MR. BMJ
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Staff Member
- Sep 21, 2011
- 2,887
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It came out pretty good. I did the same as last year and skinned the bird and spatchcocked it.....yum, cock. <----for @jipped genes & @Lizard King
I do not think I brined it last year (2022). This bird was a little bigger than I should have cooked. I like mine anywhere between 15-17# as they just cook much easier and have less of a chance of drying out. My smoker (and my time) is not big enough to fit 2 smaller turkeys in it, so I usually go with a 18-20# bird for Thanksgiving since there are so many people, but this year it was a 22#'r. I think last year's bird was 20'ish pounds. I made sure to brine it this year due to the size. I either brine or inject my birds, and i've never done both for the same Turkey...so this was something new. I also skinned the turkey before putting it into the brine, and I think it worked out better, and it was way easier to deal with after pulling it out of the brine. I did a 24-hour brine.
For my brines, I always use Alton Brown's brine recipe for his honey brined turkey as my backbone. Then, I add what I want to it like.....half an onion, 1/4-1/3c of extra seasoning, a bundle of fresh rosemary/thyme tied together, a cinnamon stick, a few sweet tea bags, peppercorns, bay leaves, etc. If I had a choice between brining and injecting, I think i'd go with brining, it just brings a lot more flavor and moisture to the meat.
Anyway, I pulled the bird out of the brine, dried it off, torn out the backbone and spatchcocked the bastard. Then I trimmed it up a little. I just tore off the leg quarters from the breasts, lol. Made it so much easier, especially since they were just hanging there. Besides, it doesn't matter because it all gets cut up in the end anyway.
Anyway, after dried and trimming, I used the Swine Life recipe and injected it with 2 sticks of butter and about a 1/2c of Louisiana hot sauce that I mixed together. Whatever seeped out, I just rubbed it over the bird as a binder for my rub. I just threw a bunch of stuff together for my rub, but mostly paprika, dried honey, sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, another mixed seasoning I had bought, etc. I put some Cajun seasoning on it first, then doused it with the rub I made. I let that sit and went out to turn my smoker on....went with 285F.
I let the bird smoke for 2 hours, then I transferred it to a large foil pan. I drizzled 2 more stick of butter onto it. I had some fresh garlic and rosemary/thyme marinating in it for extra flavor. I poured that over it and then wrapped it up tight in foil and cooked it for about 2'ish hours in the over at 300F until it hit 155F. I needed to free up my smoker to cook/smoke my green beans so that's why I used the oven, lol.
When it hit 155F, I took it out of the oven, took off the foil, and then used a 1/2-1/2 concoction (MMMmmmm...cock) of Louisianna hot sauce and apple cider vinegar as a glaze. Put it back on the smoker until it hit 165F.
I let it rest for 20-30 minutes and then sliced it up.
Pics below of some of the steps when I remembered, lol.
I also made the corn dish, dressing/stuffing (not in bird), green beans, and a pasta dish for the picky-ass kids.
I do not think I brined it last year (2022). This bird was a little bigger than I should have cooked. I like mine anywhere between 15-17# as they just cook much easier and have less of a chance of drying out. My smoker (and my time) is not big enough to fit 2 smaller turkeys in it, so I usually go with a 18-20# bird for Thanksgiving since there are so many people, but this year it was a 22#'r. I think last year's bird was 20'ish pounds. I made sure to brine it this year due to the size. I either brine or inject my birds, and i've never done both for the same Turkey...so this was something new. I also skinned the turkey before putting it into the brine, and I think it worked out better, and it was way easier to deal with after pulling it out of the brine. I did a 24-hour brine.
For my brines, I always use Alton Brown's brine recipe for his honey brined turkey as my backbone. Then, I add what I want to it like.....half an onion, 1/4-1/3c of extra seasoning, a bundle of fresh rosemary/thyme tied together, a cinnamon stick, a few sweet tea bags, peppercorns, bay leaves, etc. If I had a choice between brining and injecting, I think i'd go with brining, it just brings a lot more flavor and moisture to the meat.
Anyway, I pulled the bird out of the brine, dried it off, torn out the backbone and spatchcocked the bastard. Then I trimmed it up a little. I just tore off the leg quarters from the breasts, lol. Made it so much easier, especially since they were just hanging there. Besides, it doesn't matter because it all gets cut up in the end anyway.
Anyway, after dried and trimming, I used the Swine Life recipe and injected it with 2 sticks of butter and about a 1/2c of Louisiana hot sauce that I mixed together. Whatever seeped out, I just rubbed it over the bird as a binder for my rub. I just threw a bunch of stuff together for my rub, but mostly paprika, dried honey, sugar, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, another mixed seasoning I had bought, etc. I put some Cajun seasoning on it first, then doused it with the rub I made. I let that sit and went out to turn my smoker on....went with 285F.
I let the bird smoke for 2 hours, then I transferred it to a large foil pan. I drizzled 2 more stick of butter onto it. I had some fresh garlic and rosemary/thyme marinating in it for extra flavor. I poured that over it and then wrapped it up tight in foil and cooked it for about 2'ish hours in the over at 300F until it hit 155F. I needed to free up my smoker to cook/smoke my green beans so that's why I used the oven, lol.
When it hit 155F, I took it out of the oven, took off the foil, and then used a 1/2-1/2 concoction (MMMmmmm...cock) of Louisianna hot sauce and apple cider vinegar as a glaze. Put it back on the smoker until it hit 165F.
I let it rest for 20-30 minutes and then sliced it up.
Pics below of some of the steps when I remembered, lol.
I also made the corn dish, dressing/stuffing (not in bird), green beans, and a pasta dish for the picky-ass kids.
