I guess I never put this on jrperk.com because my hands are probably too gross to take pictures during the process.
I have opinions :). This is my rant.
I stopped buying Turkey breasts and just get the whole turkey. I think it cooks better together and the extra parts are good for soups and other recipes.
I can’t find thawed turkeys so I just thaw them in 24 hours like this:
Brining turkeys is a waste of time and can actually result in an oversalted turkey. Butterball, Honeysuckle, and other name brand turkeys are pre-brined. This makes them moist and you get to pay for water weight.
Injecting turkeys is fun but not if you want it to taste like a traditional turkey.
For a traditional turkey (and chicken and other white meat) I use this:
Lean meats like chicken and turkey do not benefit from “low and slow” so they get cooked at higher temps than brisket or ribs. The higher the temperature, the less smoke your smoker produces so I use a compromise of 275 degrees (some recipes use 300 degrees)
I butcher the turkey as described in this video but I smoke at 275 for 4 or 5 hours and I don’t “spritz”. I also grab the meat cleaver for the bigger bones and to put a slash in the neck end of the breastbone to get it to lay flat.
Butter and season under skin like this video.
I don’t bother with making an herb butter or compound butter. I just slice up about a pound of butter in 1/4 inch slices and stuff it under the skin. Then I just put the rub in my hand and distribute it around under the skin. I also use rub all over the outside.
When you smoke the turkey, tay away from bitter woods like hickory or mesquite. I have been using the Recteq competition blend that came with my smoker (I got like 250 lbs) but Trager blend works. Any fruit wood, pecan or mulberry is also good.
Smoke for approximately 4 to 5 hours, or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast. The thighs will likely read around 175-185.
You can rest it by tenting it with foil and setting it out on the counter for 30 minutes.
To separate the breast from the other parts: Chop off the legs and thighs and the wings and cut the breast in half a long the breast bone. You can run a knife between the Breast half and the rub cage to fillet it off then slice it. I think leaving the bones on during cooking helps keep it from drying out.
To freeze it, use 5 bags: leg & thigh, leg & thigh, wings, breast half, breast half.
To reheat from frozen: I sous vide at 165 for about 90 minutes then pop them in a 350 degree convection oven for about 10 minutes to dry off and crisp the skin.
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