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Hope you've noticed, but I've moved the "annual" reports threads to the top of the turkey forum.

I had a lot of fun re-reading some of the threads, some fun/funny stuff in there and some good lessons learned.

2004 was the year of the Turkey 101 re-do, so I didn't find one for reports (in case you run across it let me know)

The idea is that the reports REALLY are a great place to read on how people did what they did.

Put your 2009 reports here:

We annually create this thread to report your results. One of the most common questions is "how long do I smoke it"

Your reports will help answer that:

Please report:

1: Which smoker
2. Turkey Size
3. Preps
4. Smoker temp
5. Total Time
6. Comments

Thanks in Advance
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

1. Which smoker - CS 020
2. Turkey Size - 8# Breast(only leg/thigh removed) with 12% solution stated on ticket - so won't brine this one .99/lb on sale
3. Preps - Removed most of back and neck 'stub' to create a one-sided breast only cut. Loosened skin, oiled slightly, ample CS chicken rub - front/back and under skin (10 minutes prep time)
4. Smoker temp - 300 degrees with 2 small pieces of pecan wood (2.5 oz total)
5. Total Time - 2.5 hours no peak to multiple probe readings of 160F. Double foiled for 1 hour.
6. Comments: wow, this cooked fast. Beautiful color. White meat to the bone - perfectly done. Awesome broth left in foil - next time I'm making gravy with this. Smoke flavor to the bone - nice. CS rub was excellent. Wife said it was the most tender turkey ever. De-boned two large pieces, sliced thick steaks and served with potatoes and green bean casserole. I give it a 9.5... OK it was a 10, but would that be bragging?
1: Which smoker: Traeger Lil Tex, even mix of Traeger hickory, mesquite and oak pellets (plus all the alder filler)
2. Turkey Size: 7.21 lb breast only
3. Preps: Brined, Okies simple brine of 1 gal water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1 TBS fresh ground black pepper
4. Smoker temp: started at 250, increased to 275 cause it was getting late
5. Total Time: 3.75 hours, internal temp of 160
6. Comments: Brined for 18 hours starting with chilled brine prepared 24 hours in advance, didn't rinse the bird when done. Light coating of Traeger chick rub over a coating of olive oil over and under the skin. Basted with butter every hour.
Perfect salt level. Meat was tender and very moist with a light smokiness. Skin was not edible. Fantastic results!
Thanks Smokin Okie!
Did my first turkey breast the other day and am very pleased for my first attempt.


1: Smokette
2. 8.1 lb Bone-In-breast (3% solution)
3. Brined for 7 hours in brine with salt, sugar and honey. Patted dry and put brown sugar and olive oil over and under skin andin cavity. Put into fridge for 3 hours. Covered in butter soaked cheese cloth for entire smoke. 2.5oz Hickory / 2.1 oz Apple.
4. 260*.
5. 2 hours 20 mins.
6. Took out at 158* internal temp and foiled into cooler w/towels for 1 hour (temp rose to aprox 167*). Meat was tender, juicy and flavorful. Plan to brine longer next time (12-15 hours) and add more brown under the skin and do a butter/sugar injection. Also plan to do it at 240-250 and remove at 150 or 155* internal temp then foil for an hour or so (until 160*). Skin was rubbery but I never eat the skin anyway so don't care.

Nate
I did my first whole turkey this weekend. This was a test run for Thanksgiving. I followed SmokinOkie’s Turkey 101 for the most part. I allowed myself to get against the clock, and didn’t have time to apply a rub underneath. Didn’t matter though, best turkey I have ever tasted. Even my wife loved it and she has stated for years that she is not a big turkey fan. It turned out beautiful. It looked just like the pictures Smokin has posted, thanks to the cheesecloth/butter wrap. Big Grin

1. Smokette 055
2. 12.5 lb bird
3. J Appledog Brine for 3 days
4. 250 degrees (max for the 055)
5. About 4 hours
6. I used Apple for the smoke. Stuffed the cavity with 3 halved tangerines, ½ of an onion, 3 celery stalks and some thyme twigs as aromatics. Finished on the grill to crisp up the skin.

If you are looking for a great cranberry sauce recipe, try this out. Worked really well with the brine imparted flavors. http://www.finecooking.com/rec...amelized-onions.aspx
Turkey Breast - dry brined

Smoker: 020 smokette
Turkey size: 10-11#, fresh, no pre-processing
Preps: Butchered out breasts(bone-in, 1.7# each)
Dry brined breast with kosher salt and a little poultry seasoning. (1 tbsp salt per 5lb meat, per this technique). Zip bagged for 3 days in fridge. Rinsed well and air dried in fridge. CS spicy chicken rub. 3 matchbook-sized 1/2" thick pecan chunks.
Smoker temp: 250*
Cook Time: Around 90 minutes. Put temp probe in each breast and took to 156/157*. Removed and let rest in foil tent. Finished skin side down in hot skillet with grape seed oil and butter to crisp skin.

Comments: This was 3 firsts. Dry brining, removing at 155*, and finishing skin in skillet. Removed at 155* to leave room for finishing in skillet. Skin side down in hot pan for 6-7 minutes but I'm sure it cooked a little more. Skin was crisp. I think I can improve my technique finishing in pan but if this is as good as it gets, I'm happy. Smoke flavor perfect - to the bone. Moist, tender, but firm meat.

De-boned and sliced for sandwiches. Served on fresh Demi baguettes with mayo and romaine. Will do this again! Smiler

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Last edited by Former Member
1: Which smoker an old 205
2. Turkey Size 13#
3. Preps 3.5 days in brine
4. Smoker temp 230
5. Total Time 2 hrs 45 min breast and wings 3 hrs thigh/leg
6. Comments still very new to smoking but this bird was by far the best turkey me, my mom, dad, and brothers had ever had.

I did break the back before cooking the bird to ensure I did not over cook either or were not overcooked.

Thank you CS
1: Which smoker: Amerique 066
2. Turkey Size: 10# bone-in breast
3. Preps: Smokin's Holiday Brine w. no modifications for 36 hours
4. Smoker temp: 300F
5. Total Time:3hr 50 min
6. Comments:
First smoked Turkey. Used oak barrel chunk and some mesquite. Coated with butter and rub was lemon pepper with some sage sprinkled in. Used butter soaked cheesecloth which took off a good bit of my rub, but I'm glad I did it. Pulled at 160F and cooked perfectly with golden brown skin. Wife asked if we could do it this way every time. Rinsed the bird after pulling from the brine, and flesh was salty, (just right). I usually add a sprinkle of salt on my plate bit didn't this time. Skin flavor and color was great, quite edible, but a bit chewy. Liked this smoked turkey, but not sure if it has any advantages over a properly roasted bird. I don't think I could replicate the texture with a smoker.
1. Smoker - Super Smoker Elite
2. Size - 15 pound turkey
3. Prep - 48 hours in Smokin Okies Holiday Brine
4. Temp - 300 degrees
5. Time - 3 hours

2 blocks of Hickory, very good moist turkey with excellent smoke. Nothing fancy on the spice, black pepper and Lawry's seasoned salt. Cooked to 160 in the breast.

Did another turkey in the oven (couldn't fit 2 in the smoker), injected with Cajun butter marinate and seasoned on the outside with pepper, seasoned salt and light red pepper.

The smoked turkey was far superior to the baked turkey, no comparison on taste. Oven turkey was very moist with the injection, but lacked in the quality of taste.
1: Which smoker - AmQ
2. Turkey Size - bone-in breasts 2 @ 7.8#
3. Preps - simple 3% brine salt, sugar, cure, poultry seasoning for 48 hours; injected one with creole and one with equal parts honey, butter and white wine.
4. Smoker temp - 250 w/ 2.6 ounces hickory
5. Total Time - 2:22 to 155 and held to 160
6. Comments - super moist, light smoke flavor.
Smoker: AmeriQue
Turkey Size: 22.40# fresh
Preps: holiday Turkey brine, doctored to my taste, for 3 full days. Rinsed off, patted dry and added my dry rub, pretty heavy.
Smoker Temp: 275*
Wood: 5 oz. hickory, 2 oz. cherry
Total Time: 7 hr. 45 min.
Probe Temp: 162* in middle of breast
Comments: Did this bird for a friend, he said his family said it was the best bird they have ever had. Very tender and moist with excellent flavor They liked it so much he asked if I would do another for their Xmas!
1: Smokette- 4 oz apple wood
2. Butterball 8% enhanced - 14 lbs
3. Holiday Brine 33 hours, apples/oranges inside, apple rub under skin.
4. Temp 250*
5. Cook time - 3 hrs 30 min
6. Outside temp started at 41* at 8AM up to 52* by noon. Took out when breast read 156*. Foiled and covered in cooler from noon until 2PM. Unwrapped and meat was still juicy and hot. This was my 4th turkey and everyone thought it was great. I thought it was slightly salty but still very good. Will probably back off the brine time come Christmas. I don't care much about the skin but I do the cheesecloth/butter and it looks good but still rubbery. We also had 2 other oven cooked birds from relatives and there was no comparison on taste!
Thank you Smokin Okie!

1. FEC100
2. 11 pounds (16 pounds if you include the 5 pounds of butter).
3. 37 hours in Smokin Okie's Holiday brine. Separated skin. Rubbed in a combination of melted unsalted butter and Plowboys' Yardbird. Covered in cheesecloth and basted in butter every 30-45m. Added some apples and lemons into the cavity.
4. 90m at 250 and then 90m at 325. I used Apple pellets.
5. 3 hours(ish)
6. Best turkey that I've ever had. More importantly, our guests said the same thing. Frankly, I think the key was Smokin Okie's brine.
quote:
1: Which smoker
2. Turkey Size
3. Preps
4. Smoker temp
5. Total Time
6. Comments


Amerique
14 Pound Zacky fresh turkey not enhanced.
Smokin Okies Holiday Brine made 3 gallons monday midnight put brine in large cambro tuesday am into refrigerator.
Put turkey in brine tuesday 8:00 pm took out of brine thursday 3:00 pm.
Smoker temp 300 degrees
Wood 2 oz cherry
1 stick of unsalted butter under skin
Covered with cheese cloth soaked in 1 stick melted butter mixed with teaspoon Cookshack rib rub.
Put turkey in at 3:49 pm took out at 7:39 pm breast temp 163
Juices ran clear breast meat very moist I wish it would have had resting time only 5 to 10 min.
Didnt try the legs cut up what was left.

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1: Which smoker 055
2. Turkey Size 21# with 8% solution (price was right $.39/lb)
3. Preps 38 hrs in Holiday brine with TQ added
4. Smoker temp 225 2 chunks of hornbeam (akin to hickory)
5. Total Time 4 hrs in CS + 1.5 hrs in 350 oven
6. Comments
Was very moist. Even people who said they don't like white meat (too dry) said they really liked this white meat. Wasn't salty at all except for some pieces where I think some TQ came to rest because I added at the last minute. Those pieces were also a bit red as TQ will do. All in all a very successful bird.

Skin was cracked coming out of smoker and got worse in the oven. Still need to work on presentation. Pretty ugly.
1: Which smoker; 09
2. Turkey Size; 7 1/2 lb. Breast
3. Preps; Smokin's Brine recipe. 24 hrs.
4. Smoker temp; 250. (All the 09 has).
5. Total Time; 2 1/2 hrs. (Like clockwork anymore).
6. Comments; I've done enough of these things now, I can do them in my sleep. I did a whole bird in the oven (stuffing), but I brind it as well. I will NEVER cook another turkey without brining it.Pulled the skinback, seasoned with Badia Complete Seasoning, pulled the skin back, oiled, seasoned again, covered with an oiled chese cloth and in it went with 3oz. of apple wood. My son's new inlaws joined us for the first time and they went nuts for the smoked breast. It was long gone before the oven cooked, but the oven cooked was moist and juicey because of the brine. Success on both fronts.
1: Which smoker: Smokette 0020
2: Turkey size: 21 lbs (Safeway Fresh Turkey)
3: Prep: 36 hour brine, 12 hour rest, 12 hour rub
4: Smoker temp: Asked for 300 averaged about 250 or so, used 3oz apple and 3oz cherry wood
5: Cooking time: 4 1/2 hours at 250 followed by 1 hour foil wrapped placed back in 200 degree smoker
6: Comments: First ever turkey in my brand new cookshack....all I can say is wow. I also did a 24 lbs turkey rotisserie'd on my grill and the smoked turkey was WAYYYY better. Laid butter soaked cheesecloth on top of the breast, but skin still pulled back slightly. Didn't matter meat was very moist. Next time will wrap the turkey in more cheesecloth and see if that helps. Thanks to all on the forums for all of the help!
Guitarzan's STUPID SIMPLE Smoked Turkey

13 pound frozen enhanced grocery store bird.
Thawed in the fridge for 4 days.
Cleaned the night before (still had a tiny bit of ice) and separated the skin from the meat with my fingers.
Set her in a cheap foil basting pan.
Rubbed it with Cookshack Spicy chicken rub that shipped w/ my smoker, and drizzled w/ a 12 oz. Sol beer, making sure to get plenty under the skin...just stick the longneck in there and slosh the beer around.
Covered snugly with foil.
Let it rest overnight in the fridge.
Put guajolote on the middle rack in the smoker (SM009) at 7:30am at 250 degrees with two small chunks of hickory.
Reached 165 breast temp in just over 3.5 hours.
Removed from smoker.
Placed in basting pan and covered w/ foil.
Let it rest at room temp for one hour.

Here's the deal: I like as little stress as possible when I cook, so I keep it simple. And the results...

BEST DAMN SMOKED TURKEY I EVER HAD.

Simple recipe. Simply DAMN GOOD results. And my family thinks I am the BBQ God.

Guitarzan
Blues. Brews. BBQ.
Last edited by guitarzan
1: Which smoker SM 020
2. Turkey Size 13 Pounds Fresh
3. Preps: I followed Cookshack Video just posted, used apple
4. Smoker temp 250 then 200
5. Total Time 6 hours at 250 then 3 hours at 220
6. Comments Thank you for making me a Smoke God in my home. The inlaws and daughters boyfriend could not stop raving. Bird was great even after everyone came more than hour late. That is why it was in so long. Only problem is now they want two birds next year. One for leftovers.
Well, the wife and I spent Thanksgiving in New Zealand where my son and his family live. Another whole story there, teaching Kiwi's about Thanksgiving, what it means to Americans and all. BTW, a whole turkey in NZ costs $10 per pound!! A 12 pound turkey cost me $120 in NZ dollars, about $90 US.
When I got back home, Safeway had their turkeys still on sale, any bird over 16 lbs is $8.99 and under 16 lbs is $6.99. That price is per turkey not per pound like in NZ. I got three, a 20.5, 17.5 and 13 pound bird. I decided since I've never smoked a turkey before to begin with the 17.5 pound bird. It said on the package that it was 8% solution. I'm not sure what that meant, but probably that it was injected with a brine that contained 8% salt. Anyway, I brined the bird. I used High Mountain Jerky brand of brine.

After receiving the order and reading the ingredients, I didn't think it was worth it. It was mainly salt, sugar and coloring; the three first ingredients. The only other things in there were preservatives. Next time I'll save me some money and make my own brine.
So, the turkey was frozen, I thawed it and stuck it in the brine mixed in a 5 gallon bucket and set it in the fridge. I did loosen the skin from the breast and legs to allow the brine to have better contact with the meat. I left it in for 60 hours. For some reason, there was a layer of ice on the brine even though I stirred it several times during the brining time. I thought salt prevented freezing, like, in salting roads and such. But my fridge is set at 34 and the brine was 34 measured with my thermapen. I can't explain the ice. I took the turkey out, drained and rinsed. Then I cut a 1/4 stick of unsalted butter into tabs and placed them under the breast skin, 6 tabs total. I dusted the breast and thigh meat under the skin with Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

I then put the bird onto my turkey cannon. What's a turkey cannon? I don't know! Something someone bought me from Cabela's.

You are supposed to add a liquid into the cannon and it internally bastes the turkey from the inside. I put some apple juice in there.
Next, I covered the bird with cheese cloth and basted it with melted butter. The butter set up quickly on the cold bird and made a great shell protecting it quite well from the creosote from smoking. I put the bird in the smoker at 11am preheated to 100 degrees and set for 300 degrees. I added 3 oz of hickory. The breast measured in at 44 degrees to start and the thigh at 34 degrees. Here's what it looked like before going in;

And here we are before the door closes;


NOTE: out of time, I will come back and finish this report later. Jerry
Last edited by skipro3
Well, I'm back again. To begin where I left off...
The turkey is in the smoker set for 300. Every hour I opened the door and basted it with melted butter. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, the breast was 165 and the thigh was 175. I thought that was fast for a 17.5lb bird, but hey, when it's done, it's DONE!!
NOTE:
The temperature on the smoker was set for 300 but it never got above 255. I suppose the bird was too much of a heat sink to let the heating element get the box up to 300, but not sure.
I prepared the ice chest with towels so that the bird could rest an hour and took it out. After an hour, I took the bird from the ice chest and set to carving it. Here are photos of the finished product.


Time to carve! Here I am doing the honors. The color was great, just a tad dark, but I thought that was appropriate for a smoked turkey. It sure smelled great!


Here is the bird with it half carved. The dark meat from the thigh is in the foreground on the plate, the breast toward the rear. It was very tender, moist and warm. After an hour in the ice chest, the breast was still reading over 150 degrees. I was able to serve the carved turkey piping hot.


I used a drip pan under the smoker, one of those aluminum Webber catch pans. It filled up once, and I drained it into a seperate large bowl. It filled up about half way a second time and I drain that into a separate bowl. The first bowl of drippings had a bolder smoke flavor than the second, so I used the second dripping caught to make gravy for the mashed 'taters. It was a wonderful gravy! The next day I used some for my breakfast, biscuits-n-gravy. Best I've ever had, with my wife making the biscuits from scratch. I also used some of the first drippings with my fried potatos for breakfast too. The juice added just the right amount of smokiness to the fried potatoes.



1: Which smoker:
Smokette SM020

2. Turkey Size
17.5 pounds


3. Preps
Read all details above

4. Smoker temp
Set for 300, preheated to 100, never saw it get over 255 in the 2 3/4 hours it took to cook.

5. Total Time
Brine time: 60 hours
Smoker time: 2 3/4 hours

6. Comments
Next time I'll put orange slices and thyme in the cavity and cranberry concentrate in the cannon.
Last edited by skipro3
Update;
I did another turkey, this time the 13 pound bird. I duplicated my efforts and the bird temperature was 165 breast and 170 thigh at 2 hours even. The turkey was not as dark as the 17 pound bird, so it's my theory that the longer to cook, the darker the finished product. Next time I do a small bird like that, I'll open the smoker a couple more times to let out the moisture and to allow the heater to kick in more and toast that skin darker. I just love experimenting! ha!!
I smoked a 6.5# kosher turkey breast to go along with a larger bird the wife was cooking for a Christmas get together. Dry brined with kosher salt for a couple of days(method call for 3 days). After a generous coating of CS spicy Chicken rub, I decide to see what a light dusting of of turbinado sugar would do.

Results were the most awesome dark brown, mahogany color ever. Loved it. Taste not effected but presentation was a hit. Excellent in every way.

Smoker: 020
Turkey size: 6.5# breast
Preps: Dry brine, CS rub w/ turbinado sugar dusted over the top, 3 1/2"x2" squares of pecan and 1 similar sized piece of apple
Smoker temp: 250*
Comments: Pulled at 162* (3.5 hours or so) Excellent flavor. Beautiful dark color. Was a hit with company
I know it ain't 2009 anymore, but seeing that there's no 2010 report on yet, here it goes...

1: Which smoker: SM025
2. Turkey Size: 10 lbs,
3. Preps: Smokin's Holiday brine for 40 hrs.; rubbed w/ salt, white pepper, garlic pow., onion pow., sage, oregano & paprika; couple sprigs of rosemary & thyme under skin; cavity stuffed w/ red onion, carrot, celery, orange zest, thyme & rosemary.
4. Smoker temp: 250* w/ 1 chunk hickory
5. Total Time: 4 hrs. 10 min to reach 170* in the thigh
6. Comments: Everybody loved it. Not one to gloat over my own cooking often (usually my own harshest critic), but thought it was the best turkey I've ever had. White meat was super moist and flavorful. Legs reminded me of ones the family used to get from a smokehouse about an hour from here. Skin a little rubbery as to be expected, but still very good w rub on it.

I'd like to take the credit for this one, but really it has to go to Smokin' and the forum... The only thing I did was not screw it up. THANKS!

Jeremy
This is a 2010 Turkey posting to the 2009 turkey log.

I am fairly new to smoking and have the Cookshack smokette. I put a 4.5# turkey breast with the bone in my smokette last Sunday. I followed the Lemon-Smoked Turkey Breast recipe in the Cookshack cookbook. Basically, that is a baste with lemon juice, oil, lemon rind, garlic and dill. I put the 2 oz of hickory and 1 clove of garlic in the smoke box and smoke cooked at 225 for 6 hours. The internal temp was 165. The breast was very juicy and moist. I would have liked more of a smoke flavor. The wood pieces were chared, but not turned to ash. I didn't look to notice how much smoke was coming from the smoker during the cooking process. Would the meat have had more of a smoke flavor if the wood had burned more completely? I know to keep the wood pieces towards the front of the wood box for better burn and I thought I did this. Any suggestions?
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