Smoked turkey

What kind of wood best for smoking turkey? Gona try one Tuesday. Pre thanksgiving test run.

I’ve used apple, hickory, or cherry. I prefer the hickory but everyone else in my family wants cherry.

Maple or apple would work great on a big bird. A blend would work well too. Pecan is a good wood for birds as well.

Start with the assumption that a 15 pound bird will take approximately 5 hours at 250 degrees, plus or minus.

Brine the bird, yes or no?

catmando wrote:

Brine the bird, yes or no?

I would brine. I’ll be doing a turkey on my pellet grill for Thanksgiving using pellets with glue in them. Not that “real wood” stuff. I’ve done whole chickens like this (brined) and they turn out awesome.

I prefer brine, however not all can have it in their diet. It really does add to the flavor of the meat.

Most grocery store birds have already been injected. Many cut the salt in their turkey brine in half. I brine for an hour per pound.

A good option, nothing but home grown free range birds for my bride however.

Thanks everybody. And ya gona brine the bird the night before. Also had it suggested to me to stuff the inner cavity of the bird with sliced apples and celery to help cook more evenly and keep moist? Try it can’t hurt I suppose.

Thanks. I think i will try a citrus brine

Dink buster wrote:

Thanks everybody. And ya gona brine the bird the night before. Also had it suggested to me to stuff the inner cavity of the bird with sliced apples and celery to help cook more evenly and keep moist? Try it can’t hurt I suppose.

Things like celery, onions or apples provide some flavor and moisture because of their high moisture content. You should also include some aromatic herbs like poultry blend, sage, thyme & rosemary.

Brine then spatchcock that bird. I use red oak for nearly everything great mild smoke flavor plus burns hot and long. I use a stick burner so I don’t have a lot of choices in wood. I get apple or cherry now and again if I can find it but red or white oak is everywhere.

Not sure where everyone is located but I have more cherry than I can use in a lifetime. I’m about 35 minutes SW of Rochester MN.

sji wrote:

Not sure where everyone is located but I have more cherry than I can use in a lifetime. I’m about 35 minutes SW of Rochester MN.

I’m near Duluth so too far to go to shag wood but if you were closer we would be talking! Thanks for the offer! Sounds like the rest of the guys here are using pellet poopers so they buy pellets not wood.

I like any of the sweeter woods for Turkey. IMO there are 2 kinds of smoking for a turkey, a low and slow process for a finished product like sliced turkey deli meat, and a faster hotter process to serve for a Turkey dinner. I prefer, and have done, the second option for Thanksgiving, and will brine the turkey in a water, salt, brown sugar and apple cider solution. Then cook it like a regular turkey on the grill (350ish degrees) with heavy apple wood right away then let the coals finish it and it turns out excellent. That is my plan this year as well.

I am going to spatchcock a turkey on Wednesday, then fry a turkey on Thanksgiving day. I may do them both the same day, because spatchcocking it on the smoker will not take super long at 325 to 350 degrees.
I am going to use a few nice chunks of apple and pecan.
Not sure if I am going to brine it first though.

Spatchcocking is the way to go for a more even cook!

Before I came across the cherry trees I used oak. Drilled half inch holes part way through and kept filling them with Windsor black cherry whiskey untill no more would soak in. Gives the bird a whole new flavor.

I’ve used apple, hickory, maple & cherry. All good! I brined overnight in a cooler on the back deck outside. I can get 3 birds in my smoker at a time and I like to debone two, vac seal & freeze. Makes easy meals for later or we use it for salads & sammiches too

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