Breaking down and smoking a turkey?

[Leo_Benson]

Hi, I have an extra Thanksgiving turkey defrosting in the refrigerator. I’d like to smoke it in my small propane smoker. Any advice? I need to break it down, never done that before but there’s plenty of you tubes. I’ve got a variety of wood chips, all kinds of stuff for a dry rub, beer, wine, apple juice I can use in the pan.
I’d be grateful for any tips.
Thanks!

[propchef]

Great tips!

- Brining isn't "curing" but does a few things. Flavor, of course, but it helps the very lean meat retain moisture. It also give you some "wiggle room" around doneness. IOW, if you overcook it it doesn't dry out.
- Soy sauce should be avoided in any brine as it throws off the salt %. A turkey shouldn't be brined longer than 24 hours. A chicken can be brined in about 90 minutes.
- For the meat to take the smoke, let the sit in the refrigerator UNCOVERED for a few hours. The surface of the meat will dry and become tacky. This is known as a "pellicle" gives something for the smoke to adhere to.
- Gas is a very dry heat and will pull the moisture out of anything it cooks. Seasoned wood has the most moisture with lump charcoal a close second.
- Smoking chips. Use the largest size chips you can find. Some brands are nearly sawdust. Avoid these.
- It isn't necessary to soak chips. The fire will only dry the chips first, and only then will they produce smoke. The key is to keep the o2 levels low by using the lid or draft doors.
- DON'T OVERSMOKE. A large turkey only needs about 30 minutes of actual smoke. I try to add my smoking chips about 30 minutes into the cooking process. Over smoking is bad.
- Get a good wireless thermometer. Dark meat needs to be 180 but the breast is done at 165. The automatic "pop-up" timers go off somewhere between 190 and 225.
- Save the bones and make stock!

Here's my video on how to cut a chicken. It's the same anatomy for a turkey.

https://youtu.be/k6g0wClvASM

[Leo_Benson]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, much appreciated!

[Leo_Benson]

gkainz wrote:
Do you need to break it down because of smoker rack size? Consider spatchcocking the bird if you can fit it in your smoker. Everything lays flat and gets even smoke and heat.
Also, I smoke poultry as hot as I can get my smoker - ignoring the smoker's mantra of "everything low and slow". Basically, I'm oven roasting birds in my smoker. Eliminates the rubbery skin problem and produces a nice crispy skin.
I can easily get 325-350° in both my wood fired and propane fired smokers.

Yes exactly, due to the rack size.

[garmp]

When making your brine add about a good 1/3 to 1/2 a fifth of cheap bourbon. Not necessarily the cheapest bourbon as you might want to sip on it during the cook.

[Tal_IL]

I do a lot of turkeys for us and for others in either a charcoal grill, pellet smoker, or wood fired smoker. We haven't cooked a turkey in an oven in decades.

I always do turkeys at 300 - 325 degrees with hickory smoke.

I never bother with brining, unless someone wants that salt and brown sugar cure flavor. Nearly all frozen turkeys are already injected with brine at 8 - 10 %. Read the fine print on the packaging and you will see something like this, which is from Butterball packaging:

"Ingredients: Whole Young Turkey Contains up to 8% of a solution of water, salt, spices and natural flavor."

Realized I didn't address breaking down the bird. If it fits in the smoker, even if it's a tight fit, I'd cook it whole. The bird below just barely fit in a Davy Crockett smoker.

Also, here is a link to cooking a turkey in a Weber style grill..

[Super_Dave]

Just my opinion but slow smoking poultry is a huge waste of time. There is no muscle tissue to breakdown. Smoke at 250 degrees or above for me. And like oven roasting, use a meat thermometer to prevent over cooking and a dry bird.

[Super_Dave]

If you are close to a market, my mom used to take the bird to the meat department and they would split the bird on the bandsaw.

I like to brine the bird at the ratio of 45 mins - 60 mins per pound. I've found that going longer changes the texture of the meat for the worse.

[theoldwizard1]

As for "breaking down", just remove the thighs, legs and wings. You can put them on ice and do them as the second batch.

I have smoked whole turkeys in a full sized Weber Kettle Grill. The trick is to find the special charcoal holders that hold it over to the side.

I have not brined/soaked it pre-smoking, nor have I applied any rub. I am smoking rookie, so I probably had the grill too hot for a true smoking. If you do use a kettle with side charcoal holders, watch how fast the coals burn. You will probably have to add more and it the old ones have burned very low, it is hard to get the additional ones lit.

DO NOT STUFF YOUR TURKEY ! The stuffing picks up too much of the smoke taste.

[Vintage465]

Y-Guy wrote:
I've never used a propane smoker, only a pellet smoker so your mileage may vary.
I always (always) brine my turkey for at least 24 hours. IMHO doesn't matter what brine you use but its a must do for me. The Traeger Orange Brine and Turkey Rub kit is good, but Costco has one and spice island turkey brine kit worked well for us too.

Day of my smoke I drain the turkey, pat it down well. Put some rub (I like the
McCormick Smokehouse Maple Seasoning) use about 2 table spoons to coat the cavity, the more outside. Also separate the skin from the meat and spread butter around. Sometimes I mix the butter in with seasoning. Letting it rest in the fridge for an hour is nice but honestly I've only done it a few times.


Then I fire up the smoker and set the "Smoke" or about 180-225° generally for about 4 hours or until you hit about 110° internal temperature, then increase the smoker to 350° until your internal temp reaches 160° - depending on your setup the total time on the grill might be 4 hours, I just don't know enough about a propane smoker to help on that aspect.

Good luck & enjoy!

There would be little I could add to this. Be certain your brine is real cold, like ice cold or in a fridge over night. I make my own simple brine with 1/2 cup salt 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup soy sauce. Kinda fun to add some fresh garlic smashed up and maybe some rosemary. Brining is real important to the great flavor of a smoked turkey as the salt penetrates the meat it takes water with it and that keeps it real moist at the time of completion as well as enhancing the flavor. I never need to "part the bird out" but breaking down the turkey shouldn't be to difficult if it's thawed. Just cut at the joints. I would prolly separate the back...then cut the bird in half and brine it along with the back. If you remove the leg/thigh from the carcass it will cook easier but you will lose a certain amount of moisture that way. If you do the brine above wiht chicken overnight and smoked whole, the results are outrageous.
Have fun!

[gkainz]

Do you need to break it down because of smoker rack size? Consider spatchcocking the bird if you can fit it in your smoker. Everything lays flat and gets even smoke and heat.
Also, I smoke poultry as hot as I can get my smoker - ignoring the smoker's mantra of "everything low and slow". Basically, I'm oven roasting birds in my smoker. Eliminates the rubbery skin problem and produces a nice crispy skin.
I can easily get 325-350° in both my wood fired and propane fired smokers.

[dedmiston]

I respect Y-Guy as a cook and a smoker, and I don't disagree with his method. I do mine differently though.

I cut the backbone out of mine and flatten it out for more even cooking. It's called Spatchcock style, and you can find plenty of YouTube videos for instructions. Picture the way they grill the birds at El Pollo Loco.

I do mine at 325* to get crispier skin.

I use Susie Bulloch's pork/chicken run recipe and absolutely love it.

https://heygrillhey.com/best-sweet-rub-grilled-pork-chicken/

[Y-Guy]

I've never used a propane smoker, only a pellet smoker so your mileage may vary.
I always (always) brine my turkey for at least 24 hours. IMHO doesn't matter what brine you use but its a must do for me. The Traeger Orange Brine and Turkey Rub kit is good, but Costco has one and spice island turkey brine kit worked well for us too.

Day of my smoke I drain the turkey, pat it down well. Put some rub (I like the
McCormick Smokehouse Maple Seasoning) use about 2 table spoons to coat the cavity, the more outside. Also separate the skin from the meat and spread butter around. Sometimes I mix the butter in with seasoning. Letting it rest in the fridge for an hour is nice but honestly I've only done it a few times.

Then I fire up the smoker and set the "Smoke" or about 180-225° generally for about 4 hours or until you hit about 110° internal temperature, then increase the smoker to 350° until your internal temp reaches 160° - depending on your setup the total time on the grill might be 4 hours, I just don't know enough about a propane smoker to help on that aspect.

Good luck & enjoy!