WSM 22.5 Turkey


 

DavidPerts

New member
Goin to try my first turkey in the WSM 22.5 tomorrow. I will be brining with a recipe found on here and injecting it. I have read different theories as to how long and what temp. These have ranged from temp of 320 - 350 for 3-4 hours to normal smoker temp of 225-250 for 6-8 hours. If someone can share their experiences I would appreciate it and also what the internal thigh and breast temp should be.

Thanks All !!
 
turkey doesn't benefit as much from low and slow and I like to have crispy skin. I usually go 325-350 (about 15-20 minutes per pound as a time guideline). When bird hits 165 take it off and let it rest and enjoy! Smoked Turkey is one of my favorite smokes on the WSM....so easy and so good!
 
I've done a few turkey breasts, and actually will be using my new CB rotisserie tomorow to do another one. Like James says, the 325-350 range works well.

I've been using a brine with apple juice, oranges, ginger, garlic and the usual salt and sugars in it. Care to share the brine you found?
 
I do my smoked turkey breasts low & slow, a turkey breast is typically an add-in when I'm running the smoker and have room. I keep several in my freezer.

I've found they can actually just go on frozen and they come out ok. I don't eat the skin, so I don't care that it comes out all rubbery. Just breast meat and hickory smoke for me. :)
 
Put the turkey (20 pound natural butterball) on a few hours ago so keep you all posted. I went to lowes and got a 5 gallon plastic bucket then found at Walmart an XL zip-loc bag (2 feet x 20 inches). Didnt know they were made this big but it fit inside the bucket with the turkey and brine like a glove. Here is the brine and injection recipes I used.

Brine
-----
1 gallon and 4 cups water
2 quarts apple juice
2 guarts orange juice
3 1/2 cups of Kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
10 whole cloves
1 tablespoon nutmeg

Injection
---------
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
15 shots Louisanna hot sauce
 
Put the turkey (20 pound natural butterball) on a few hours ago so keep you all posted. I went to lowes and got a 5 gallon plastic bucket then found at Walmart an XL zip-loc bag (2 feet x 20 inches). Didnt know they were made this big but it fit inside the bucket with the turkey and brine like a glove. Here is the brine and injection recipes I used.

Brine
-----
1 gallon and 4 cups water
2 quarts apple juice
2 guarts orange juice
3 1/2 cups of Kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
10 whole cloves
1 tablespoon nutmeg

Injection
---------
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
15 shots Louisanna hot sauce

im curious how the brine/injection combo worked? I've found that the brine will not just add moisture, but also draw flavor in, sounds like you might have a sweet flavor from the brine and a kick from the injection?

My tureky breast this weekend came out fantastic. cook at 330 degress until 160 in the breast and the turkey was one of the best I ever had. For the brine I used a gllaon of apple juice, 4 oranges, brown sugar, salt, ginger, garlic, cloves, bay leaves, and some honey. There was no cavity on the breast so I didn't use the rotoriserrie, but it still came out fantastic.

One of the best things of a smoked/brine tureky is the turkey salad sandwiches the next day. !
 
Did you decide to go low n slow or high temp? I'm a high temp guy for poultry myself.

If you do go high temp for crisp skin, I recommend you don't cover it for the rest. The steam will moisten the skin which defeats the purpose.
 

 

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