Lunatic Singe BBQ - Smoked Turkey Recipe

Smoked Whole Turkey - Brined

Ingredients:
1 12-14 lb whole turkey (not brined)

Brine Ingredients:
8 quarts water
1 ½ cups kosher salt
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 cup bourbon
2 oranges, cut into quarters
1 lemon, cut into quarters
⅓ cup whole peppercorns
10 whole cloves
2 dried bay leaves

Herbed Butter Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
½ tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
½ tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
½ cup dry rub of choice

Cavity Stuffing Ingredients:
2 oranges, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 red or yellow onion, quartered
6 garlic cloves
10 sprigs thyme
2 large sprigs of rosemary

Instructions

Brine Instructions:
Prepare turkey for brine by fully defrosting, removing giblets and neck, and trimming off excess fat.

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, combine water, salt, sugar, and bourbon. Bring heat up and dissolve the salt and sugar into the liquid, then turn off heat.

Let cool and then add remaining brine ingredients.

Add turkey to brine and cover. Brine for 24 hours in the refrigerator at a minimum brine for four hours).

Herb Butter Instructions:
Add herbs to room temperature butter and combine. Be sure when you are using for the turkey, it is still room temperature.

Smoking the Turkey Instructions:
Prep Turkey: Remove turkey from brine and rinse. Pat dry with a towel, especially the cavity.

Season liberally with dry rub and place into the refrigerator for four hours.

Preheat smoker to 275 degrees using fruit wood.

Stuff cavity of the bird with oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Then stuff butter between the skin and breasts, spreading it out with your hands all along the breast.

Tie up legs and wings with kitchen string, or tuck them to keep tight against the turkey.

Place turkey on the smoker, and then insert your digital meat probe into the breast and thigh or leg. Smoke until the internal temperature of both reads 165 degrees (F). Use an instant read to check temp in various part of the turkey, even if the digital probes read 165 to confirm all parts of the turkey are cooked through.

Remove from smoker (will likely take 3 - 4 hours with a 12 - 14 pound bird) and cover with foil. Let rest for about 20 minutes, then slice and serve.

Smoked Turkey Legs

Ingredients:
6 raw turkey drumsticks

Brine Ingredients:
7 cups of water
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/2 tsp pink curing (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 bay leaves
4 cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp peppercorns
7 cups ice cubes

Dry Rub Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBs kosher salt
1 TBs garlic powder
1 TBs smoked paprika
1/2 TBs black pepper

Instructions:
Rinse the turkey legs with cold water and place them in a large container. Add the bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and 7 cups of ice.

Prepare Brine:
Boil the water and of the all brine ingredients. Stir to dissolve, cool down, and pour over the turkey legs and ice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

When ready to smoke, take the drumsticks out of the brine and pat them dry. Discard the brine.

Mix the dry rub and apply generously over the drumsticks. Let them come to room temperature.

Using the smoking wood of choice, preheat smoker to 225-250 F.

Place the drumsticks on cooking grate and smoke until internal temp reaches 170 F (3 to 4 hours).

Remove turkey legs from the smoker, rest 20 minutes, and enjoy!

Smoked Turkey Breast

Ingredients:
1 large turkey breast
1 injection syringe

Turkey Rub:
1 TBs chili powder
1 TBs paprika
1 TBs garlic salt
1 TBs onion salt
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
¼ cup soft butter

Turkey Injection Marinade:
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup oil
3 TBs Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup water
½ fresh lemon juiced
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion salt

Instructions:
Thaw your turkey breast completely, rinse and pat dry. Mix your injection marinade ingredients together and fill syringe. Insert the needle into different positions as you push out marinade into the turkey. Do this in different parts of the bird, making as little holes as possible with getting the marinade in as much of the bird as possible.

Rub soft butter all over the turkey, under the turkey skin and in the cavity.

Mix the rub spices together and rub all over bird, in cavity and in under skin also.

Wrap turkey breast in cling wrap and refrigerate 1 - 24 hours. The longer the better!

Preheat smoker to 225 and add turkey, breast side up, to the smoker. Insert probe and close lid. Smoke for 1 hour.

Increase smoker temp to 275F and cook until internal temp reaches 165F.

Remove from smoker, and rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve!

Smoked Turkey Tails

Ingredients:
8 turkey tails
1 TBs kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions:
Inspect the turkey tails. If you see any feather shafts, use a paper towel to grip them. Then pull them out and discard them.

Rinse the turkey tails under cool water and pat them dry.

Transfer them to a large bowl or sheet pan.

Combine the seasonings in a small bowl. Mix well.

Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the turkey tails and toss to coat them evenly.

Preheat your Z-Grills (preferably with branded wood pellets) or other wood pellet grill to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Transfer the turkey tails to the grates skin-side up, close the lid, and smoke for 4 hours or until the turkey tails are evenly brown and crisp with an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. A low and slow cook is key to rendering fat and crisping up the skin.

Remove the smoked turkey tails from the grill and set them aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve as desired and enjoy.

Notes:
For less heat, reduce the amount of cayenne or replace the cayenne and paprika with your favorite dried herbs.