Then I found the secret ingredient. It's olive oil mayo. Obviously you'll want to brine it (I prefer dry brining), but you mix a half cup of the mayo with your seasoning and slather it all over and under the skin. The mayo constantly bastes the turkey during the cooking process. I did one yesterday like that for the Wife's work today and it was a major hit. What I nibbled on while carving it was out of this world. Hands down the best turkey I've ever done and the skin was nice and crispy. Give it a try sometime.
If you're smoking your Thanksgiving turkey
- Thread starter BC_Wader
- Start date
You'll love it. I'm going to do it on some young whole chickens or cornish hens next time I fire up the weber smokey mountain.
We smoked our turkey yesterday and I too prefer a dry brining. I also used a mixture of whipped butter, dill, garlic salt and olive oil to coat under the turkey skin and it turned out pretty damn good. First year smoking the turkey instead of the traditional oven or deep frying. This was the easiest prep and process by far.
I smoked one about 10 years ago for Thanksgiving and it was outstanding but the drippings made the gravy too smokey (smoky?). Nobody liked the smokey gravy. Probably should have used less and substituted.
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Weber Smokey Mountain. I have the 18" and it's plenty big for us. They make a 22" model. The thing is a beast of a smoker and holds temps extremely well.
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain and I all but hate it. The aluminum "door" is crap and the drum or body of the smoker should have had handles on the sides so you can easily pick it up off the bottom to more easily access the coals.
Easy fix. You can buy aftermarket doors and handles. Can also buy a hinge for the lid and casters for the legs. I don't have any of those and I have zero problems. I do plan on the hinge for the lid and the casters. If you have everything set right there's no need to keep opening the door anyways. If it's an issue of wanting to add more coal or wood just get some long tongs.
I bought a Traeger Pro 34 smoker earlier this year during a Memorial Day weekend sale at Home Depot. Total shot in the dark and had to learn the entire process, from pellets, maintenance, cooking styles, meat preparation, etc.
Traeger runs a little pricey, but if you do the work in maintaining it properly, you'll get awesome results. We've done ribs, brisket, pork butt, tri-tip, burgers, chicken, salmon, bacon, a Thanksgiving Turkey, Ribeye and wings. I'd encourage you to find some YouTube channels on the matter that catch your attention and use them as a resource when creating your method of smoking.
