How to Smoke a Turkey With a Smoker
Buying a smoked turkey can be expensive, so smoking a turkey in your backyard smoker will save you some money and still give you the tasty flavors that smoked food has to offer. The difference between baking a turkey and smoking a turkey is quite different. A smoker uses indirect heat at low, controlled temperatures to cook the turkey over the course of three to seven hours, using a combination of charcoal, water and flavored wood chips. The wood chips infuse the turkey with flavors that baking or grilling can not. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Soak a few handfuls of wood chips in water for approximately an hour.
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Remove the water pan and charcoal pan (smoker box) from the smoker.
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3
Pour eight to 10 pounds of charcoal into the charcoal box and saturate it with lighter fluid.
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Fill the water pan halfway up with water and insert back into the smoker. Insert the smoker box back into the smoker.
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Light the charcoal with a match and allow it to burn for approximately 30 minutes until the coals are red hot. Keep the door of the smoker box open while the charcoal is burning.
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Place the soaked wood chips on top of the hot coals. Soaked wood chips will give off a lot of smoke when placed on the coals. Try different flavors such as mesquite, hickory, oak and barbecue. Close the door of the smoker box.
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Place the turkey on top of the grill rack and cover with the lid once the temperature of the smoker reaches 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Smoke the turkey for three to seven hours until done. The internal temperature of a cooked turkey should be at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Add more wood chips to the hot coals as needed, approximately every hour.
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Tips & Warnings
The smoking estimate for cooking a turkey is approximately 20 to 30 minutes per pound.
References
- Photo Credit wood chips image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
