Killer Smoked Turkey

Ok guys... I'm going to be honest.  I didn't especially like turkey until I tried a smoked turkey. I mean it was OK, but I wasn't ever drooling thinking about Turkey.  Now I do.  I am going to be honest this is a recipe that isn't hard, it just takes time.  I did it a whole week early so that I had this recipe done in time for you to do it!! 

Another bonus about smoking your turkey, it opens up your oven for all the other delicious food. I didn't have to worry about Turkey being cold while I cook stuffing or sweet potatoes. It is amazing. If you need a smoker.. I like this one.

The first thing I learned I learned this year... BRINING IS A BIG DEAL.  I have tried dried brine before and meh.  It helped with flavor a bit but doing a true salt water brine is the way to go in my personal opinion.

My brine:

2 gallons of water
1 cup of kosher salt
7 cloves of garlic
1 onion
small palm full of whole peppercorns

As you can see I didn't even take the time to peel the onion. I just cut it into fourths and I smashed the garlic.  Throw it all in give it a stir and boil that bad boy!!! I let mine boil for a good 5 minutes with a stir every now and again.  I let mine sit on the stove, it was off,  for a good two hours after that so it was cooled all the way.   Then I doubled up two trash bags and dumped it in with a cleaned, fulled defrosted turkey. Seal that bag super well so nothing can escape.   My fridge was occupied so I put it in a cooler outside with a bag of ice. Make sure it stays cool around 40 degrees the whole time.  It needs to be in there for 24 hours. About half way through I flipped the Turkey over so that it was evenly brined.

After that, I took out the turkey and patted it dry with paper towels. I let it sit out for another 1/2 hour or so, so it was completely dry.  I then took some softened butter and mixed it with Sage, rosemary, garlic powder, and pepper. I did a rough chop on the fresh herbs.  Then I handed it over to my husband to smoosh it all together.

I wasn't being lazy I was just separating the skin from the bird.
To do this gently rub your hand back and forth and break all of the membranes, I did this even down the legs.  Once the butter is ready I took finger fulls of it and put it all around inside the skin and inside the cavity of the bird. then I placed it on top here and there and rubbed it all around.  I also put one more sprig of rosemary and sage inside the bird with a lemon halved.

Alright, We went and started up our Traeger (which is on sale right now!

My husband is always the one to pick out what flavor of pellets we use. He decided apple this time around but I think pecan would be yummy too. If you need pellets you can get them here.

We started it with the lid open on smoke for 5 minutes, then closed the lid and set it for 375.  Put it in when it is to heat.  We cooked it for 3.5 hours internal temp needs to be 165 degrees F.

I had to take out the roasting rack out to the pan to make it fit. when it comes out let it rest for 20 minutes then enjoy that goodness!! I used the pan drippings for yummy gravy too!!!

Don't worry homemade cranberry sauce recipe will be up soon!!