Ceramic smoker help needed - Turkey breast

[Carrie L.]

We will do a traditional roast turkey with stuffing as always this Thanksgiving but thought we'd also do a whole turkey breast for extra white meat. Has anyone done this in a BGE, Kamado or Primo? Any tried and true method you'd be willing to share? I'm thinking a smoky version will be a nice addition to the holiday table.

[Carl Eppig]

Depending on weight, we would smoke a whole turkey breast in our electric water smoker for 3-31/2 hours.

[Drew Hall]

I've smoked numerous chickens and turkey on my BGE Carrie. Brining is important and smoke at indirect until internal reaches 158 degrees or so. When you pull the breast the temp will rise to 164 while resting. Also don't expect the skin to be crispy when smoking at low temps...300 or less.

Drew

[Carrie L.]

Thanks guys. I'll report back after T-day.

[Drew Hall]

Also Carrie, only use lump charcoal and not brickette....and if you add a wood for extra smoke don't use mesquite, try to find a fruit wood like apple or cherry.

[Carrie L.]

Also Carrie, only use lump charcoal and not brickette....and if you add a wood for extra smoke don't use mesquite, try to find a fruit wood like apple or cherry.

Thanks Drew, that part we are already on top of. Len makes amazing smoked ribs on the thing, but that's about the extent of our repertoire so far. We did make a turkey on it years ago but I don't remember much about it.

[JuliaB]

Carrie,
I don't know if Bob Henrick ever smokes a turkey on his Kamado, but I thought I recalled Maria Samms writing about her experience doing so. You need to ring her doorbell!

JB

[Bob Henrick]

I have done whole turkeys om the Kamado (I call her Hot Mama). Cooked the turkey at 350 degrees and used an instant read thermometer to tell me when to pull it. I want the skin to get to a golden brown and what I do is cook indirect (which makes the Kamado a convection oven. After pulling the turkey off, I foil it then wrap in a heavy bath towel, then place it in a cooler sized just to fit. Have kept the bird moist and juicy (and warm) for several hours once.

Carrie, the ceramic cooker is a natural for keeping meat moist while cooking. My Kamado is a lot like your BGE, except the walls are quite a bit thicker. When using wood to add a smoke flavor I do not soak the wood because the extra moisture is not necessary.

[Carrie L.]

I have done whole turkeys om the Kamado (I call her Hot Mama). Cooked the turkey at 350 degrees and used an instant read thermometer to tell me when to pull it. I want the skin to get to a golden brown and what I do is cook indirect (which makes the Kamado a convection oven. After pulling the turkey off, I foil it then wrap in a heavy bath towel, then place it in a cooler sized just to fit. Have kept the bird moist and juicy (and warm) for several hours once.

Carrie, the ceramic cooker is a natural for keeping meat moist while cooking. My Kamado is a lot like your BGE, except the walls are quite a bit thicker. When using wood to add a smoke flavor I do not soak the wood because the extra moisture is not necessary.

Thanks Bob. I never thought about the extra moisture in the wood for smoke. These are all great tips. I'll let you know how it comes out!

[Drew Hall]

We roasted our 18 lb turkey in the Big Green Egg this year using the "Mad Max Technique". The links to the three Youtube videos explaining this technique follow. I think this method produced a very moist, aromatic, flavorful turkey but I didn't use the amout of butter that he suggests. Everyone really got into the turkey! The one trick that I liked was icing the breasts for 30 minutes prior to roasting which allowed the breasts to roast slower resulting in 166 degrees for the breast and 180 for the thighs when I pulled the turkey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgyT5KVN67U&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soVjTMg9s1c&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoM3AJ55AUQ&feature=relmfu