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Are you considering smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving? Here are 5 tips for dads getting ready for their first try and smoking something other than a cigar over the holidays.
Thaw your turkey!
What’s the biggest mistake you can make smoking meat? Not having it thawed all the way! If you still have frozen pockets in the meat, it can cause perfectly cooked areas mixed with underdone bird that nobody enjoys. Make sure to have your bird fully thawed before smoking that bad boy. The chart below from the FoodSafety.gov website let’s you know how to get it done.
| Turkey Size | In the Refrigerator (Approximately 24 hours for every 4-5 lbs.) |
In Cold Water (Approximately 30 minutes per lb.) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 12 pounds | 1 to 3 days | 2 to 6 hours |
| 12 to 16 pounds | 3 to 4 days | 6 to 8 hours |
| 16 to 20 pounds | 4 to 5 days | 8 to 10 hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 5 to 6 days | 10 to 12 hours |
Brine, Brine, Brine
Brining is essentially marinating meat in water that you’ve seasoned by recipe for a few hours or days. I do this often for pork and it can work wonders to infuse not only flavor in your turkey, but also help the bird retain moisture. It’s second to none for pork chops and it does wonders for Turkey. My favorite turkey brine recipe can be found at AllRecipes.com. It tastes great and has nothing by amazing reviews by those who have made it.
Rub Me Down
Finding the right rub can also work wonders for your bird. If you’re going to brine, take the time to make a homemade rub and let it set in before smoking. A great traditional rub can be found at FoodNetwork, but if the wife is doing a traditional bird in the oven (I recommend), then why not spice it up and go cajun! Bobby Flay has a kick-ass recipe for a cajun brined turkey two ways. Don’t have time or the desire to make your own rub or brine, there are several great products on the market to help as seen below.
Blend Your Wood
Everyone loves hickory smoke, it works great with white meats like turkey and pork. But have you ever considered blending wood types to get a great smoke flavor. Consider mixing a little peach or pecan wood (pecan shells work too). If you’re going to blend, research the woods before just going crazy. I love using cherry wood for ribs, but it can have a blackening effect on wood and you want that butterball to be golden, smokey brown, not black!
Consistent Heat
I started smoking over 15 years ago with a simple bullet smoker and did a small cajun turkey to take to Thanksgiving after buying my first house with my wife. It was a kind of coming of age deal for me as a newly married man and homeowner. It turned out great! So next year, I go though the same prep and get ready to pull the bird out of the smoker and surprise, it wasn’t even close to being done and I ended up scraping the damn thing to my shame. The weather was horrible, windy and cold and it simply didn’t allow for a consistent heat or smoke on the turkey. I’ve gone through several different smokers over the years and my constant struggle has been with maintaining a constant temperature. If it’s not constant, the meat simply isn’t getting done in the time you think it should.
While it’s not as sexy as a green egg or side wood smoker, I’ve settled on an electric smoker that I can control with my phone from an app. So right off the bat, I’m going to tell you, you won’t get the same, intense, deep smoke flavor that you’d get with a real wood fire type setup, e.g., a green egg or side box smoker. Don’t get me wrong, you get smoke flavor and great tasting meat, it just doesn’t have that charcoal wood blast you might expect. Now, that being said, many I’ve cooked for actually like it because there are just times where that can be overpowering for meat.
So now that the bad is out of the way, let me get to the good:
- Great smoke ring and flavor
- Set and maintain a constant temperature (the meat is done when you want)
- You don’t need expensive fan monitoring systems on your box to maintain temperature control
- Most models have an internal and meat thermometer built in for monitoring
- Electric power, you’re not constantly fighting with temperature by adding coal or wood
- Side wood application to add wood without opening the smoker and lowering heat
- Watch the turkey on your app while watching the game, kids, wife, family
Outside of checking the temperature and adding new wood to the side box feature, you’re good to go. It’s that easy! I’ve noted a few models I like below, including the Masterbuilt which I have sitting outside as we speak. Hey, if you’ve got the tools and time to fire up that wood box smoker, cheers to you! But if you’re like me, chasing kids, dogs and getting ready to go visit family or be invaded, an electric smoker can be a life saver! Happy smoking this season!
