Store bought, 20 pounder. Tell me what I got to do to get it right for turkey day. Got a Pit Boss 700FB with an igrill digital temp probe. Been smokin' the heck out of beef, pork, chicken. Pretty much everything has come out well except the leathery-skinned whole chickens.
Smoked Turkey
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Lyfter1013
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I did 2 small wild turkeys last year so I’m far from an expert but mine came out really good and will be trying again this week for Thanksgiving.. make sure you brine the Turkey for a day or so before hand. I can’t remember exactly what I used for my brine but it was pretty simple, water, apple juice, kosher salt, sugar, cut up apples, cut up onion, garlic, cayenne pepper. Heat up the brine then let it cool then brine Turkey for a day. That was all I did with mine. Then I removed from brine patted dry sprinkled seasoning on and smoked them at low temp can’t remember how long. Maybe I got lucky but
I think as long as you brine them and don’t cook too hot or for too long they should be good
I think as long as you brine them and don’t cook too hot or for too long they should be good
JohnCushman
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For the skin to get crispy I pull it out of the smoker about 5 degrees lower than what you want and put it under the broiler in the regular oven for a few minutes. I do it with turkeys, whole chickens and wings. Spatchcocking the turkey helps too.
Took your advice on the chickens, spatchcocked the 2nd batch I did and they came out great! For the turkey, I'm leaning toward doing the whole bird. What temp do set the oven at for finishing the bird?
Sounds pretty simple. Did you do the entire job on the smoker?
Lyfter1013
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Yes left in smoker the entire time. Forgot to mention with mine I cut the legs and thighs off the body cavity and cut the back out so it was just the breasts and legs and thighs made it easier to brine that way.
Addicting
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This year I bought the Traeger turkey kit. That many good reviews on a tested recipe is sure to be a hit.
JohnCushman
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As hot as you can get it. Put the turkey as low as you can in the oven too. Watch it close because the skin will crisp in just a few minutes and you don't want to dry the breast out. When you pull it out, wrap it real tight in foil and put a towel over it and let it sit for at least a half hour.
Addicting
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Same spices but I bought it with the pellets. I needed some anyway so it made sense for me. If your already stocked up that kit would be fine.
Did you make sure to get a turkey that wasn't basted in the 8% solution or whatever they add? I'm looking at my turkey and it says basted with up to 8% turkey broth, salt, sodium. From what I'm reading it says don't brine if you do that. I'm thinking about running out to the store to get another turkey to brine the day before I kind of want to try doing it myself.
Bourbon in the brine? I'm sold: https://www.traegergrills.com/learn/turkey-brine
Turkeys dry out when smoking. I would imagine wet brining adds much needed moisture. You could try dry bringing and injecting it with butter or something like that.
Lyfter1013
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Mine were wild turkeys not store bought. Where are you reading not to brine if that’s the case. I could see that being if you were cooking conventionally but I would think it will dry out very quickly if you don’t brine. But I’m not an expert so I could be wrong
Yep store bought...I think some peoples idea is that if it comes already infused with that solution you will either make it to salty or that it is simply unnecessary since it is essentially already brined.
Most store bought turkeys are injected with an 8% brine solution unless they are labeled as "natural". Brining might make it a bit too salty.
Glad you pointed that out. The butterball we have from Costco says “natural “ on it but actually has a 4% brine solution of salt, water and spices according to the label.
