Hey all, about to smoke my first T-giving turkey. Been reading here and other places and am having trouble making a decision as to how to prep the bird (it's a 12ish pound, pre-spatchcocked bird with no injections):
Do I:
Go with the grocery store, 24-hour wet brine kit?
Or some version of Meathead's recipe, wet rub suing a mixture of salt/herbs/oil or butter just prior to smoking it in the KBQ?
And if I go with the wet rub, should I dry brine it overnight with just salt? Or do I do the full wet rub tonight?
Thanks! Time is getting short and I'm getting anxious!
I'd dry brine overnight, rub when you put it on, Spatchcock it for faster, more even cooking but if you can't or don't want to, it will be fine. Just allow time for it to finish up.
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
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Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
vtkess02 - you are 100% correct! And a friend of mine told me, sometimes, you just gotta make a decision when you only have about 50-60% of the info you need.
I’ve tried to follow that since I was told this back in July!
If you look at the bag it came in and notice that it has been soaked / injected / bathed in any kind of solution (salt) you can be sure it was pre brined. Rub some unsalted rub on it and throw it on! Happy Thanksgiving!
One of the most popular turkeys i made was one that I injected with oil into the breast. This is described in the recipe on the free side. That breast was unbelievably moist.
Somewhere in Meathead's E- Turkey book it mentions injecting butter after the bird reaches temp. I think it was 90º. That way the butter doesn't harden as it is injected.
I wanted to add, I melt one stick of salted butter and then mix with Canola oil. so it doesnt harden up. Throw some herbs in there, let it sit over night. Strain, inject.
Anything fancy about mixing butter with Canola oil? Fork, whisk, stand mixer, hand mixer ... ? Or does that only apply when mixing water-based stuff with oils?
SmokingPat, Nothing fancy at all.... I use a big coffee mug to melt the butter... and then use a fork to stir in the oil. Stir until it looks consistent. If you add herbs, you'll need to strain it before injecting. Been doing this for years, works great!
Don't stress. Dry brine with 2-3 Tbl kosher salt it for a couple of days (or overnight). Rub before putting it on the smoker (hopefully with low- or no-salt rub). Smoke at 300-325 F. Cook till it reaches temp. It will be fantastic!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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