Tackling a turkey can be one of the most overwhelming tasks of the holiday season. Every year, we receive a plethora of inquiries about how to make the best smokey turkey, including questions about pellet grill capacities, techniques, and pellets as well as proper thawing and cooking times. To help you prepare and cook the ideal turkey, we’ve put together a few helpful tips and tricks. Your guests will love this main course! And, dont forget. a few delectable side dishes more than compliment the meal!.
Get ready to wow your guests with a perfectly cooked, juicy turkey this holiday season! Camp Chef, the experts in outdoor cooking, brings you the ultimate guide to brining and spatchcocking a turkey ensuring a flavorful and tender bird that will be the star of your Thanksgiving table.
Brining:
Brining is a simple yet effective technique that involves soaking your turkey in a salt-water solution. This process infuses the meat with moisture, resulting in a more succulent and flavorful bird. Camp Chef offers two brining methods: wet and dry.
Wet Brining:
- Submerge your turkey in a mixture of water, salt, spices, and herbs for 12-24 hours.
- This method is ideal for adding extra flavor and moisture to your turkey.
- Make sure you have a large enough container to accommodate the turkey and brine solution.
Dry Brining:
- Rub a mixture of salt and spices directly onto the turkey’s skin and let it rest for 24-72 hours.
- This method is simpler than wet brining and requires less space.
- The salt helps keep the turkey moist and adds a delicious savory flavor.
Spatchcocking:
Spatchcocking involves removing the backbone of the turkey and flattening it out. This technique allows for faster and more even cooking, resulting in a crispy skin and juicy meat
How to Spatchcock a Turkey:
- Using sharp kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it.
- Flip the turkey over and press down firmly on the breastbone to break it.
- Lay the turkey flat on a baking sheet or cutting board, skin side up.
Cooking:
Once your turkey is brined and spatchcocked, it’s time to cook it to perfection. Camp Chef recommends using a pellet grill set at 325°F. The exact cooking time will vary depending on the size of your turkey, but you can generally expect it to take about half the time of a traditional roasted turkey.
Tips for the Perfect Turkey:
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°F before serving.
- Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving to allow the juices to redistribute.
- Serve with your favorite Thanksgiving sides, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
Additional Resources:
- Camp Chef’s Turkey Cannon: This innovative tool infuses your turkey with flavor and moisture while it cooks.
- Camp Chef’s Pellet Grills: Our pellet grills offer precise temperature control and delicious wood-fired flavor, perfect for cooking your turkey to perfection.
- Camp Chef’s Turkey Recipes: Find a variety of delicious turkey recipes on our website, including brining and spatchcocking instructions.
With Camp Chef’s expert guidance, you can confidently prepare a mouthwatering turkey that will be the highlight of your Thanksgiving feast. So grab your Camp Chef gear, follow our tips, and get ready to impress your guests with a juicy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked turkey!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Tackling a turkey can be one of the most overwhelming tasks of the holiday season. Every year, we receive a plethora of inquiries about how to make the best smokey turkey, including questions about pellet grill capacities, techniques, and pellets as well as proper thawing and cooking times. To help you prepare and cook the ideal turkey, we’ve put together a few helpful tips and tricks. Your guests will love this main course! And, dont forget. a few delectable side dishes more than compliment the meal!.
While the majority of the time youll be cooking a whole turkey. Its important to understand the full anatomy of the turkey. Especially when it comes to cooking, carving, and serving later in the process. A turkey consists of primarily the breast, wings, drumsticks, and thighs. Lets help you dissect what is what.
The breast is considered white meat. Due to its lower fat content and frequent direct heat exposure, this section cooks the quickest. The breast is the most common and largest part of the bird you will be eating.
Turkey wings are considered white meat and a pretty flavorful part of the bird. The wing has a higher skin to meat ratio than the other turkey parts, so people who like their skin may prefer it.
Located within the same section, the drumstick and thigh are considered dark meat. Because these two extremities are surrounded by connective tissue youll notice they cook slower than your turkeys breast.
Buying a turkey can be intimidating because they can range in size quite drastically. Knowing how much meat you need for how many people you are feeding can also be stressful. The last thing you want is to run out of time after spending all of your time cooking and prepping a turkey.
Dont stress about turkey sizes. Pick a turkey weight based on how many attendees you expect. Add about a 1/2 lbs. extra to these figures for the BEST leftovers. Just dont forget to ask your guests to bring their own Tupperware.
- 5-8 people = 8-12 lbs. turkey
- 8-11 people = 12-16 lbs. turkey
- 11-13 people = 16-20 lbs. turkey
- 13-16 people = 20-24 lbs. turkey
- 16-19 people = 24-28 lbs. turkey
The size of your pellet grill and the size of your turkey will determine how many you can fit on it. If youre cooking for a larger group it may seem practical to get a large, gorgeous, Instagram-worthy turkey. However, we suggest cooking multiple smaller turkeys as they will cook faster and yield more food overall. Keep in mind, its important to not overload your grill as it can throw the air flow off. We use a medium sized turkey for reference below.
- 20-inch grill = one, 12 lbs. turkey
- 24-inch grill = two, 12 lbs. turkey
- 36-inch grill = three, 12 lbs. turkey
Turkeys are tall and require a decent amount of space. All of our grills are able to successfully smoke a turkey. If you end up buying a turkey that is too tall, try spatchcocking your bird. Your bird will lay much more flat on your grill grates. A turkey that is approximately 9 inches tall can fit inside a 24-inch pellet grill, while an 11-inch tall turkey can fit inside a 36-inch pellet grill.
While fresh is always best, we understand not everyone will be able to snag a fresh turkey. Frozen works too. If thats the case–dont forget to thaw! When/how do I thaw a turkey? Great question. Big birds can be challenging, but if you allow yourself extra time before the big day, you should have no trouble!
Keep the turkey in its original wrapping and place it in a fridge set to 40°F or below. You can typically account for 6 hours / pound.
In its original wrapping, submerge the turkey in cold water. Replace the water with cold water every half hour or so. A large sink, bucket, or pot works well for this method. If you are unsure you have a large enough pot to hold your turkey try the 24 qt. or 32 qt. aluminum pots. You can typically account for 30 minutes / pound.
WET BRINE VS. DRY BRINE
Pick your poison—well not really. Either method is good. Brining is basically a fancy word for adding flavor. similar to seasoning a turkey. Heres a little breakdown of our findings on if you should wet brine or dry brine your turkey.
Dry brining is kind of like a smoked turkey rub. It consists of rubbing the salt and seasonings directly onto the meat and skin. Then letting it rest for a period of time. This process will typically take between 24-72 hours, 2-3 hours / pound.
Pro: Simple and requires less space than wet brining. The salt helps keep the turkey moist and adds flavor.
Con: Requires more time when done right.
Wet brining consists of submerging the turkey in salt, spices, and water for an extended period of time. This process will typically take between 12-24 hours.
Pro: Infuses both flavor and moisture.
Cons: Requires a sizable refrigerator container for the turkey or a sturdy brine bag that may take up more room.
Trussing a turkey is a fancy word for tying your turkey up. Do you need to do it? Absolutely not. Its purely for aesthetics. So, if youre looking for that Instagram-worthy turkey then you may choose to truss. However, unlike tying a prime rib, trussing is not the practical route when shooting for a juicy bird. Not only is this a challenging step for novices, but we’ve discovered that tying the legs restricts airflow. It ends up drying your turkey out more than anything. If trussing is a must for you, heres a quick rundown on how to truss a turkey.
- Tie the twine around the turkey’s back to begin.
- To help hold the wings in place, make sure the twine passes over top of them as you bring it around to the front.
- Cross the twine under the ankles and run it along the leg joint.
- Tightly pull and cross the twine beneath the bird’s front.
- Twist the twine around the crossed ankles, making a crisscross pattern on the underside of the ankles. Use a straightforward double overhand knot to tie off the twine, then cut off any excess.
Ever heard of beer can chicken? Same concept, except its with a much larger bird. Using a turkey cannon will infuse your turkey with both moisture and flavor. Pour a liquid of your choice (water, wine, beer, cranberry juice, etc. ) down the tube to just before the bottom hole. (Optional: Add any flavor enhancers such as garlic, fruits, or vegetables. ) Then simply slide the turkey down the cannon breast side up. Oil up the skin and put it in the pellet grill. Grab your Turkey Cannon/Infusion Roaster here.
Deep frying a turkey is another popular cooking method that is worth mentioning. You’ll need an adequately large, yet safe pot and cooker to start. We sell one here on the website. While many of the procedures for preparing poultry are the same, you use cooking oil to fully cook your turkey. Many people choose this method to get a juicy inside and a crackly, crispy skin. There are pre-cautions that you need to make note of before settling on deep frying a turkey.
-Do not cook a turkey weighing more than 18 LBS. Failure to follow this instruction will cause oil overflow.
-Do not let the oil exceed 400°F.
-Never drop food or accessories into hot cooking liquid. Lower food and accessories slowly into the cooking liquid in order to prevent splashing or overflow.
-Do not operate the Turkey Fryer under ANY overhead construction. Keep a minimum clearance of 10 FT from the sides, front and back of appliance to ANY construction.
Want a step-by-step instruction on how to deep fry a turkey? Grab the recipe here.
There are a lot of reasons for spatchcocking your turkey vs. smoking the traditional way. The most commonly used reason is that a spatchcocked turkey will yield a crispier skin. While there is no spatchcock turkey cooking time chart, the turkey will cook in almost half the time. Additionally, it lays flatter, so if vertical space is an issue, it might fit better in your pellet grill or oven. ).
Caytlin’s Smoked Spatchcocked Turkey Tutorial | Camp Chef Thanksgiving
FAQ
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