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Smoking with hickory

HOW TO DRY BRINE

Combine half a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons Morton's kosher salt) with two tablespoons of baking powder in a bowl. Carefully pat your turkey dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle it on all surfaces with the salt mixture by picking up the mixture between your thumb and fingers, holding it six to ten inches above the bird and letting the mixture shower down over the surface of the turkey for even coverage. The turkey should be well-coated with salt, though not completely encrusted.

Warning: You will most likely not need all of the salt, in some cases less than half will be ok depending on the size of your bird and your salt preference.

Transfer the turkey to a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 24 hours. Without rinsing, roast using one of our recipes, omitting any additional salting steps called for in those recipes.

Dry-brining for more than 24 hours will produce even more juicy and well-seasoned meat. To brine longer than 24 hours, loosely cover turkey with plastic wrap or cheesecloth before refrigerating to prevent excess moisture loss through evaporation. Let rest for up to 3 days.
 
it has the same effect but tends to make the skin much crispier. Go to Serious Eats website and they have a current article on it. I have using it on chicken for quite some time but for some reason i have always wet brine my turkey. old habits of old farts hard to change.

Very cool, thank you, I'll read up on it.
 
ok just for the record i have just been thanked by a man sitting on an outdoor crapper and another wearing a tutu and felt good about it. Going for counseling after work. LOL
your both welcome and may your turkey day be eventful.
 



ok just for the record i have just been thanked by a man sitting on an outdoor crapper and another wearing a tutu and felt good about it. Going for counseling after work. LOL
your both welcome and may your turkey day be eventful.

LOL. I have found that the rerouting of my plumbing has freed up just enough space for the Gimp's crate. Win, win! :thumbsup:
 
Any meat..Oak...nothing but oak

wood planed salmon...cherry, poultry...apple....
For the salmon...cherry planks
 
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Any meat..Oak...nothing but oak

wood planed salmon...cherry, poultry...apple....
For the salmon...cherry planks

I have access to a ton of oak but have never used it, its been apple, cherry and hickory. I honestly don't know why I've never tried it.
 



Until this year I used oak for everything. This spring however we took down my brother in laws pear tree and I had a big hackberry limb come down in my yard in a storm; so I've been rolling with that all year. The pear goes great with pork and turkey. I have been tossing in a chunk or two of hackberry to mix in a little different flavor. I have enough of that stuff to last me a few years at that rate.
 
I have fried turkey's for the past 10 years and they have all turned out pretty tasty. I smoked my first turkey this year with Applewood chips soaked in a wet brine. My wife who is not a fan of turkey told me I can now get rid of my turkey fryers. I can't wait for an excuse to tweak the recipe a little and keep experimenting.
 
I have fried turkey's for the past 10 years and they have all turned out pretty tasty. I smoked my first turkey this year with Applewood chips soaked in a wet brine. My wife who is not a fan of turkey told me I can now get rid of my turkey fryers. I can't wait for an excuse to tweak the recipe a little and keep experimenting.

welcome to the smoked turkey addiction club. as a suggestion thanksgiving is the only occasion to have a turkey in the smoker.
 
welcome to the smoked turkey addiction club. as a suggestion thanksgiving is the only occasion to have a turkey in the smoker.
Why? To keep it novel? I can see that but, I smoke breasts and drumsticks occasionally, throughout the seasons.
 



Why? To keep it novel? I can see that but, I smoke breasts and drumsticks occasionally, throughout the seasons.

that was a typo as i meant not the only occasion. i do turkey several times a year and now is a great time to get pick a couple up to put in the freezer as the price is right. thanks to the King for keeping on the straight in narrow.
 
I use mesquite. Great flavor. I will have to smoke a turkey when the weather warms up. How many hours per pound do you generally cook a whole turkey?

Pops where you live you can probably get a chain saw and drive 20 minutes and have all the mesquite you can ever use. It's all over the place up here.
 
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I use mesquite. Great flavor. I will have to smoke a turkey when the weather warms up. How many hours per pound do you generally cook a whole turkey?

Pops where you live you can probably get a chain saw and drive 20 minutes and have all the mesquite you can ever use. It's all over the place up here.
I smoke mine a little hotter, 300 - 325 using apple and cherry. A 14 - 16 pound bird will take four to five hours at that temp. Don't forget to brine for 24 hours.
 

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