Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey

Posted by William on November 19th, 2009, at 12:37 pm

Thanksgiving is just around the bend. Turkey Lovers are looking forward to a feast. Turkey Haters are dreading dry, flavorless turkey.

I used to be a Turkey Hater. Many years ago, my weak attempt at roasting a turkey resulted in an overcooked, dry, tough mess. Since then, I stuck to making hams or side dishes and let others have a go at the turkey. But earlier this year, I got a smoker. This smoker has treated me very well, cranking out delicious, tender foods with amazing ease. This year I would make a turkey again. And it would be good.

Smoked Turkey.

I know that not everybody has a smoker, but there are some things anyone can take away from this post to get a vastly superior turkey. The single biggest thing you can do to improve your turkey is also the easiest and involves no real work. Make a brine.

I’ve spoken about brines before and about how they are probably the single biggest thing you can to do improve poultry. As Kyle has had a bit more experience cooking and brining turkeys, I turned to him for advice. Over the years, he has found that longer brine soaks are essential to getting flavorful, juicy turkey. I dissolved 3 gallons of water with 3 cups of salt and 1.5 cups of brown sugar and let the turkey soak for 24 hours.

You can also take advantage of this long soak to add some flavors to the turkey. Nearly anything that dissolves well into water can be added. I have seen recipes call for honey, apple juice, vegetable stock, pepper, and/or herbs. Personally, I wanted to let the smoke flavor shine, so I did a basic salt and sugar brine. If I was going to oven roast it, I would have been sorely tempted to give it a soak in apple juice.

Apart from the brine, the rest is fairly simple. I trussed the turkey to help it keep its shape during the cooking. Rather than try to explain it here, I’ll point you to a video clip of the always informative Alton Brown with instructions on how to tie it. It’s almost easier than it looks.

Now, the last step between you and dinner is carving. Don’t let this intimidate you. Personally, I find carving slices directly from the turkey to be a bit cumbersome. It is impressive if you do it right, but I found it easier to cut it apart in the kitchen and place all the slices on a serving plate. I’ll point you to a Food Network article showing the method that I used. Cook’s Illustrated has a good video, but a membership is required to view it.

I had a bit of a dilemma when it came to the gravy. As I was smoking the bird, I wouldn’t have any drippings (which can provide most of the flavor). I worked around this by using the giblets to their fullest extent. I first seared them to create a fond on the bottom of the pot, then added a few vegetables for more flavor. Deglazing the pot with a bit of wine was important to release the fond and get the flavors back into the dish. I used a combination of store-bought turkey stock and home-made chicken stock to add more liquid. A roux thickened the final product and the tasty giblets were diced and added back in. The gravy can actually be started a few days ahead which helped with time management come the day everything had to come together.

Smokin'!

Gravy
Steps 1-3 can be made a day or two ahead. Makes about 4 cups.
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Turkey giblets and neck from turkey
1 large onion, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
1-2 carrots, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
1-2 ribs celery, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups turkey stock (store bought is fine) or homemade chicken stock
1 Tbsp dried thyme (or Herbs en Provence)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the giblets and sear for 3-5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
2. Add the wine while scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Add the turkey/chicken stock and the herbs. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Strain the liquid into a bowl and set aside. Dice the heart and gizzard and refrigerate until needed.
4. Melt the butter in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in flour. Stir constantly until well combined and it smells slightly nutty (about 10 minutes). The color of the mixture should change from nearly-white in the beginning to between a blond or peanut-butter color. The darker it gets, the nuttier it will taste (but it will have less thickening power). I moved to step 4 just as it was passing the blond color to a slightly darker blond. (This is a roux to thicken the gravy.) Meanwhile, reheat the liquid from step 3.
5. Gradually add the liquid to the roux while whisking. Constant whisking is needed to ensure a smooth, thick gravy that is free from lumps.
6. Simmer gravy until thick. Add the reserved, diced turkey bits and serve.

Brine
Makes one gallon. Scale the ingredients as needed. I ended up making about three gallons.
Ingredients
1 gallon water
1 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
Directions
1. Heat about a third of the water in a large pot over high heat. Add the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. Cool the mixture with the remaining water. You can put water in the freezer or use ice cubes.
2. DO NOT USE THE BRINE WHILE STILL HOT. Chill the brine. Add the turkey to the brine and refrigerate overnight, at least 12 hours. I have had better results when the turkey brined for at least 20 hours. Longer times result in better brines.

Smoked Turkey
I used a vertical water smoker for this recipe. Anticipate about a half hour for every pound of meat. Use a probe thermometer to verify the results. A 14 pound turkey will serve 10-14 people.
Ingredients
1 12-14 lb turkey
several chunks of soaked smoking wood (I used hickory)
Directions
This is pretty easy… Just monitor the temperature.
1. Place the turkey into the smoker. Regulate the heat so that the smoker stays between 200F and 250F.
2. 6-7 hours later, check the temperature of the turkey with a probe thermometer. Measure once in the thickest part of the breast (at least 165F) and a second time in the thickest part of the leg (at least 170F).
3. Remove from heat, cover loosely with foil, and allow to rest for about 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

As an aside… I’m interested in this time-temperature table provided by FSIS for achieving 7-log10 lethality of Salmonella. I could cook this turkey much lower than 165F and get safe results. I don’t suggest people try this without knowing what they are doing, but it would make for an interesting experiment. Low temperatures would be key to getting more tender meat, the trick would be to do it without drying the turkey.