In suggesting a turkey for Christmas this year I was met with, you guessed it, Fine. Ugh. I thought I had discovered a new fun way to try turkey. I was psyched. I was excited. I had a brand new, shiny injector in hand! Fine was not the answer I wanted so it was time to cook a test-run bird.
Below is a recipe I adapted from Food & Wine magazine. The ingredients are true to the recipe with a few minor exceptions. I, of course, added more than a splash of bourbon (which in the end was un-noticed), the herbs and spices were all organic and we smoked the turkey low and slow over our gas grill. This was a first time smoking a turkey and I will say, its the easiest bird I have ever cooked.
The flavor of the bird was amazing. The spice rub seemed intense when applying it to the bird but it gave it amazing flavor without over powering the flavor of the turkey itself. The injection of butter and bourbon made the meat incredibly flavorful and juicy. Even the white meat remained juicy as left-overs days later. No dry meat.
 |
| Test run Bourbon Brined Smoked Turkey Nov 2016 |
 |
| Bulleit Burbon at the ready |
Inject the turkey with:
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C Chicken stock
Splash of Bourbon (my splash was more like two)
 |
| Inject the Bourbon mixture into various parts of the bird. |
Ingredients for the Rub
2 Tbs Paprika
2 Tbs Ancho
1 Tbs Onion powder
1 Tbs Cayanne
1 Tbs Thyme
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 tsp ground bay leaf
1 Tbs each salt and pepper
 |
| The spices for the rub. Mix the spices fully and distribute over the entire bird. |
 |
| Our brined, injected and now freshly rubbed Turkey |
Since we do not have an actual smoker, we used our Weber gas grill with smoking chips on one side with the heat, bird on the other side. It is recommended to smoke the bird at 240 degrees. Our grill wasn't able to maintain that low of a temp and we smoked the turkey at 300 degrees. The timing is 30 to 40 minutes per pound.
We are making this recipe again for Thanksgiving 2017 because it was The. Best. Turkey. Ever!
