Turkey Breast (first timer) HELP PLEASE!!!

Bone in or boneless? I ordered a fresh bone-in Turkey breast and I am a bit nervous about screwing it up in front of the family. I was thinking I would just roast it in the oven instead. Can anyone give Jeff and I some assurance? Will the skin be soggy or chewy? Maybe finish in the oven?

I have always smoked turkey breasts using Shake's Honey Brine. You can see the recipe at http://www.thebbqshack.com/brine.htm . He uses the brine for turkeys that he deep fries and for ones that he smokes. I prefer mine smoked. I use an FEC 100 and cook the breasts at 275*. If your smoker does not go up that high, just run it up to the highest temp you can. I would smoke them with a fruit wood like apple. And smoke them until you get an internal of 160-165*. Brining a turkey breast or whole turkey gives you a little wiggle room on the finished internal temp and still remain moist.

Having said all that, you can also the "Find" button above to search for other recipes on turkeys. SmokinOkie is a whiz at brines.

Just my $0.02 here but I would strongly suggest doing a trial run. Turkeys are not that expensive. Do one this weekend and keep good notes.

Personally I would finish the bird in the oven at 350*.

Not much worse than a disappointing bird on Thanksgiving day.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

jeff,

Go to the link at the top of this forum "Annual turkey 101 discussion" and the link to Turkey 101 is in there. Brining 101 also has Shake's receipe and a few others.

Joh, John, John you're in trouble, sending him to Shake instead of to Brining 101

I too am going to be finishing the bird in the oven.

Last year the wife wouldn't let me smoke the bird because she wanted to have stuffing. So this year, I'll smoke the bird till almost done and then turn it over to her to add stuffing and finish in the oven. Sounds like a win-win to me.

WOW, some great responses---thanx muchly. I'm going to order the Turkey breast today, and I'm fairly certain that it will be bone in. I'll post the results of my first Turkey Breast cook, after Thanksgiving, as a part of this original post.

Cheers all,
Jeff

Well, guess what? I've just been notified that my smoked Turkey Breast services were not required! I'm doing desserts, stuffing and candy instead. At least when I do decide to smoke a turkey breast, I can be more relaxed for my first attempt.
Cheers all,
Jeff