My First Smoked Turkey...


 
W

William H

New member
This is the first time I have smoked a turkey and the results were great. I followed Meathead's instructions.

16lb fresh turkey
Brined with basic salt brine for 12 hrs
Air Dried overnight in the fridge
Wet herb rub on turkey for 4 hours

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Weber 18.5 WSM
Lump Charcoal
2 Chunks of peach wood
Temp was 300-325
Cooked for 3hrs 15mins

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My guests said this was the best turkey they have ever had. So not bad for my first try. Since this was my first fresh turkey is there much of a difference between a fresh turkey and a butterball? Is it worth the extra cash?

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Open Free Range/Organic Bird versus Butterball. Butterball would have larger breasts...I don't believe they can even fly too much weight. Great looking bird
 
I'd always go for "fresh" whenever possible regardless if it's Organic or not. You will find the texture is 10X better and generally a better bird all around. Prices this year were between $1.59-$2.00 lbs in Michigan. Try fresh whole turkey and not frozen one time,.... and you won't go back.
 
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"My guests said this was the best turkey they have ever had. So not bad for my first try. Since this was my first fresh turkey is there much of a difference between a fresh turkey and a butterball? Is it worth the extra cash?"

I've smoked two butterballs. There is quite a difference in my view. They come on sale sometimes at $.99lb so hard to pass up when our birds go for up to $3.49 lb. There is a lot of fat in the bird with all the butter and salt. I have a vertical rack. I also lower the bird 4 inches into the smoker. They drain this way and turn out pretty good. The drums seem to cook about the same speed as the breast. I did one for Thanksgiving this year but had to use a baster in order to draw off the butter that gathered in the neck area under the skin. That was gross. They are very moist. It was a big hit but generally I like to buy a fresh turkey. I would never pay more for one.
 
I followed the same recipe last night. The turkey (butterball) came out great, though the legs were a little dry and tough. Did you also do the "gravy" in his recipe? I tried it and did not like it at all. It seemed like lightly seasoned and smoky water. Did I screw that up somehow?
 
I had no dryness on my turkey but maybe that was because it was fresh from a turkey farm.

I did use his gravy recipe (see the photo of my WSM). I used 3 qts of water as he recommended. I did have evaporation loss, so halfway into the cook I used a full bottle of white wine. I thought the gravy was good. It was a little smoky but good. Maybe too much liquid evaporated for you? I used the water pan lined with foil for the gravy.
 
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