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Summary
Let's be honest...a natural turkey can be very dry and bland, especially the white meat. Traditionally we've used gravy to address this problem, but recently people have been turning to flavor brining to add moisture and flavor to whole turkey. You can learn more about flavor brining and the science behind it in the All About Brining topic. The brine I've used here couldn't be simpler--just water, kosher salt, and brown sugar. The mixture adds flavor and moisture to the meat, but does not make the meat taste overly salty or sweet. After brining, I applied a Creole seasoning, but you can use your favorite barbecue rub. Just don't go overboard on the salt in the rub, since the turkey has already been seasoned by the brine. I originally posted this topic based on a turkey I cooked on March 18, 2001, but I've revised the topic based on a more recent attempt on December 7, 2002. As always...click on any of the pictures to view a larger image. Selecting And Preparing The Turkey
This is a 12.17 pound Albertsons Natural Turkey, just your basic, frozen supermarket turkey that has not been enhanced with a flavor solution.
The turkey is now ready for brining. Brining The Turkey
There are three things you need to do in preparation for brining:
See All About Brining and Food Grade Plastic Containers For Brining for information about selecting an appropriate container, including alternatives like ice chests or turkey roasting bags inside non-food safe containers. These pictures show a 4-gallon plastic barbecue sauce bucket that I got for free from a local barbecue joint. Remember that the bigger the container, the more brine you'll have to make, so try to match the size of the container to the turkey. To determine how much brine to prepare, place the turkey into the container and cover with cool water. Remove the turkey from the container and measure the water--that's the amount of brine you'll need. For a 12-14 pound turkey, 2-3 gallons of brine should be sufficient. Two gallons of brine were required for this turkey. Here's the recipe I used. As I said before, it couldn't be simpler.
Notice in Picture 1 that I included about 4 cups of ice cubes as part of the 2 gallons of water used to make the brine. This is an optional step that helps cool the brine. Put the turkey in the brine breast side down. Place a heavy plate or bowl on top to keep the bird submerged, if necessary. Brine for 8 hours. Since brining does not preserve meat, the turkey and the brine solution must be kept below 40°F throughout the entire brining process. Applying The Rub
About an hour before you plan to start cooking, remove the turkey from the brine. Rinse the bird under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. This removes sugar from the skin and prevent burning during cooking. Tuck the wings under the body to keep them out of the way during cooking. For a neat appearance, pin the neck skin down to the back using toothpicks or skewers, and tie the legs together using kitchen twine. Apply a light coat of canola oil or other vegetable oil to the turkey, then sprinkle with your favorite rub inside and out. Remember, go light on the salt in the rub. I used a Creole seasoning inspired by one I saw on the deep-fried turkey episode of Martha Stewart Living.
Let the turkey stand at room temperature while you light the cooker. Stoking The Cooker
Light the cooker using the Standard Method described on the Firing Up Your Weber Bullet page. Two chimneys of charcoal should be sufficient for three hours of cooking in the 325-350°F range under normal weather conditions. I began by dumping a Weber chimney full of hot Kingsford charcoal briquettes into the charcoal chamber, then spreading another full chimney of unlit briquettes over the lit coals. When the coals were good and hot, I placed three medium-sized chunks of dry apple wood on the fire and assembled the cooker. Choose a mild smoke wood that will compliment the mild flavor of turkey. I put the empty, foil-lined water pan in place and set all the bottom vents at 50% open. I set the top vent 100% open and left it that way throughout the entire cook. After assembling the cooker, I immediately put the turkey on the top cooking grate, breast side up, then inserted a Polder probe thermometer vertically into the deepest part of the breast, parallel to the breast bone. Details Of The Cook
Roast the turkey at 325-350°F until it reaches 160-165°F in the breast and 170-175°F in the thigh, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours for a 12-14 pound turkey. Remember that a brined turkey tends to cook a little faster than an unbrined one, so keep a close eye on the internal meat temperature. This is where a probe thermometer like the Polder comes in handy. The cooker was well over 350° when I put the turkey on, but it dropped to 337°F within 10 minutes. I did not baste or turn the turkey during cooking. If you take a close look at this photo, you'll notice that I placed the turkey in a smoking bag, sort of a stretchy cheesecloth bag used for smoking hams and turkeys. This was an experiment to see if the bag would moderate the browning of the skin. It did, to some extent, but a layer of regular cheesecloth would work just as well. Frankly, I can't recommend that you try this. Your turkey will look just fine without using cheesecloth or foil to control skin color. Here's how the cooker and meat temperatures went during the three hour cook:
C'est Si Bon!
At 1:00pm, the thermometer registered 165°F in the breast. I placed the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet and allowed it to rest for 20 minutes before carving. The internal temp rose 7°F to 172°F during this time. Do not cover with foil, as this will cause the skin to go soft. Picture 1 shows the result. Right out of the cooker, the skin looked a little dry, but was nice and moist after the rest. I carved the turkey following the steps outlined on the Turkey Selection & Preparation page. Using an electric knife, I cut the breast meat into perfect 1/4" slices, as shown in Picture 2. The meat was very moist, tender, and flavorful throughout, especially the breast meat. The Creole spices provided just a little bit of heat, and the skin was nice to eat thanks to the high cooking temperature. Collecting Pan Drippings For Gravy
There are three common ways to collect pan drippings when smoking a turkey:
Assuming you don't over smoke the turkey, the drippings will be perfect for making gravy—in fact, they're already seasoned by any rub applied to the turkey. As you remove the turkey from the cooker, pour any accumulated juices inside the body cavity into the pan. You can also use the juices left in the bottom of a rimmed baking pan after letting the turkey rest before carving. It's not uncommon to end up with about 1-1/2 cups of drippings (Photo 10). If you don't have any drippings, make the delicious turkey giblet gravy described on The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board using the giblets, aromatic vegetables, chicken stock, white wine, and seasonings. More Turkey Links On TVWB
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