Tips For Smoking A Turkey

Smoking a turkey isn’t exactly a new way to prepare the bird. In fact, the practice has been around for a long time. For as many generations as anyone can remember, roasting a turkey in the oven has been the standard way to cook the bird. Oven roasted turkey has long been the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner, and often the Christmas dinner as well. Not too many years ago, deep frying a turkey became all the rage. Around Halloween, deep frying pots and cooking oil, formulated especially for deep-frying a turkey, would make an appearance in various retail outlets. Deep frying a turkey is arguably a better way to maximize the flavor of cooked turkey, but not necessarily the healthiest way to prepare the bird.

A Smoker Can Be A Good Investment

So, where does smoking a turkey fit into the picture? Those who regularly practice the art of smoking a turkey will tell you, as far as the taste is concerned, smoked turkey is far superior to any other method commonly used. If you want a smoked turkey for your next Thanksgiving meal, and can’t find one in the stores, the obvious first step is to purchase a smoker, if you don’t already have one. Smokers are not terribly expensive, and well worth the price. With a smoker you can enjoy smoked salmon, smoked trout, smoked elk, smoked venison, and just about any other kind of meat that lends itself to smoking.

Make sure you get a smoker that’s large enough to easily handle the size of bird you normally would purchase. If you enjoy doing projects and live in a place where you can build an outdoor smoker, get a set of plans and go for it! Once you have a smoker, prepare or purchase some hardwood chips; cherry or apple chips are best. The packaged chips you’ll find in the store, a sporting goods store being a good place to look for them, are often hickory chips. They are also fine for smoking a turkey.  Then arm yourself with a good meat thermometer and find a good recipe for smoked turkey. There are some great ones on the web.

You’re going to have to give yourself plenty of time to smoke an average size bird. The temperature in a smoker is usually a little less than the temperature you would cook a turkey in an oven, so it is going to take a while longer to cook the turkey. Figure about 35 minutes per pound as a rule of thumb. Smoking a turkey that weighs in at 10 pounds is going to take just under 6 hours. If you have an 18 or 20 pound bird, just do the math. Your average smoked turkey expert will probably suggest you get two 10 pound birds instead a single larger one. Otherwise, you might find yourself getting up very early Thanksgiving morning to fire up the smoker.

As far as preparing the turkey for smoking, there are several alternatives. The turkey can be placed in the smoker as-is, without any embellishments. Some like to soak the turkey in brine, and others cover the bird with a specially prepared turkey dip. One suggestion worth heeding is to cover the skin with olive oil, or pat it all over with butter. This helps keep the skin moist during the smoking process. You’ll probably want to baste the turkey once or twice during the smoking process to help keep the skin moist.

Pink Meat Is OK

The smoker should be at about 225º when the turkey is placed in it, and should be maintained at or near that temperature. The meat in the turkey will not get quite that hot. As a rule of thumb, the turkey will be ready when the meat thermometer registers 165º in two or more places. It should be noted that the color of the white meat will often look a little pinkish when the turkey has cooked. This is natural for smoked turkey, and is not an indication that the bird as been undercooked.

There is a note of caution worth mentioning when smoking a turkey, or most any other meat for that matter. Meat is safe when frozen or chilled. It is also safe after it has become fairly hot during cooking. There is a danger zone, however, when it comes to smoking meats. Raw meat can spoil if kept warm for too long. There is always the danger of salmonella. When you take smaller pieces of meat from the refrigerator and place them in a heated smoker, there is little if any risk involved. A very large bird, say a 20 pound turkey can take some time to heat up. The meat will be in the warm danger zone longer than a small cut of meat would be. That is another reason for smoking two 8 pound turkeys instead of one larger 16 pound turkey. Smoking an 8 to 10 pound turkey should be perfectly safe as long as you haven’t let the raw meat sit out in the sun for a couple of hours. It’s just that with a larger bird, the risk that the meat may go bad increases.

Having said that, enjoy your smoked turkey!