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[Trooper]

I've been having a turkey craving the past few days. I haven't done a lot of turkeys in my long smokin days.
I've usually been ordered out of the kitchen while the little lady takes over for the traditional bird fest.

But in a few weeks I want to have a small turkey thawed and ready for the Advantage. This will also be a great practice session for the holiday in the fall.

The first issue is the brining. I see that there is a turkey brining topic (chefpeppers) under the Recipes section and I'll go with that one unless anyone else wants to jump on and give me their brining suggestions. I guess I'll be looking at a overnight or a 24 hour brining time.

We'll go over other issues such as smoke time and temperature as we go down the road. Also I plan to have the camera ready when she comes out of the Advantage and hits the carving board.

Any thoughts? Jump aboard.

Additional -I'll probably do the bird whole and trussed rather than spatchcocking her.
Actually LowSlowFoShow has a interesting topic on brining/smoking whole chickens and I may follow along that path for the Turkey bird.
Also, keep in mind that I don't really care how the skin turns out. That's what the trash can is for.

[Bar-B-Lew]

It has been about 5 years since I made a turkey on the smoker, but this is what I did and I liked the results.

1) Put in a brine overnight after thawed.  I used Raichlen or something from Bass Pro or Cabella's.
2) Apply some sort of sage rub. Inject with some Tony Chachere's marinade that you can buy at a lot of stores.  I think I used a buttery one.  Put in fridge over night.
3) Smoke at 250° until your desired temp doneness.  I don't remember how long it took.  I took bird right from fridge to smoker after smoker hit set temp.

I did spatchcock the bird every time except the first time.  I felt I got a much more even cook that way.

[Kristin Meredith]

Trooper, this was Larry's brine for chicken and turkey.

We used it when we did the chicken brine testing.  The recipe can be cut in half for smaller birds.  The ingredients can get a bit on the expensive side for something that is going to be thrown out and it takes some effort, but is does impart flavor in my opinion.  We let it brine somewhere between 4 and 8 hours.

1 C. kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 quarts vegetable stock
2 quarts chicken stock
1 Onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 Carrot, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs Rosemary
6 sprigs Thyme
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger, coarsely chopped
1 gallon iced water, 50/50 ice to water ratio

Notes: I used dried rosemary, dried thyme, ground allspice and ground ginger as substitutes.


This is one of Bentley's favorite simple brines:

Shake’s Honey Brine (we cut this recipe in half for testing) 

1 Cup Kosher Salt
2 Tbs Morton Tender Quick
3 Bay Leaves
1/4 Tsp Ground Clove
1/2 Tsp Pickling Spice
1 Cup Honey
1 Gallon Water

Same amount of time for brining.

   

[dk117]

I do turkey frequently.  I've given up on whole birds (and given up on the skin even with the boiling water trick).   Breast 160, legs handle 180 no problem.

With that said, brine is they key as you've highlighted.  I make my own and I shamelessly use liquid smoke.

https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=2712.msg41289#msg41289

Some of the players:
Liquid smoke, salt, brown sugar. 
Then optional: molasses, garlic powder, smoked paprika, pepper, cumin.   I've tried many variants, but that's about it.

Gotta be honest, 24 hours in the brine has never been enough for me.   I go 48 to 72.

Cooking temp and time:  This isn't quite as forgiving as pork butts, but close.   I do turkey legs at 7 hours, 180 for 3, 225 for 4 to IT of 180.  Sometimes I reverse sear to crisp up the skin, not really worth the effort.   Your turkey you'll be watching the breast for a finished IT of 160.  Nothing wrong with roasting exactly as you would in the oven.   I tend to start slower to hopefully get some smoke flavor.   180 to 275 over 4 hours should be plenty.   

[Bentley]

I would encourage you to go 24 hours on the brine, and I would say dont truss if you want a more even (timed) cook.  Looking forward to the pictures.  I need to get off the site, I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow and I have not eaten in 19 hours and it is catching up with me.  This talk of food is not good!

[pmillen]

I'm a huge believer in poultry brine.  But I avoid going nuts with the ingredients.

See

[okie smokie]

Read somewhere a great contest between wet brining and dry brining.  The dry method (easy and simple) won the blind taste test.  Will see if I can find it. 
?

[ZCZ]

I would encourage you to go 24 hours on the brine, and I would say dont truss if you want a more even (timed) cook.  Looking forward to the pictures.  I need to get off the site, I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow and I have not eaten in 19 hours and it is catching up with me.  This talk of food is not good!

Hey Troop,
Any pictures?  Posting directly off your phone is easy.  No fuss having to move them to you computer or laptop.
Z