Split, Smoked Turkey

How to Smoke a Split Turkey

What You Need

Ingredients

·      Optional - 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

Equipment

·      Smoker

·      Hardwood

·      Sharp Knife

·      Tongs

·      Large Rimmed Baking Sheet or Meat Platter

Instructions – 18 to 24 lbs bird

·      Note: with a larger frozen turkey, you’ll need to allow 3 days for it to slowly defrost in the fridge and at least 12 hours to dry brine before you proceed.

·      Using a meat cleaver, spatchcock the turkey by cutting along both sides of the backbone; reserve backbone piece.  If the turkey is still frozen, place it in the sink and run room temperature water over it until it is thawed.

·      Flip the bird breast side up, and use a knife to cut down the middle of the breasts; once the meat is separated, use a meat cleaver to cut through the center of the breastbone.

·      Once the bird is dry brined, it should be dry and ready for the smoker!

·      Optional – slather the outside of the bird with softened unsalted butter.

·      Set-up smoker; temp should hover be between 250 and 300 degrees.

·      Place turkey halves breast side up in smoker; make sure they are not overlapping or touching.

·      Monitor the temperature of the bird and the smoker.

·      The breast is cooked when the temperature reaches 165 degrees.

·      The thigh/leg is cooked when the temperature reaches 175 degrees.

·      To prevent overcooking of the breast or undercooking the thigh/leg, you may wish to separate the breast/wing from the thigh leg as soon as the breast meat reaches optimal temperature – 165 degrees.  You can do this by pulling each half of the turkey out of the smoker, placing them on a baking sheet, platter, or other large clean surface.  Then, using paper towels, gently pry the breast away from the thigh/leg – the bird should be mostly cooked, making it easy to pull apart, but you may also need to use a knife wherever there is resistance.  Place the thigh/leg pieces back into the smoker until each reaches 175 degrees.  While the thigh/leg is still smoking, loosely tent the breast pieces with foil to keep them warm.  Alternatively, the breast pieces can be wrapped in foil and placed in a low temperature oven or empty ice cooler with the lid down to keep warm.

·      When the bird is fully cooked, carve it up and enjoy it with friends and family!

·      Breast meat on a 24 lbs bird will take approximately 5 hours.

·      Thigh/leg meat on a 24 lbs bird will take approximately 5 hours 30 minutes.