Poultry

Maple Flavored Smoked Turkey

-----BRINE-----
1/2 c Salt
1/3 c Sugar brown
1/2 ts Maple flavoring
1 t Onion powder
1 t Celery salt
1 c White wine
1 tb Pepper
3 c Water

Place turkey in brine for 8 to 12 hours. Remove from brine. Rinse and air dry for at least one hour. Open upper and lower body cavities to expose to smoke. Place in smoker and smoke with your favorite fuel. Smoke for 30 minutes per pound approximately. i.e. 10 lbs = 5 hours.  Remove from smoker and bake in the oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes per pound. You may also use your smoker, if it is a convertable model, in a roast mode to cook the turkey. Turkey is done when joints separate easily from the body and if the meat is pierced with a toothpick the juices are clear. Watch the bird closely during the roasting phase  as different birds will require greatly differing time for cooking depending upon the temperature of the smoker.

NOTE: If desired the brown sugar may be replaced with maple syrup giving the bird a more maple flavor.


Ultimate Smoked Turkey

1 turkey -- 8 to 10 pounds
1 medium onion
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup white wine


Rinse turkey, pat dry and rub liberally with oil (we'd rub it with Liquid Smoke instead). Place onion, bay leaves and wine in water pan with hot  water (we'd add a few sticks of celery and a few cloves of garlic). Place water pan in smoker and turkey on grid (it won't hurt to put a quartered onion, a few stalks of celery and a bay leaf inside the turkey; we also sometimes mix freshly ground black  pepper, a bit of salt and some crushed thyme together and after loosening the breast skin with your hands, push this mix up under the skin and spread over the breast of the turkey).  Place dome on smoker and do not remove until midway through cooking time. Then remove dome and liberally paint turkey with Super Smoking Sauce. Replace dome and continue smoking. When turkey is done, liberally paint again and allow to smoke for 15 minutes more. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
Charcoal: Use 10 pounds charcoal, 5 quarts hot water, 3 wood sticks (we use about 5 to 8 presoaked wood blocks) and smoke 4 to 6 hours. Electric: Use 4 quarts hot water, 3 wood sticks and smoke 4 to 6 hours. Add water to water pan after about 4 hours or as needed (you can tell when smoker needs water by the sizzling sound it will make). Recipe from "Cook'n Cajun Water Smoker Cookbook" by Sondra Hester.

Cherry Flavored Smoked Duck

3 ea Young ducks, quartered or Halved
1 c Red wine
1 t Ginger, fresh, grated
1 t Dry mustard
1/4 c Brown sugar

Trim off fat and smoke duck for 2 or 3 hours using cherry wood for fuel.

Remove from smoker and marinate in the mixture above for at least overnight.

Barbeque until done, 45 - 60 minutes. Baste with marinade while broiling.

Credit: Luhr-Jensen

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Copyright © 1998 Greater Houston BBQ Society
Last modified: July 08, 1998