16 pound bird store bought frozen brined overnight with the Traeger brine. Rubbed seasoned butter under the skin and used Traeger seasoning that came with the brine. Cooked 275 to 160. Turned out tender and juicy maybe to tender. Hated the texture seemed mushy to me. What did I do wrong. Was it the butter or the brine?
Ranger R70 Mercury 115
I don't brine Turkeys to smoke. Only when I fry. I smoke at 225f and splatcock to reduce time and get a more even cook. I rub the night before and leave in refrigerator until an hour before cooking.
Frozen turkeys are brined before you purchase.
Skip the butter, use mayonnaise. Maillard reaction.
275F is too low, cook the bird @ 325F next time.
As noted, spatchcock it. Use pruners, much easier.
Dry with paper towels, air dry in chiller four hours.
Go buy another one, they're stupid cheap now.
Practice makes perfect. You're going to nail it.
Yeah most birds are already injected with a solution. If you want to brine them yourself you must first remove the existing brine solution. I also agree with Jim about the temperature. I get the smoker as hot as I can for birds. I usually will grill a chicken instead of smoking it so I can get to 350.
I hadn't thought about this. I'm going to buy one and practice if I find them cheap enough.Originally Posted by TampaJim
Thanks for the input. I’ll do a few test run to get it right
Ranger R70 Mercury 115
Short but sweet spatchcocking video.
If you're going to smoke the bird, there are two choices.
325F straight thru or 2 hours of smoke only, 350F to finish.
Pull the bird at 155F, let it rest 30 minutes, carve away.
And, yes, 155F. Turkey is actually safe at +150F, not 165F.
The reason for 165F, it's a "universal" food safety value.
Pulling at 155F, it will rise to 160F, maintaining moisture.
Again, mayo not butter. And mayo, not Miracle Whip.
You won't taste any mayo, just sweet, crispy turkey.
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