By now most of you realize 1) I’m from Texas, 2) I enjoy meat, and 3) I love smoked meats…must be something Texans are born with! For years my husband and I owned the old fashioned smokers where it really was a labor of love and something I did on rare occasions. Why? Because I’d have to wake up at midnight to start the smoker and smoke a large turkey for almost 17 hours…now do you see why I call it a labor of love?
My husband must love smoked meats more than I do, because last year he splurged on this baby:
Now we can plug in our electric smoker and get the same results within a few hours instead of half of a day! Thank you Masterbuilt!
And thank you to the crew at the Recipe Redux! Here is January’s theme:
Start Smoking in the New Year…The New Year is heating up with smoke and spiciness. From boldly flavored smoked salts to actual smoking techniques, subtly smoked food is on-trend. The same can be said for spice as we savor heat from harissa, siracha, and smoked paprika. Show us the healthy dish you’re heating up with smoke and/or spiciness.
There are a couple things to consider when smoking:
- Type of Meat or Fish: beef, pork, chicken, turkey, sausage, etc.
- Marinade or Brine: italian dressing, apple cider, beer, a simple brine (salt water solution), etc.
- Type of wood chips: mesquite, pecan, hickory, apple, etc.
Why smoke meat? It’s packed with a flavor and can really add a great dimension to your meal. For me, smoked turkey is my absolute favorite…it’s just something I’ve been raised with in Texas. At all fairs or carnivals you will find big ol’ smoked turkey legs that are to die for! Well, at least in my book. So today, as we get smoky on Recipe Redux I’m going to share with you my smoked turkey recipe. This same recipe can be applied to smoking any poultry and can be downsized to just smoking the breast. Please, please, please…always keep the skin on when smoking poultry! This protects the delicate meat and locks in moisture. After smoking just remove the skin and enjoy the smoky meat.
First up…brine or marinade:
The rule of thumb for brining turkeys is about 45 minutes of brining per pound of meat. Rough estimate, but it’ll get you started!
Simple Brine recipe (this covers an 18-22lb turkey):
- 2 gallons of water
- 1 cup coarse sea salt
- 1 cup brown sugar or maple syrup
- 2 lemons, cut into thick slices
- 4-6 sprigs of thyme and rosemary, each
Next, choose your wood chips. If you prefer a sweet turkey you may enjoy hickory, apple, or pecan. For me, I always use mesquite, it’s just what we use in Texas and it produces my favorite flavor. Soak your wood chips for an hour prior to smoking.
After marinating your turkey I rub the skin with olive oil and stuff lemon slices beneath the skin then liberally salt and pepper the outside.
Last step before you smoke your meat is your drip pan. Add a little bit of water to your drip pan to add in moisture. Here’s a good resource page on the “whys” of using a water pan or drip pan.
Here’s the tricky part of smoking…how long?! Well, that really depends on the smoker you use. Our new electric smoker has a meat thermometer which helps us gauge time. Here’s a great post on times & temperatures for a variety of meats: http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-times-and-temperatures-chart
The finished product & flavor is worth every hour and savored with every bite…
You can see I added a couple bacon slices to the top for some added flavor and moister. Don’t fret if your meat looks a little pink…this is normal for smoked meats!
And I’ll be honest, with me living outside of Texas I struggle with finding good barbecue…people can say they make good barbecue, but…no. It’s not the same. We have numerous places here in San Diego that claim to be “good,” but my husband and I would barely give them mediocre ratings. It’s just best that I make my own! Here’s my smoked brisket recipe if you find yourself inspired!
And don’t let the carcass go to waste! After smoking the turkey I use the carcass & meat to make my favorite turkey vegetable soup:
Now to kick back and savor the sunset as we reap the rewards of our labors in smoking meats
Check out some of my fellow Recipe Redux’er posts on their take on a smoky January:
Loading InLinkz ...