teachercd

I've smoked turkeys quite a few times. Love it. Mine haven't been particularly dry. I brine them for about 12 hours. I don't think there's any need for longer than a day. Most turkeys have already been pumped with a solution (brined basically). I've had best results getting fresh, never frozen and not pumped turkeys. But the pumped frozen ones do fine too. Also, smaller birds do better, like 10 to 12 lbs max. I wouldn't try smoking one of those 16# plus monsters. It does ruin the skin however. Looks so pretty but ya just peel it off and toss it.

This is the one I did last Tday on my GMG pellet grill.

Cooking it to the proper temperature is by far the most important thing with turkey (and chicken for that matter). If it's dry, it's overcooked. When it's done, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast will read 160-165F (check a couple spots). Never, ever rely on those stupid pop-up timer with any method of cooking a turkey - they pop at like 180-185F, when the turkey is already way overcooked. Far too many people think turkey breast is just always dry, when in reality they've just been eating overcooked turkey.

The cooking temperature actually isn't very important, so long as you stop when the bird is around 160. Obviously it'll cook faster at higher temperatures. If you cook at a low temp (under 300) the whole time, the skin will often come out mushy or rubbery. Some start low and finish high for that reason.

I recommend spatchcocking the turkey for smoking. Basically, you take a good pair of scissors (or poultry shears) and cut out the backbone, and then press the turkey flat. This leaves you with a shape that's much more even in thickness, so it cooks more evenly. Toss the backbone in with the giblets to make a stock for gravy.

If you're going to leave the skin on, having the skin be dry when you start cooking helps it to crisp up. At least pat it dry with paper towels, and consider keeping it unwrapped in the fridge overnight. Personally though, these days I tend to take the skin off to let the smoke penetrate deeper into the meat.

Wet brines are kinda dumb, IMO. More of a pain than they're worth. All you really need for a brine is salt and time - the water is unnecessary. Use a spice blend with salt in it and let it sit on the bird overnight in the fridge - that's really all you need to do. If you're leaving the skin on, stuff the seasoning between the skin and the meat.

When you're picking your turkey, note what the label says about 'retained water' or 'solution added' or something like that. If it says something like 'contains 8% solution of XYZ', that's a pre-brined turkey. If you do a heavy brine with it, it'll probably come out too salty, and tender to the point of being kinda mushy. If it just says something like 'contains 3% retained water', that's not brined. Often those will be labeled as 'fresh' or 'natural' or something.