1. Which smoker- SM025
2. Turkey Size-22lbs
3. Preps- brine 24hrs, compound butter(fresh sage, rosemary and thyme) under skin, salt, pepper and olive oil the whole bird, stuffed with apples, onions and fresh sage, rosemary and thyme. Let sit in refrigerator overnight.
4. Smoker temp-300
5. Total Time-3.5hrs
6. Comments: Used apple and cherry wood about 2 oz each. It smoked much faster, than I expected. I put it in at 4:20am and at 8:00am it was 165 breast and close to 180 thigh. Higher than I would have liked. I really wanted about 155 in the breast, because of the carry over. I never opened the door. I had to keep it warm for an about two hours in smoker at 145. Pulled it around 9:45 and double wrapped it in foil then in a flannel sheet. Packed it in a preheated cooler and packed warm towels around. Off to relatives. Did not open the cooler until 2pm. I was afraid of a dry and kinda cold turkey. It was still hot and tasted delicious. It was not dry, but could have been a tad bit more moist for me. Great smoke flavor throughout.
This was my first and last year for a frozen turkey. The one I got just seemed a little beat up. It also did not seem as plump. The skin was torn a bit on one side and I tried to hold it together with toothpicks. During the smoking show, it just pulled open on one side. I think Janet Jackson had the same problem. I really had to get it in just right, it was so close to the oven temp probe.
Next time I am going to take temps earlier and bring the cooking time closer to actual eating/packing it up to go time. The brine really does speed up the cooking process for sure. I am also going to try the cheese cloth too.
All in all it was great. Everyone loved it. I was probably the toughest critic. Got to strive for perfection.