Post-Thanksgiving, pre-Xmas turkey on the Summit Charcoal

[BrianCal]

Been wanting to do a turkey for a while. Tried one a few years ago and it was just ok, finally gave it another go. No one in my house eats the thighs of drumsticks, so just got a bone in breast.

Dry brined the night before with just a sprinkle of fine sea salt. Then in the morning, rubbed it under and over the skin with some SPOG with a dash of Italian seasoning mixed in, after basting the skin with some smoked tallow.


Cooked it at about 350, was going for 165 IT, but went a little over while I was raking leaves.


Wrapped it and put it in the cooler, as it was a little early for dinner anyway. if nothing else, it at least looked pretty, and sliced up nice.


The verdict? Tasted great. Didn’t get much in the way of drippings, so we just went with a simple packet gravy, I think that was actually better as it let the smoke and the flavor come through. Will definitely do this one again.

 

[JimK]

Looks fantastic!

 

[Chris in Louisiana]

Great looking breast. I am going to try to find one to smoke on Christmas. Hope it turns out as nice as yours.

 

[CaseT]

Looks really good!

We've gone to pretty much just cooking breasts for the same reasons.

In my opinion dry brining over night is the way to go. I use a mix of 1 teaspoon baking powder to 2 tablespoons kosher salt.

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

That's exactly what we did this year Brian. Yours looks terrific. One of the best things about turkey is the leftovers. A breast like that will give us 3 or 4 more meals.

 

[BrianCal]

That's exactly what we did this year Brian. Yours looks terrific. One of the best thing about turkey is the leftovers. A breast like that will give us 3 or 4 more meals.

We counted on 3 or 4 more too, but pigged out and only got one more, haha

 

[Peter Gallagher]

Brain, that looks perfect - nice color - love it!