GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Ye Olde Smoker Thread

Ramon64124

Drag Racing Champion
I Brined a turkey for about 36HRS and smoked it last Thursday and it is honestly the best tasting one I've ever had. Was not gamey at all, Juicy, and it was very very tender. I don't think 'll be trying any other way for now. It was done in my Pit Boss classic using Hickory pellets.
 

brat_burner

Autocross Champion
I Brined a turkey for about 36HRS and smoked it last Thursday and it is honestly the best tasting one I've ever had. Was not gamey at all, Juicy, and it was very very tender. I don't think 'll be trying any other way for now. It was done in my Pit Boss classic using Hickory pellets.

I haven’t brined one that long before. How was the skin?
 

Charlotte.:R

Autocross Champion
This was part of my problem when I first started. I was doing too much monitoring, less monitoring actually yielded a better product. :ROFLMAO:

Yeah, I actually leave it alone and resist the temptation to keep checking it. The great news is nobody in the fam really knows what the process entails, so I just sit outside and let my crazy in laws do their thing.....Wifes parents are divorced, remarried, and hate each other with a fiery passion, so escaping to the backyard is like my safe space.

I Brined a turkey for about 36HRS and smoked it last Thursday and it is honestly the best tasting one I've ever had. Was not gamey at all, Juicy, and it was very very tender. I don't think 'll be trying any other way for now. It was done in my Pit Boss classic using Hickory pellets.

I've never brined a turkey before, but this year I'm having it brined by the butcher. Excited to see how it turns out.
 

NoGodGetOverIt

Autocross Champion
Skin was good! Was salted throughout, and decently Crispy. I did let it rest in plain water for aboout 1-2 hours to remove some of the salt from the brine.
Maybe the plain water rest is the secret. I brined a turkey for 24 hours one year and, while the dark sections were awesome, the breast had the texture of luncheon meat. It was super-tender, but just not what you think of when you think turkey breast. This year, I'm planning to brine for 10 hours (10 lb bird), but I think I'll follow your lead and give it a clean water bath to expel excess salt.
 

brat_burner

Autocross Champion
Maybe the plain water rest is the secret. I brined a turkey for 24 hours one year and, while the dark sections were awesome, the breast had the texture of luncheon meat. It was super-tender, but just not what you think of when you think turkey breast. This year, I'm planning to brine for 10 hours (10 lb bird), but I think I'll follow your lead and give it a clean water bath to expel excess salt.

I've only done around 24, and then rinse with plain water. I thought the breast meat was pretty on point. I've tried different ways in attempting to make the skin crispier but I'm not sure if it was possible in my old smoker. Maybe it was just the bird?

Also, do you guys just use salt/water or whip up a fancy brine?
 

Ramon64124

Drag Racing Champion
I've only done around 24, and then rinse with plain water. I thought the breast meat was pretty on point. I've tried different ways in attempting to make the skin crispier but I'm not sure if it was possible in my old smoker. Maybe it was just the bird?

Also, do you guys just use salt/water or whip up a fancy brine?

I used a store bought Brine from Bed Bath and Beyond that was like 8.99 and just added some vinegar to it.
 

NoGodGetOverIt

Autocross Champion
I've only done around 24, and then rinse with plain water. I thought the breast meat was pretty on point. I've tried different ways in attempting to make the skin crispier but I'm not sure if it was possible in my old smoker. Maybe it was just the bird?

Also, do you guys just use salt/water or whip up a fancy brine?
I used water, salt, cinnamon stick, a couple of star anise, bay leaves, peppercorns, and fresh thyme.

I know Kenji Lopez-Alt recommends coating chicken wings with a mixture of baking powder and salt to make the skin crispy during oven-roasting...maybe this could work for the turkey as well? The coating is used to pull the moisture out of the skin in the refrigerator for a few hours before the wings are cooked.
 

virpacalis

Go Kart Newbie
IMG_2316.jpg
 

CowTownRacer

Drag Racing Champion
The key to brining a bird is letting it dry for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge after you brine it. That way the skin gets nice and crispy!

I normally smoke a turkey, but my mom is here and she's in the no smoked turkey camp. Also, my wife and I just had a baby girl 2 weeks ago, so I told my mom she was in charge of the meal!
 

GTI Jake

Autocross Champion
Finally giving this smoking business a try, the wife and kids got me this for my birthday (which fell on Thanksgiving this year).

I held off on using it yesterday when I assembled it because the wife ordered door seals for it (she knows I can’t leave anything stock lol). Amazon dropped the ball on those so I did Ribs in the oven which still came out great thanks to Miller Highlife and liquid smoke at 250 for 4 hours before draining, flipping, basting and broiling on low to char them a bit.

Cleaned & brine the bird yesterday then injected with hot sauce/butter first thing this morning. Started at 6am so we’ll see how this goes.


 
Top