Caribou Gear Tarp

Smoked Turkey

Glad you pointed that out. The butterball we have from Costco says “natural “ on it but actually has a 4% brine solution of salt, water and spices according to the label.
Yeah I went back to the store and all of the other ones even the more expensive organic all had at least a 6% solution added.
 
First attempt at this and was pleased with the outcome.

Stuffed this turkey with four apples, two onions, a big handful of garlic, a pound of butter, and two cans of Pepsi. Then liberally rubbed the outside with minced garlic and Alpine Touch.

Smoked it for 10 hours at 250 over Hickory. Lotta power in those juices.

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Most store bought turkeys are injected with an 8% brine solution unless they are labeled as "natural". Brining might make it a bit too salty.
Glad you pointed that out I have a butterball in fridge I was planning on brining the same as last years wild turkeys guess I’ll have to add less salt. Thanks for the tip I’ve never really paid attention to notice that
 
First attempt at this and was pleased with the outcome.

Stuffed this turkey with four apples, two onions, a big handful of garlic, a pound of butter, and two cans of Pepsi. Then liberally rubbed the outside with minced garlic and Alpine Touch.

Smoked it for 10 hours at 250 over Hickory. Lotta power in those juices.

View attachment 163317

View attachment 163318
Was it smoked uncovered for the entire process? Looks awesome.
 
First attempt at this and was pleased with the outcome.

Stuffed this turkey with four apples, two onions, a big handful of garlic, a pound of butter, and two cans of Pepsi. Then liberally rubbed the outside with minced garlic and Alpine Touch.

Smoked it for 10 hours at 250 over Hickory. Lotta power in those juices.

View attachment 163317

View attachment 163318
Appears to me it's breast side down?
 
Anyone like a dry brine over wet brine? Was thinking of going dry this time around.
I way prefer a dry brine of coarse kosher salt for 24 hours, then dust up with a salt free dry rub and inject with apple juice before going onto the smoker. Spatchcocked of course.
 
I brined this 18lb turkey from Costco for 24hrs and fired up the smoker this past Sunday. 2 hours of smoke and then turned up to 325. Basted with melted butter every 30min. It was stuffed with some apples and onions also. Seasoned with a local garlic/parsley/black pepper seasoning also. Everyone agreed it was the best turkey they had ever eaten. Couldn’t argue with that. 80DD9413-36BA-497B-BBE5-AC17434B7ABD.jpeg
CB721297-62DC-4406-8EBA-E5622BB85C7C.jpeg
 
I brined this 18lb turkey from Costco for 24hrs and fired up the smoker this past Sunday. 2 hours of smoke and then turned up to 325. Basted with melted butter every 30min. It was stuffed with some apples and onions also. Seasoned with a local garlic/parsley/black pepper seasoning also. Everyone agreed it was the best turkey they had ever eaten. Couldn’t argue with that. View attachment 163476
View attachment 163477
So because it was a larger bird, you kicked up the temps to avoid bacteria problems that might occur at lower temps? Looks like you smoked breast side down. Looks great.
 
So because it was a larger bird, you kicked up the temps to avoid bacteria problems that might occur at lower temps? Looks like you smoked breast side down. Looks great.
I was kind of just winging it. I followed a brine recipe but cut the salt in 1/2 since my seasoning had salt also. I added a few things to the brine while bringing it to a boil also like apples, orange slices, fresh thyme and basil and some chicken stock and can of beer. Once it cooled I filled the cooler and topped it off with water and some ice to keep the temp around 40.
I smoked it breast side up but flipped it once I turned the heat up. I also rotated it every hour so the ends wouldn’t cook to fast. If you have the time I would smoke it a bit longer but I had a time crunch. It took almost 3 hours at 325 for the thighs to hit almost 180 and then I pulled it and cover it with foil and let it rest for 30min. It was one of the juiciest birds I’ve done. I smoked one last year but this one came out even better.
 
Reading up smoked turkeys, I found that one has to be careful with larger birds due to temperature/bacteria problems. Cooking birds low and slow may cause bacteria growth. The remedy is to kick the heat up to cause less opportunity for that growth to happen. From what I've seen, 250-275 can overcome the problem, 325 does for sure.
 
Am I the only one who read this and wondered about the cans? Did they explode, is the aluminum even good for you, if you drink it afterwards is it Smokey??? 🤣
LOL.

When you mix two cans of Pepsi with a pound of butter, it turns into this kind of foamy conglomerate. I separated the skin from the meat and rubbed it into there as well as stuffed it inside with the apples and onions. There were no cans involved in the cooking. :)

If you are a Coke person I think they would be interchangeable.
 

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