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Got me a new smoker. Gonna try a turkey for the first time on Thursday. So, hopefully that goes well.

Not going to brine it, just going to dry brine it with salt. Put some onions, peppers, celery, carrots, and a couple sticks of thyme, sage, and rosemary in the cavity. Rub it with butter and chop up some of those spices and sprinkle them on/under the skin. Inject it with some butter and throw it on there.

Put the gibblets and some veggies in a pan under it.

Oh yeah...fill the water pan up with some water.

Anybody got any secrets?

[SHOW]

I like to brine it, spatchcock it, and smoke it. By spatchcocking it I feel like I get two benefits: done faster and has more flavor. I smoke it on the top rack and put a tray in the lower rack to catch the drippings for gravy.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:Got me a new smoker. Gonna try a turkey for the first time on Thursday. So, hopefully that goes well.

Not going to brine it, just going to dry brine it with salt. Put some onions, peppers, celery, carrots, and a couple sticks of thyme, sage, and rosemary in the cavity. Rub it with butter and chop up some of those spices and sprinkle them on/under the skin. Inject it with some butter and throw it on there.

Put the gibblets and some veggies in a pan under it.

Oh yeah...fill the water pan up with some water.

Anybody got any secrets?

[SHOW]

Any time I smoke a turkey or turkey breast I always put a half apple and half orange in the cavity. Always moist.

If you spatchcock it, how long and at what temp do you smoke it?

Fat_Bulldog wrote:
Any time I smoke a turkey or turkey breast I always put a half apple and half orange in the cavity. Always moist.

Hadn't thought of that. Sounds like a good plan.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:Got me a new smoker. Gonna try a turkey for the first time on Thursday. So, hopefully that goes well.

Not going to brine it, just going to dry brine it with salt. Put some onions, peppers, celery, carrots, and a couple sticks of thyme, sage, and rosemary in the cavity. Rub it with butter and chop up some of those spices and sprinkle them on/under the skin. Inject it with some butter and throw it on there.

Put the gibblets and some veggies in a pan under it.

Oh yeah...fill the water pan up with some water.

Anybody got any secrets?

[SHOW]

Brining is the way to go!! I've smoked turkey's for the past 3 years or so and brining makes all the difference in the world.

I have a Weber like yours and I use applewood chunks that are bigger than hardballs but smaller than softballs. It's virtually impossible to maintain a steady temp, I'm bouncing between 230-260 the whole time I'm smoking. When it dips I add some wood, then it jumps up sometimes as high as 300 for a few minutes and comes back down and settles in around 260 for a while. One thing that's a good idea with your Weber is to get a thermometer to put in the little gray rubber hole thing on the side, near the top rack. Use that to watch the temp instead of the thermometer built in at the top of the smoker. Those cheapo thermometers are not placed where you're cooking and I've used a digital oven thermometer at rack height and seen it be as much as 30 degrees different than the one in the dome. Cooking time I'm not really sure. Several hours. Until it's done. I start poking after a few hours. Sometimes I put a crutch on it, sometimes I don't. If I use a crutch I put some butter inside.

Okay. Here are my thoughts about brining. Generally, I have found that it is best to brine any meat. When in doubt, brine.

But. But. But...I'd been using an older smoker that was 'drafty' and let in a lot of air. That, in turn, dried out the meat. So, moisture was always going to be an issue. I kind of feel like with this new smoker, the meats going to be plenty moist as it is a lot more air tight and controlled...

If that's the case it just becomes an issue of taste and dry brining it will get more flavor into the meat than wet brining it.

I'm certainly not dead set on dry brine instead of wet brine. But, it's the plan right now....

You're still going to get a draft in there. The door on the Weber Smoky Mountain lets some air in. Maybe not as much as your old rig but it will let some in. Be prepared for that.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:Okay. Here are my thoughts about brining. Generally, I have found that it is best to brine any meat. When in doubt, brine.

But. But. But...I'd been using an older smoker that was 'drafty' and let in a lot of air. That, in turn, dried out the meat. So, moisture was always going to be an issue. I kind of feel like with this new smoker, the meats going to be plenty moist as it is a lot more air tight and controlled...

If that's the case it just becomes an issue of taste and dry brining it will get more flavor into the meat than wet brining it.

I'm certainly not dead set on dry brine instead of wet brine. But, it's the plan right now....

Put some fruit in the turkey. It won't dry out.