How to Smoke Turkey for Thanksgiving

There's nothing better than spending time with friends, family, and... a 12-lb smoked turkey. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had been looking forward to making smoked turkey for the first time. With leftovers neatly packed in tupperware, I can still smell the slight whiff of apple wood smoke. So was my first attempt at smoked turkey a success? How did it taste? What would I do differently?

Turkey brined for 12 hours

My 12-lb brined turkey getting ready to go under

I've read all the various ways of preparing a smoked turkey -- whether to wet-brine, dry-brine, no-brine, inject, etc. Since this was my first time, I decided to try a little bit of everything. I submerged the turkey into a brining solution with some:

- Apple juice
- Brown sugar
- Kosher salt
- Honey
- Oranges
- Peppercorns
- Garlic
- Bay leaves

Since I read that brining can cause the turkey to taste a bit "mushy," not to mention take away some of that meaty flavor, I decided to just brine the turkey for about 12-15 hours. I patted the turkey nice and dry, then gave it a good massage of olive oil and seasoning rubdown which included the following:

- Seasoned salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Cayenne

For good measure, I also injected the turkey with the star ingredient -- Corona beer!

- 1 bottle of Corona
- Melted butter
- Paprika
- Cayenne

After 3 hours of smoking in the WSM

I had about 3 plates!

After 3 hours of smoking the turkey in the WSM (with 2 fist-sized apple wood chunks), the turkey came out with a nice, mahogany colored skin crust. When I measured the temperature of the breast, it was around 170-175 degrees F. Since I was targeting the magic number of around 160-165, I was afraid the breast meat would be too dry. Next time, I will need to check the temperature a bit earlier (I got caught up finishing the side dishes!).

After letting the turkey rest for about a half hour, I sliced the turkey wide open. The breast was still reasonably moist. The slight hint of smoke was perfect -- not overpowering at all. The dark meat was full of flavor too. I used the pan drippings to make the gravy and it was the perfect compliment to the turkey. For my first time smoking turkey, I thought everything tasted great.

The one thing I noticed (and knew from the start) was that the skin wasn't as extra crispy (compared to an oven cooked turkey) --which was a result of the lower smoking temperature. From the start, I tried to maintain a temperature in the WSM of at least around 325-350 for all 3 hours, but it was a challenge. I would say the average temperature was more like around 300. Other than that, I thought my first time smoking a turkey was a success. I'll be smoking turkey more often in future years, and hope to get better.

Happy (Smoked) Turkey Day!

Of course, you knew it was going to happen. This year, I'm going to smoke a turkey for the very first time. I've always eaten turkey the traditional way--cooked in a conventional oven. More often than not, the turkey came out dry and flavorless. I would always have to drench the turkey in gravy to make it taste better. Nowadays, it seems that fried turkey is all the rage. And no, I'm not going anywhere near a turducken. Of course, you can always get one of those monstrous, mutant-sized turkey legs from Disneyland all-year round. Did you know one of those turkey legs has about 1,000 calories?!

$9 for a turkey leg at Disneyland... please look away, don't judge!

"Pardoned" turkey at Disneyland... which means he's lucky.

Smoked turkey just seems healthier and easier--well, for me anyway. I've already got my beloved smoker, which has been used about 20 times since I bought it in May. The smoker is already properly seasoned, which means all the months of grease build-up within the smoker will help regulate the temperature and give it that added smoky flavor versus a brand new smoker out of the box. I've done some research online about smoking turkeys. Just Google "smoked turkey recipe" and you'll find plenty of results.

Some of my favorite recipes and articles about smoked turkey come from Serious Eats (one of my favorite food websites out there). Here are 3 variations:

Cajun Smoked Turkey
Apple-Brined and Smoked Turkey
Honey Brined and Smoked Turkey

Of course, the always reliable and informative Virtual Weber Bullet (aka, the bible of WSM smoking) has some very detailed step-by-step instructions for smoking a turkey:

Apple-Brined Turkey
Honey-Brined Turkey
Salt-Brined Turkey

My 12 lb turkey waiting to be injected, brined, and smoked.

After reading quite a few recipes, I'm going to use a little bit of everything for a "hybrid" smoked turkey--both using both methods of marinade injecting and brining. I know it may be overkill to do both, but why not? I don't want the typical turkey flavor--I want bold flavors with a little kick with every bite. I want a ultra-juicy turkey breast with extra crispy, golden brown skin. I know--for a first-time turkey smoker, I've got super high expectations. I'll let you know how it all turns out next week. In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving holiday!