Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion
- Thread starter Statefan515ISU
- Start date
Finished product. Sat in the cooler for six hours and was still steaming when I took it out of the foil. Pretty happy to see the smoke layer go through the fat cap. Just had a piece of the flat. I am my own worst critic, but I will say that it turned out pretty dang well. Plenty of moisture in the flat and the salt pepper combo was spot on!
Those are good prices for brisket right now. I wanted to do a brisket this weekend, but the prices were too high. Sam’s Club they were selling $5 for choice and $5.50 for prime. Fareway had a “sale” price of $5 for choice. So I am doing wings instead.
Just remember, to make good BBQ you have to make bad BBQ first.
I'm always trolling by that meat case in whatever store I happen to be in, even my local hometown store, and if they happen to have brisket at $2.99/lb or less, or pork butts in the range of $1.69/lb or so I'll grab one and throw it in the freezer for later.
Similarly I also watch for deals on baby back ribs, pork tenderloins, thick Iowa pork chops for the smoker. I've also done some country style pork "ribs" when they are trying to give them away, etc.
Other than that I try to hold out for those "deal" prices, esp for brisket because it's crazy expensive otherwise.
It's funny how when I was young wings were just a throw away part of the chicken. Now they are the most expensive part.
Depends on the size but usually at least an hour, maybe 2. But you really can’t overheat it, so if it’s in for 3 or 4 hours you will be fine. You can also add the brisket straight from the freezer land it will just take an extra hour or so.
Getting closer to turkey day. I'm upset with myself for not saving my recipe from last year for smoking a fresh turkey. I do have the brine recipe (Alton Brown's brine recipe) and took some pictures of the the finished product but I don't really recall what else I did. From the pics I took a can tell that I did have some sort of a butter/herb combo under the skin and filled the cavity with veggies and some some orange slices. Didn't inject it either. Probably the best turkey I've ever cooked. Dang it!!
I had a turkey breast that turned out pretty good. My notes from last year.
Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil and add the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sage, rosemary and peppercorns.
1 cup salt, 1/4cup brown sugar, garlic, orange.
Stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
Let the liquid steep for 15 minutes while it cools, then add it to the remaining water(6 cups)
Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse the turkey (no need to pat dry) removing the giblets and skin
Place the turkey in a container large enough to fit and cover with the brine, making sure it is completely submerged.
Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 15 hours, rotating the turkey at least once while it brines.
Rinse the turkey thoroughly and pat dry.
Mayonnaise/Rub 2 parts black pepper/1 salt
275
Foil with butter 90 minutes in
Next time don't wrap(Spray on butter instead)
It took 3.5 hours for a small bird
Pull at 160IT
Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil and add the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sage, rosemary and peppercorns.
1 cup salt, 1/4cup brown sugar, garlic, orange.
Stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
Let the liquid steep for 15 minutes while it cools, then add it to the remaining water(6 cups)
Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse the turkey (no need to pat dry) removing the giblets and skin
Place the turkey in a container large enough to fit and cover with the brine, making sure it is completely submerged.
Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 15 hours, rotating the turkey at least once while it brines.
Rinse the turkey thoroughly and pat dry.
Mayonnaise/Rub 2 parts black pepper/1 salt
275
Foil with butter 90 minutes in
Next time don't wrap(Spray on butter instead)
It took 3.5 hours for a small bird
Pull at 160IT
My family is not a fan of the skin so it didn't make sense for me to add the rub and leave it on before smoking if they were just going to remove it and throw it away.
Thanks for posting. I'm looking to smoke my first turkey this year and like asking a motorcycle forum what oil to use it seems asking people how to smoke a turkey will get just as diversified as a response. Wet vs dry brine. Spatchcock or not. 250ish vs 350ish cook temps. It's all over the damn place!
If you’ve got a pretty good sized bird, I can’t see spatchcocking it doing much good. And be Careful on adding salt!!! Some of the wet brines they come in have a lot of salt in them and you will just make it too salty. I’ve made this mistake. Especially if your gonna brush butter on during the smoke as well, your just adding more salt then too. Read the package before you buy.
Exactly! The brine I use has vegetable stock in it that has salt in it. It also calls for a cup of kosher salt, but I only add a 1/2 cup even though it calls for a cup.
Remember if something call for kosher salt and all you have is table salt it is not a 1:1 substitute. Morton salt says for every cup of table salt, you would need a cup and 1/4 cup of kosher salt.
I think you'd need a really big smoker to spatchcock a turkey. And maybe have to bust out the jigsaw or chainsaw or something.
I actually watched a video last night of someone who deboned an entire turkey. Didn't look like he needed anything special to do it.
