Mmm...Smoking is for the birds too!

I admit it, I can be a real cheapskate when it comes to groceries and this past Thanksgiving was no exception. Since I'm a more frugal shopper than my wife, and since we're trying to spend less and save more, I do the majority of the grocery buying in the house. So I was pleased when the Wal-Mart around the corner underwent an extreme makeover and added on a large supermarket section.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I was in that section and noted that the cheap frozen turkeys were on sale for 38 cents a pound (as opposed to the major grocery chains selling the same cheap frozen turkey for 99 cents a pound). As I elbowed my way to the freezer, I noticed that frozen butterballs were a nickel more at 43 cents a pound and I bought two. The first one (big boy at around 18 lbs) went into the deep fryer on that Thursday and the other one (little brother at about 11 pounds) went into the freezer.

This past weekend, I decided to throw it on the smoker to see how it would do. Here's what happened:

1) I removed bird from freezer on Thursday to let it thaw. Turkeys need to thaw before you cook them and it always takes forever, so start early, but keep it refrigerated or cold to keep the micro-bugs from growing and sending you on an express trip to the Emergency Room.

2) Beginning Saturday, I cooked up a nice brine to soak bird in. I started brining my turkeys a few years back (instead of injecting with butter) and I think it makes for a much juicier cooked bird. There are any number of recipes out there, but basically you need some liquid and some salt. What else you throw in (and at what quantity) is up to you and will subtly flavor your meat. You can tell below that my recipe is not too precise. This time I used:

• water, 
• a little less than a cupful of table salt (you can use kosher or sea salt if you like, but I went with what I had in the cupboard), 
• about three cups of peach/apple juice from Trader Joes,
• a cup of sugar,
• a few good shakes of Lawry's seasoned salt,
• about a cup of some kind of salt-free organic all-purpose seasoning blend from Costco,
• few tablespoons of fresh-ground black pepper. 

I boiled it all together so the salt and sugar were mixed in and cooled it with ice cubes. I lined a five-gallon bucket with a plastic liner, put my bird in (after washing and removing the neck and little bag full of nasty turky guts), covered with the brine and filled it up with cold water. Then back into the fridge overnight.

3) Sunday morning, I pulled out the bird and rinsed it thoroughly, making sure to get the brine off and patted it dry with a paper towel. Then I worked my fingers under the top layer of skin and separated it from the meat. I didn't want to pull it all off, just work it off enough to be able to get my fingers between the skin and the meat since a rub won't penetrate the skin to actually flavor the meat which is what you're rubbing for.

4) I added rub to the skin, but between the skin to the meat itself. I used a poultry rub from Ashman Manufacturing called Virginia Coastal that I found in the grocery store (http://www.ashmanco.com/category-rubs.html). I did my best to get it under the skin while leaving the skin on. I also added a few shakes inside the chest cavity.

5) I put the rubbed bird back into the fridge for a few hours while I went to church to allow it to all settle together. I read this is called "The Curing Rest" (here: http://www.smoker-cooking.com/smokedturkey.html).

6) I put the bird in a foil pan, rubbed a little more rub and onto the smoke it went. 

7) 30-40 minutes per pound is the estimated cooking time at 225. I think mine took longer because it was cold and windy outside. I used lump charcoal, hickory and oak, being careful not to over-smoke it. Turkey is definitely more tender than pork or beef and it needs a little extra TLC.

8) After about three hours, I pulled it from the smoker and moved it over to my gas grill for about 90 minutes on low (offset -- meaning I turned the burner opposite where I put the turkey on to "low" and left the one right under the bird full off). I did this to reduce the smoke and because I needed room on my smoker.

9) Pulled it off at the end of about 4.5 hours and the internal temp was still lower than I wanted so I put it in the oven at 300 until it came right up to 160. Then I let it sit for about 30 minutes letting the bird firm up and the juices to move around a little.

10) DELICIOUS! That's all I can say. Even my father who is a pretty timid eater when it comes to smoke and spice said it was delectable. Everyone at the table said it was the best they'd had in a long time (which puts my standard fried turkey to shame, I guess).

11) Only thing worthy of note, the skin cooks very differently on a smoked turkey. It's not the crispy treat it usually is on a fried or roasted bird. I found it chewy, and less than tasty. Try it yourself first before you serve it to guests. I ended up just tearing off the skin and chucking it in the Dispos-All before sending the platter to the table.

Good luck!