaged in a 15% solution there is no real need to brine. A nice rub under the skin would would work well for flavor.
 
If the turkeys have just thawed today you have some time and could spread out the cooks if you wish. But, barring that, you could certainly smoke for a while and finish in the oven. Or crank the cooker with lots of lit coals and get it really hot, put the breasts in and try to get 30 min above 400 (leave off the door) before allowing the cooker to settle at 325. A 450 oven temp is best, imo, for crisp skin if you decide to go the oven finish route. Pull at 160 either way; rest 10-15 min minimum. Don't go too long in the smoker though as the high-temp finish in the oven needs some time and with a high temp your internals will rise quickly.

A bit of prep is worth doing for skin, flavor, and carving concerns. Cut out the piece of neck that's usually still left on the bird and discard it or use it for something else--stock or sauce, say. Remove the wish bone now and carving is much easier later. Trim most of the excess skin at the neck area. Using your fingers then hand, gently separate the skin from the meat from the neck end working along the breast meat toward the back end being careful not to tear the membrane at the edges (or the skin will shrivel off the breast during cooking). Mix some unsalted butter with a little rub and work it under the skin and onto the breast meat. If you wish, cut two 1x2 or 2x2 pieces of skin from the excess you removed and stick each piece on top of the high points of the breast, one on each side, under the skin on top of the meat. That will hold the skin up off the meat a bit allowing it to get a bit crisper; optional though.
 

 

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