Tag: Smokers
Smoked Whole Turkey
Smoked Whole Turkey
Do you want to make the best turkey you’ve ever eaten and really show off to your guests? Here’s your opportunity. I consider myself an expert in the field of turkey. In my former career in the meat world, I’ve sold 10s of thousands of turkeys and have cooked more than I can count. This is definitely the juiciest and most flavorful turkey I’ve ever cooked and eaten. This is also the very first time I’ve smoked a turkey. So where do I start.When choosing a turkey, you want to make sure you have the right size for your guests. I recommend 2lbs of turkey per person. Why that much? 1. Just under half of the turkeys weight is bones. 2. People tend to eat a little more during the holidays. So a 12lb turkey will serve 6. If you have some leftovers, I consider that a plus.Since we are smoking a turkey, there is really one way to approach the process, and that process is to brine your turkey. Brining will guarantee your turkey to be moist and flavorful. Without brining, your turkey will be dry. No question about it. You will need to brine your turkey in a brining bag for 1 hour per lb. I purchased a 14lb turkey, so it will need 14 hours to brine. Place the turkey in the brining bag breast side down. Pour in the brine, making sure that the turkey is completely submerged. Once the turkey is finished brining, let the turkey rest on a rack in the refrigerator for a day to dry out. This will allow the smoke to stick to the turkey. When ready to smoke, rub the turkey with olive oil and the dry rub. Allow the turkey to rest at room temp for 2 hours. If this step is skipped, your turkey will not cook properly. Typically when roasting a turkey, it will take 12-15 minutes per lb. at 325 degrees. Since smoking will be at a lower temperature, the turkey will take 15-20 minutes per lb. My 14lb turkey took 4 hours to smoke. You will want to take the temperature of the turkey in 2 spots: in the thickest part of the breast and thigh. The final cooking temp of the breast needs to read 165 degrees; 180 degrees in the thigh. Since the breast finishes cooking first, you may need to cover it with foil until the thigh properly temps. I pull the turkey 5 degrees short of the final temp, since it will go up in temp once you pull it from the smoker and let it rest. Let the turkey rest for an hour before carving so the juices redistribute.What I’ve learned when it comes to carving a turkey is that almost nobody knows how to properly do it. My biggest pet peeve is seeing people slice the breast on a whole turkey down the side. WRONG!!! Just stop it. You have now cut the turkey with the grain instead of against and have now forever changed the integrity of the texture of the turkey. Blasphemeat. The first thing you need to do is cut off the drumsticks, wings, and thighs the exact same way you’d cut up a whole chicken. So now you are left with the whole breast. Cut each side of the breast off of the breast bone. Then slice it against the grain. Arrange all of the parts on a platter for serving.Don’t throw away the carcass! There is nothing but flavor within that carcass. Save it for making stock, which I’ll show in a later post. Gobble, gobble, bitches.
Equipment
- brining bag
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey 12-18lbs
Brine
- 2 gallons water
- 2 cups sea salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 2 tbsp sage
- 2 tbsp rosemary
- 4 bay leaves
Dry Rub
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp pink peppercorns ground
- 3 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp ground sage
- 2 tbsp oregano
Wood Chips
- 1/2 pecan wood
- 1/2 hickory wood
Instructions
Brining the Turkey
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- In a large stock pot, dissolve the brining ingredients in 1 quart of water over high heat.
- Turn off the heat. Pour in 3 quarts of cold water.
- Place the turkey in a brining bag breast side down.
- Pour the brine over the turkey.
- Pour another gallon of cold water into the brining bag, making sure that the turkey is completely submerged. Seal the bag and let the turkey brine in the refrigerator for 1 hour per lb.
- When the turkey is finished brining, place the turkey on a rack and allow to dry out in the refrigerator for a day.
Smoking the Turkey
- Mix together all of the dry rub ingredients.
- Rub the turkey with the olive oil. Then rub the turkey with the dry rub. Let the turkey rest at room temp for 2 hours.
- Preheat your smoker at 250 degrees. Place the turkey in the smoker.
- Smoke the turkey for 15-20 minutes per lb. Using a probe thermometer, take the temp of the turkey in the thickest part of the breast and the thigh. The breast should read 165 degrees and the thigh 180 degrees. If the breast is at temp but the thighs aren’t, cover the breast with foil and continue to smoke until the thighs reach that temp.
- Pull the turkey out of the smoker. Place in a large roasting pan. Cover. Let the turkey rest for an hour before carving.
Carving the Turkey
- Cut the wings, drumsticks, and thighs off the carcass; just like how you’d cut a whole chicken. Cut each side of breast off the breast bone.
- Arrange the parts on a platter for serving.
Collard Greens with Smoked Pork
Collard Greens with Smoked Pork
Southern style collard greens is one of my favorite side dishes. They take a little bit of time to cook, but are extremely easy to prepare. Simply boil pork shanks, onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper for an hour. Add in the collard greens and continue to boil for 45 minutes. Remove the shanks from the pot. Take the meat off the bone and chop up, returning back into the pot with vinegar. Simmer for another 15 minutes and you’re done. If you happen to not eat pork, you can substitute smoked turkey to the greens.
Ingredients
- 2 smoked pork shanks
- 1 gallon water
- 1/2 medium white onion sliced
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 3 tsp crushed red pepper
- 3 bunches collard greens centered rib removed; washed
- 1 cup vinegar
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the shanks, onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Boil for 1 hour.
- Add the collard greens to the boiling water. Boil for 45 minutes.
- Take the shanks out of the water. Carefully remove the meat from the bone and chop up into bite sized pieces.
- Add the meat back into the pot along with 1 cup of vinegar. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
Smoked Pork Shanks
Smoked pork shanks are great to have around when making collards greens, split pea soup, beans and rice, and many more dishes. They add copious amounts of hammy goodness to whatever you’re making. They also cost a fraction of the price smoking them yourself compared to buying them already smoked. The raw shanks I purchased are $1.49/lb compared to $5-$6/lb smoked.So what’s the difference between pork shanks and pork hocks? Shanks are from the front shins of the pig, aka forshank. They will have the shin bone through the center with a lot of meat surrounding the bone. The bone also contains marrow, which will add a lot of flavor. Pork hocks are from the ankle of the pig. They contain a little less meat. They contain a lot of collagen and cartilage that also adds flavor. The shanks will only need a day to brine. In the brine is pink curing salts, which will turn your shanks to ham. The shanks will take about 2 1/2 hours to smoke. I use hickory wood since it is a nice neutral flavored wood for smoking. They can be instantly used once finished, stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen in freezer paper for up to 6 months.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 2 pork shanks around 2” thick
Brine
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp pink curing salts
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Place the pork shanks in a gallon sized storage bag with the brine. Brine for 24 hours.
- Pat dry. Place on a rack and leg dry out at room temp for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place your shanks in the smoker.
- Smoke your shanks for 2 1/2 hours.
Coarse Ground Beef Hotdogs
Coarse Ground Beef Hotdogs
It’s wiener time and I’m ready to stuff some sausage. I like to use an overhand grip with my left hand to guide. I’ve seen other people use underhand grip. Whatever grip you like to use when handling tubed meat, get ready for a process.The type of hotdog I’m making is with coarse ground beef. This is not the same as a bologna-style hotdog that most people are used to. This is more sausage like in texture. I used about 3 lbs of chuck and 2 lbs of fatty beef trim that I’ve saved in the freezer. Since most people don’t save their meat trimmings, you can use just 5 lbs of fatty chuck. Cut the pieces into smaller strips. Place them on a baking sheet and freeze for just 30 minutes. This will make the grinding process easier.Since these are coarse ground hotdogs, you will need to use a coarse ground grinding plate. Grind the beef through 2 times. Mix in the seasonings and ice water. You will really want to make sure that the seasonings are mixed well into the meat, so I recommend mixing for at least 2 minutes. If you were going to make a bologna-style hotdog, you would add all of the meat to a food processor and purée to a smooth paste. Place the meat in the refrigerator until ready for stuffing.Hotdogs require the use of lamb casings. Any meat cutter will tell you that they are a huge pain in the ass to deal with. Make sure to soak them before hand. Stuff the sausage into the casings. Make sure to not over stuff them or the hotdogs will pop when twisting them. Speaking of twisting wieners; twist them around 6”to 8”. 6” hotdogs will be about 8 to 1 lb. My hotdogs were 8 to 1 1/4lbs; so just a little bigger. This recipe yielded me 32 hotdogs, or 4 packs if you were to by these at a grocery store. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. I used hickory wood chips for smoking. It is a good neutral flavored wood for smoking. Smoke the hotdogs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. This will take about 90 minutes. Let them completely cool before recooking, either on a grill, a sauté pan, or boiled in water. Or you can take a fork and go old school open stove top burner. Don’t act like you’ve never done that. No mother, I have no idea why the forks are charred to shit.
Equipment
- meat grinder
- sausage stuffer
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 5 lbs chuck cut into strips
- 3 tbsp ground mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp pink curing salt
- 1/2 tsp ground celery seeds
- 1 cup ice water
- lamb casings soaked
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together all of the hotdog seasonings. Set aside.
- Cut all of the beef into small strips. Place on a baking sheet and throw it in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will make grinding a little easier.
- Using a coarse ground plate, grind the beef through.
- Grind the beef through one more time.
- Mix in the seasonings and ice water into the ground beef. Mix well for 2 minutes. Place in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Stuff the meat into the lamb casings. Make sure to not over stuff the hotdogs.
- Twist into your desired wiener length. This recipe yielded me 32 hotdogs.
- Place the wieners on your smoking rack.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the hotdogs in the smoker.
- Smoke the hotdogs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. This will take about 90 minutes.
