FireCooker Forums

Looking for some ideas on griliing a turkey breast.  Indirect?  What temperature?  Type of wood smoke?  Seasonings?

Thanks!!!

For turkey breast I would either smoke it or grill indirect.  If it’s skinless, I’d smoke at 220-250*.  With skin on, I’d grill indirect at 325* to help get that crisp skin. 

For wood smoke I would use pecan which is fantastic with poultry, but hickory, maple, or the fruit woods would be good too.  Those are all pretty mild in flavor, but you still want to be careful not to use too much smoke as you can easily overpower chicken or turkey with smoke, leaving too strong a flavor.

You may want to consider using a brine, which would help keep the breast from drying out and will also add flavor.  Last Thanksgiving, I smoke roasted a whole turkey using a brine (first time using a brine) and it was the best turkey I’ve ever tasted.  Had great flavor and was very moist throughout.

I tried something for the first time this past weekend…..spatchcock turkey!  It turned out great, especially for those of us that like the dark meat.

300 degrees, indirect, with apple wood for smoke.  Cooked until breast was 170 and thigh 180.

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee358/FrankCawley/IMG00058-20090913-1409.jpg

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That’s excellent.  I haven’t tried smoking turkey outside of Thanksgiving but I bet the leftovers would make great sandwiches

Even better than sandwiches with that leftover turkey, I like to use mine to make a big pot of turkey & smoked sausage gumbo.  In fact, sometimes I’ll smoke turkey or chicken along with some sausage specifically for this use.  I pick all the meat off the bones and boil the carcass to make the stock.  Even if I’m not making gumbo, I’ll use the carcass for stock even if it’s to freeze for later use, as it makes excellent smokey flavored stock and gets more use for your dollar.  Also, making that stock leaves the wonderful aroma of that pecan smoked turkey or chicken throughout my entire apartment for a day or so, and you just can’t buy air freshener like that in any store

If there’s not enough left for gumbo, those leftovers do make a great sandwich.