Smoked Turkey
This smoked turkey recipe will be a hit with your guests! This recipe will show you just how easy it is to make a delicious, tender turkey that will wow your guests.
Equipment
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 22-25 lb pastured whole turkey
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp organic cane sugar or honey
- 3 stalks rosemary
- 5 stalks thyme
- 3 branches sage
- Finely grated peel of three tangerines or oranges (optional)
- 10 lb bag hardwood charcoal
- 2 lb wood chips
Instructions
- THE RUBRemove woody stems from the herbs and set aside. Grind together the salt, pepper, sugar, herb leaves and optional tangerine peels until you have a reasonably uniform dry rub.
- MARINATESince I always smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving, I tend to marinate it after bringing it home from the farm the Saturday or Sunday before. I cannot recommend leaving it longer, nor can I promise it will take on the wonderful flavors in a much shorter brining time of say 2 days or less. At least not for a bird this size. Although it would be fine for a chicken.Loosen the skin of the turkey away from the flesh of the bird. Distribute a bit more than half of the rub under the skin, getting all around the breast meat, between the breast and thigh, and even under the thigh toward the back. Put remaining rub evenly inside the turkey’s cavity. Any rub remaining on your hands can be wiped onto the outside of the bird although it is unlikely to make any difference to the final flavor.Place turkey in a roasting bag and tie. Place in coldest part of the refrigerator where it will fit comfortably for the next few days until you are ready to smoke it.
- SMOKINGLight your coals. While waiting for them to get to the glowing stage, wrap about half of your drained wood chips in a smoking basket. Alternately, seal them in a piece of heavy duty foil. Slash the foil in several places so the coals and water can hit the coals and release the smoky flavor.Place a large metal bowl of water on top of the coals with enough space to place the wood chips alongside it. The bowl of water will keep the air moist so the bird does not dry out, so make sure it is easily accessible to top up with more water throughout the process.Immediately after you place the chips on the coals, place your turkey breastside down onto the grill lined with a piece of heavy duty foil covered with parchment or on a piece of pork skin to prevent sticking. I also try to pointing the cavity just above where the wood chips are placed so the smoke will infuse directly into the cavity.Cover your smoker and regulate the temperature to roughly 275ºF/140°C for the remainder of the cooking process. This is where significant others come in handy.Occasionally I feel compelled to turn the bird right side up toward the last hour of cooking, but the rationale behind that varies. So you figure out what works best for your situation. Sometimes the reason is as simple as evenly browning the top.Your turkey is done when a thermometer inserted into the thigh meat closest to the breast registers 160ºF/71ºC. Don’t go by color. The leg and thigh meat in particular will be pink like ham so you’ll never get it to go white. If you’re worried about the level of doneness, you can place it in the oven at about 325ºF/165ºC/gas mark 3 for a half hour or so. But honestly, start with good quality pastured meat and worries of things like salmonella are likely unfounded.
- When the meat is done to your liking, remove it from its heat source and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before carving into it.
