I need help from the turkey smokers

[GoTrav]

Originally Posted by RJ

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.

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