Smoked Turkey - Holiday Smoked Turkey
- 1 15 lb (6.8 kg) (or so) thawed whole turkey
- 2 cups (475 ml) non-iodized salt
- 6 cups (1425 ml) brown sugar
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) whole pepper corns
- 4 cups (950 ml) hardwood or fruitwood chips for smoking
- Mix salt, brown sugar and spices with 6 quarts (5675 ml) water.
- (Double, if necessary, to cover)
- Rinse whole turkey after removing giblets and cutting away excess fat.
- Place turkey in clean plastic or glass continer with sufficient size to fill with brine that covers entire turkey.
- Pour brine over turkey to cover.
- Turkey should remain in brine for 12 to 20 hours (keep refigerated).
- In preparation for cooking, remove turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly to remove surface saltiness.
- Pat dry with paper towels then air dry for about 30 minutes to form shiny surface that's dry to the touch.
- Place on heavy duty aluminum foil or cooking pan suitable for outdoor grill.
- Create loose tent of aluminum foil to cover.
- Soak 4 cups (950 ml) wood chips (hickory, mesquite or fruit wood) in water.
- Place about a cup of chips in small pan or on aluminum foil on top of charcoal or gas grill grate over low flame.
- Cook for approximately 30 minutes per pound at 180 degrees (80 C.) to 200 degrees (90 C.).
- Use meat thermometer placed in thigh until 170 degrees (80 C.) is reached, test to ensure doneness.
- Add additional wood chips as needed to smoke thoroughly.
- I use my two burner gas grill to do this recipe.
- Usually one burner on low will maintain temperature.
- Place chips over that burner.
- Charcoal grills can also be used successfully.
- The aluminum foil tent helps retain mositure.
- It's a family tradition to prepare Thanksgiving turkey with this technique and they've always been teriffic.
- I have begun using a meat thermometer to avoid undercooking.
- Enjoy!
turkey, noniodized salt, brown sugar, bay leaves, pepper, smoking
Taken from online-cookbook.com/goto/cook/rpage/0005E4 (may not work)