Turkey Skin


 
M

Mike_L (Big Mike)

TVWBB Fan
So i attempted my first turkey on Christmas Eve. It came out ok but i was hoping for the skin to look like everyone else's turkey, nice and dark. My did darken but it was more of a lighter brown then a dark redish color.

I tried to maintain 330 temp for the entire cook. It ranged from 300 to 360 at times. The first 1 hour it ran at a steady 360 till it came down into the 330's. I rubed it with herbs and spices mixed with EVOO. I'm not sure what i did wrong with it. The turkey was also a self-basted Turkey.

Any thoughts?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike_L (Big Mike):
So i attempted my first turkey on Christmas Eve. It came out ok but i was hoping for the skin to look like everyone else's turkey, nice and dark. My did darken but it was more of a lighter brown then a dark redish color.

I tried to maintain 330 temp for the entire cook. It ranged from 300 to 360 at times. The first 1 hour it ran at a steady 360 till it came down into the 330's. I rubed it with herbs and spices mixed with EVOO. I'm not sure what i did wrong with it. The turkey was also a self-basted Turkey.

Any thoughts? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I used to roast Butterballs and the skin never got dark. I loosely cover Plainville natural turkeys with foil for the first 2 1/2 hrs. of a cook and only cook them uncovered for an hr. and they get dark. It must be the liquid they enhance the bird with.
 
Thanks for bringing the issue up, Mike. Funny... many folks shy away from a darkly colored bird for the fear that it's oversmoked. That's why lots of folks use foil at some point, especially guys using stickburners.

However, since you're smoking hot and fast on a charcoal smoker, probably the only way to get the result you're looking for is to get an unenhanced bird and use one of the apple brines that are heavy on the sugar. Be sure to butter or oil and use enough wood as well.

I prefer to bury chunks rather than add for the quality of the smoke. Cherry is known for helping achieve great color, but keep in mind that since fruitwoods smoke only a fraction of the time that nutwoods will, you'll need to use much more. If your smoke is good and smells good, don't be afraid to bury enough to keep some sweet thin smoke going for the entire cook. That'll help with the color, but the sugary brines will probably do the trick for you as well.
 
Dave, do you bury all your chunks or burn a few from the start and bury others? All my birds have come out nice and dark, I burn about four smaller-than-a-tennis ball cherry chunks. I have often wondered about burying at least some of them but never have tried.

Natural birds, brined for 24-36 hours, dried...they all have had real good results. The skin, ehh... not where I would like it but the meat has been wonderful and made up for the skin. Buttered the skin.

I think I may try burying "some" next time. Sorry, don't mean to jack the thread!
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mark A:
Dave, do you bury all your chunks or burn a few from the start and bury others? All my birds have come out nice and dark, I burn about four smaller-than-a-tennis ball cherry chunks. I have often wondered about burying at least some of them but never have tried.

Natural birds, brined for 24-36 hours, dried...they all have had real good results. The skin, ehh... not where I would like it but the meat has been wonderful and made up for the skin. Buttered the skin.

I think I may try burying "some" next time. Sorry, don't mean to jack the thread!
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mark, I don't consider your post a hijack since you confirmed how to get the nice dark skin color the OP is looking for. I appreciate that as well.

As to burying wood, use your nose and you'll notice sweeter, not to mention longer smoke from burying chunks. I've been using pecan a lot for poultry lately and don't need as much wood, but for a turkey smoke with cherry you might try six chunks about half fist size or so, three sitting on top of the bottom layer of charcoal, and then three mixed in with the top layer, only partially exposed so they start up slowly. No matter how you light the top, avoid lighting the wood and you'll be good. I hate the smell of the smoke when a wood chunk catches fire before I get the lid back on.
 
I smoked two turkeys this year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both were Butterballs. I brined them anyway, dried out overnight in the fridge, and cooked 350ish. They were both dark brown. I used RO lump and a couple small chunks of oak and apple.

I suspect the type/amount of wood would impact color.

Did you baste the turkey? (not sure if that matters for color)
 
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