I need help from the turkey smokers
 

I'm planning on smoking a whole turkey for Christmas, fresh, about 12-14 pounds, and I've never done one before. I'm hoping the resident turkey smokers (not a euphemism, seclark) can give me some pointers. Do you brine? Do you smoke low and slow, or a higher temp for crisper skin? What type of wood do you like? Do you use a rub, or just salt and pepper?

Any and all advice is appreciated. I'm picking the turkey up Monday afternoon and was thinking of smoking it Christmas Eve.

Which creates another question.....should I wait until Christmas Day? Is it better same day? I could make that work.

It really doesn't take long to smoke a turkey so I suggest doing it the same day. Use a dry rub, something with a little kick. before applying it, rub the bird down with a little oil to make sure it sticks. smoke it with a lighter wood like apple or hickory. mesquite would be a little heavy IMO. Probably keep the temp around 220 or so and rub it hourly. It should take around 6 hours or so for a a 14 lb bird.
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I think I have some cherry and oak on hand. Which would you use? Or I can probably rustle up some apple if it's better.

Smoke the turkey bout two hours using any good fruit or nut wood, med to hot heat.. Then put into large throw-away roaster pan, then add fruit juice or sweet wine bout two inches in bottom, cover smoke at med-hi for two to four hours uncovering and basting the juices over the entire turkey if not quite crisp skinned uncover for bout another hour basting still ....

Never been able to find papers that large, frankly.

aaaaaaaaaaaand 4 posts to get to a weed reference

honestly thought there might be a few more

I had seen that recipe but I'm concerned about such a high temp.

Do you have any experience with that?

I brine. Search for apple cider brine.

The recipe I use is about 8-10 ingredients.

Brine overnight. Cook at 225 till done with meat thermometer.

Tips....apple wood is great! but I'm sure all fruit wood works. Personally I mix apple wood and hickory. I pound the bird with tons of smoke for the first couple hours then back off the smoke and use mostly charcoal (REAL WOOD Charcoal).

Normally I place alum foil on the turkey when it starts to get brown. This hasn't really helped me though. This year I'm going to place alum foil on turkey to start then take it off for the last hour or two to help brown it.

I used that exact link for 3 of my turkeys so far and they are always the best, juicy, nice dark skinned, flavorful turkey ever. Everyone raves about them.

This is one from last year.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/...fb6cb8b2d3.jpg

Nice job

I personally like to smoke my bird in one of my kettles @ 350. If you smoke it at 250, the skin turns into leather and is completely inedible.

Also, check out the apple brine from the vwb site. I've used it several times and always get good reviews.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/turkey6.html

And try some Pecan wood with your poultry. I like to smoke any kind of poultry with a combination of cherry and pecan. The pecan gives it a really good color.

I brine. Either apple or a honey brine. Brine the turkey for around 24 hrs, rinse brine from turkey under in the sink, then let it air dry in the fridge for another 24, if you have the time. That will give you a crispy visual appealing skin, although it's not very tasty but does look good when carved.

I smoke at around 325 but this Thanksgiving I never got above 250 until around the last 30 minutes of the smoke where it got up to 300. Total smoke time is around 2-3 hours for the whole thing. Don't lift the lid and check the turkey, leave it be. Pretty easy, no fuss cook every Thanksgiving, just make sure you have enough fuel.

For my Weber Smokey Mountain, I use one fully lit chimney of Kingsford coals then fill another chimney and dump that on top of the hot coals and let all the charcoal get red/ashy before I put the turkey on. Then I add my wood.

I invested in a wireless thermometer at Bath and Body Works for around $40 I can't live without. Stick the probe in the breats, but not on a bone, and go watch football. Generally, I set it to around 170 to alarm while checking my smoker temp about every thirty minutes.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/turkey6.html

You've had luck with edible skin? I've been doing a Turkey every Thanksgiving for about 5 years but haven't had a skin that I wanted to eat yet. The skin looks great, just not something that I've wanted to eat. Maybe I should be shooting for a higher temp like 350? I normally smoke around 325 but screwed up and didn't let my smoker get up to temp before putting on the bird.