Smoked Turkey

Alas, the inevitable post about the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal. There are so many variations on the classic and everyone has their favorite. Won’t you comment below and share yours?

This bird was my first one done in the Big Green Egg. My father smoked the Thanksgiving turkey and the taste was beyond compare. He and his best friend, Bill McMillin, would also smoke multiple turkeys and take them to families in the area…never as an outward act of charity, but always as a “thank you” for something they had done or helped them with during the year. I fondly remember the smell of hickory smoke (my dad would go out and clip fresh twigs from the hickory trees on our property) ever-present in the air for days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Mine smoked with apple wood and included a 12-hour swim in the ocean to help the muscle proteins take on water for additional moisture during cooking. I also cook mine a little hotter than he did (325F) because it helps to render the fat out of the skin and produce a more crispy finish.

Ingredients:

Brine

2 gallons water

2 cups kosher salt

1 cup sugar

2 yellow onions, quartered

6 sprigs rosemary

Rind of 1 orange

Turkey

1 12-pound turkey

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lemons, quartered

2 sprigs rosemary

Freshly ground black pepper

Garlic powder

Rubbed Thyme

Directions:

Brine the turkey

Combine all the brine ingredients in a large food safe container. Stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove giblets from the turkey and place in the brine. Add a large quantity of ice to keep cold and cover. Brine for 12 hours, adding more ice as needed to keep brine cold. Remove from the brine and rinse. If not cooking immediately, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

Cook the turkey

Soak apple (or other wood of your choice) chunks in water at least an hour before the cook.

Prepare the Big Green Egg and pre-heat to 325F. As the Egg heats up, prepare the turkey by rubbing with olive oil and seasoning generously with pepper, garlic powder and thyme. Fill the cavity with lemon quarters and rosemary.

Add the wood chunks to the pre-headed Egg and insert the plate setter, legs up. Bring the temperature back to 325F. Place a drip pan on the plate setter, place a roasting rack in the drip pan and place the prepared turkey in the roasting rack.

Cook until the turkey breast reaches 165F. Remove, cover with foil and let rest 15-20 minutes before carving.