After trying this Turkey recipe, try out a Brisket! Try Smoke Trails BBQ Brisket Rub on your next brisket! You can get it here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBY1DB1F
thank you so much for this video. the smoker is new to me so i dont know much i followed your recipe and it is the best bird i ever ate and im 70+ years old thanks ill be looking for more
Tried this recipe for Thanksgiving this year on a 16lbs Turk, came out perfect! I spatchcocked prior to 24hr brine due to space limitations, no issues! Thanks for walking us through step by step👍🏻
100% spot on procedure. I also enjoyed the affable nature of the presenter. Two weeks before Thanksgiving we had our butcher split and spatchcock a 9.8lb turkey. Then we followed his procedure completely (although he did not show brining in this video) and then went with our own rub when it was time to rub the halved turkey. I have a Masterbuilt ES and use it on the regular, so I was looking forward to executing this. The first bird turned out well during our staging meal, but it rested too long so the skin wasn't as awesome as it could've been. On Thanksgiving 2019 we followed the same procedure and with the same rub that my wife came up with, and did so for 2 birds @ 9.8lbs each. Those birds were butchered and prepared in the same exact way. Absolutely delicious, and a crowd pleaser. Turkey was moist and skin was crisp. It was cold out (34 deg F) and windy and keeping MB ES at 275 deg F was a challenge, but still after basting w olive oil and rotating shelves in smoker 3 times throughout the process, we finished in about 4 hours. Then we let rest for about 45 mins (other food was still finishing up at 30 min marker). Tapped into second round of leftovers today. Delicious!
Thanks Nathan. I appreciate your comment! That's a good point about resting. I find the smaller birds come out a lot better and more evenly cooked so maybe that's part of the reason your Thanksgiving turkeys came out better. Great job on the brine and custom rub. That's what I love about BBQ. There's a couple rules to follow (temperature etc.) but lots of room for "moments of creativity" everywhere in the process. There's no right way to do it. Just the way YOU want to do it.
Thank you for this awesome and very detailed video, I will cook smoke my first turkey next weekend. I been looking for a video that would help me out and I found this one.
lol, You forgot one of your four pillars to a good smoke. I use the Alton Brown’s Brine for this smoke. I have since changed my electric smoker to a pellet Traeger and has been always been the best and juiciest turkey. I do enjoy your video every time this year. Happy smoking everyone!
Followed this method for our Thanksgiving turkey and it was really good. This was our first time smoking a turkey and it will be my method of choice going forward. I didn't use your rub, but rather a sweeter one, and the skin was still crispy and tasty. I used apple wood chips which was good, but next time I think I will use pecan or cherry. I read that cherry with hickory make a good combo for poultry. I brined for 24 hours using the suggested ratio, and then spatchcocked the turkey. Next time, i think I will spatchcock first. I think the brine was great and I have no desire to introduce other flavors. It worked great. When I took the turkey out of the smoker and felt the texture of the meat, I thought it was overcooked and going to be tough and dry. It felt like there was no give to the meat. I let it rest for 20 minutes. The meat was firm but it carved like butter. And, it was the best tasting turkey I have ever had; flavorful, moist, fragrant and visually appealing. (And so much easier to carve!!!) I am originally from Montreal. Your snow vignette made me a little home sick. I currently live in the southern US. I say this because I had planned on a 3 hour-ish cooking time. It was done in less than 2. (10 pound bird). I lowered the heat and pushed all other parts of the menu ahead. All told, it stayed in the smoker for 2.5 hours and sat for 20 minutes, and it was great. So thanks for the video, and thanks for the inspiration. Cheers
Great video! Was just given a whole turkey cut in 1/2. Already have 1 half brining as I write. Hope mine turns out half as good. Thanks again. And BTW, I love the Meater probe as well.
We just brown our butter then add seasoning to the mixture. This reduces the moisture in the butter while getting some of the nutty, warm vanilla notes.
First, thank you for the content. I've used a lot of your videos for brisket, jerky, ribs and everyone, including myself have been really pleased with the results so thank you, thank you. I smoked a 13lbs turkey today that finished in a little over two hours (165 white meat, 168-170 dark). Needless to say the sides were nowhere near done. What do you do to keep food warm for several hours while we wait for the sides?
Just bought one yesterday. Gonna use it for Thanksgiving and Christmas for sure. Made a rack of ribs last night on it took me 6 and a half hours but it turned out great. Finishing up a 5 lbs chicken right now but I will go by this video for next Thursday
Hey Thomas! I just used my MES for hamburgers, and it was cold out and could only maintain 263 out of 275 but instead of taking 1:30 to slow smoke the burgers I had them in there for 40 mins, then 10 mins in the oven at 400! Burgers were delicious and ready 40 mins ahead of time. Maybe you can practice something like that with your ribs? They absorb the smokey flavor and seal in the moisture in the first 1/2 of the smoking process it appears.
Henry you are so right I have watched him from his beginnings, I have learned sooooo much and am now an awesome turkey chef. I use a flavored olive oil. Stay safe all. Love master built and Smoke Trails. Ladies you can do this also.
Ok. First time to smoke a turkey in the MB. I have a 20 lb turkey. Do I dry brine or wet brine or both? Do I inject or rub or both? Do I use chips or pellets? Do I use a water pan with juice or nothing? How long do I prepare to have it smoke for? I have been up since 4am and I can’t watch another video. HELP!
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ You won't get this until it is too late, but with my leuvers barely cracked my masterbuilt electric smoker temp will not exceed 200 deg inside (with my turkey in there). It is 42deg outside and overcast.
Mine says that I can use pellets, and even for a base Masterbuilt model (I forget which it is off the top of my head). Hickory pellets from my local big box home improvement store worked well and they burned hot, which was great when operating in cold, windy, and rainy weather. 2 hours is a bit of a stretch for burn time, but certainly we got at least an hour per batch (3 in total). Since I've always only used chips I was dubious about suddenly switching to pellets, but after reading a bunch of smoking message boards, and also watching a bunch on RUclips, I felt comfortable going the pellets route. Not sure if I will ever return to chips.
Smoke Trails, would there be any reason to not spatchcock the turkey before brining? Would doing so change the amount of time needed for brining or drying? I'm thinking of going this route because of space limitations in my fridge and the size of my largest marinating container. Thanks for the videos! Lot's of great ideas for me to try.
Hi Brian. That's a really great idea. I cant think of any disadvantages of doing it that way. You're exposing a bit more of the breast to the salt but that's actually a good thing. I say go for it! Also, let me know how it turns out because I want to try it!
I sawzall the bird before brining. I brine for a minimum 60 hours. Inject with my apple cider brine, and smoke for 6hours with apple wood at 175.... perfect every time.
Hi Donnie, thanks a lot for watching! I hope you got some good info out of the video! I basted them in oil every time I opened the smoker (including for rotating them)
Do you have to cut the turkey in half like you did? I’m not going to use the spine for any type of gravy. Also if I cook the whole 16 lb turkey at 275. How long will it take to cook? Can I cut it in half without taking the spine out? I don’t have any cutters like that. Thanks
Hi john. Thanks for watching. You sure can. Try a mixture of chicken stock and melted butter for the injection. The important think is to get salt in there for some brine action (via chicken stock).
Supco T1104 Quick Disconnect, Non Insulated, 16-14 Gauge, 1/4" Flag These are high temp connectors that you can replace. Chances are its not the element itself, but the connectors.
@@ShaneGraham057 ...... It wasn't the element; On the first unit nor on the second unit Masterbuilt replaced the first with on warranty. When the second died, I decided to stop beating this dead horse. . . My arm was getting tired.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I have one used it 4 or 5 times no longer works MB is no help phone or email my smoker stayed in my shop never got wet. Had it less than a year
@@dannybonds4174 that sucks man. Maybe you got a lemon. If you register it here (do that first) and THEN submit a warranty/replacement request on the same page then they will get back to you. may take some time but they always get back to me and when they do they have always just replaced whatever isn't working: www.masterbuilt.com/pages/support They've replaced out of warranty parts for me and also fully replaced a cold smoker attachment that was missing a part. It's kind of like going to the DMV, as long as you follow the process they will eventually get to you and get you what you need. Just my two cents on how I approach it.
@@dannybonds4174 It sucks yours had issues. I’ve had the base model Masterbuilt smoker for 2 years now with hundreds of hours on it and have yet to replace a part. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t.
After trying this Turkey recipe, try out a Brisket! Try Smoke Trails BBQ Brisket Rub on your next brisket! You can get it here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBY1DB1F
thank you so much for this video. the smoker is new to me so i dont know much i followed your recipe and it is the best bird i ever ate and im 70+ years old thanks ill be looking for more
Tried this recipe for Thanksgiving this year on a 16lbs Turk, came out perfect! I spatchcocked prior to 24hr brine due to space limitations, no issues! Thanks for walking us through step by step👍🏻
Did you cut it in half or leave as whole?
100% spot on procedure. I also enjoyed the affable nature of the presenter.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving we had our butcher split and spatchcock a 9.8lb turkey. Then we followed his procedure completely (although he did not show brining in this video) and then went with our own rub when it was time to rub the halved turkey. I have a Masterbuilt ES and use it on the regular, so I was looking forward to executing this. The first bird turned out well during our staging meal, but it rested too long so the skin wasn't as awesome as it could've been.
On Thanksgiving 2019 we followed the same procedure and with the same rub that my wife came up with, and did so for 2 birds @ 9.8lbs each. Those birds were butchered and prepared in the same exact way. Absolutely delicious, and a crowd pleaser. Turkey was moist and skin was crisp. It was cold out (34 deg F) and windy and keeping MB ES at 275 deg F was a challenge, but still after basting w olive oil and rotating shelves in smoker 3 times throughout the process, we finished in about 4 hours. Then we let rest for about 45 mins (other food was still finishing up at 30 min marker). Tapped into second round of leftovers today. Delicious!
Thanks Nathan. I appreciate your comment! That's a good point about resting. I find the smaller birds come out a lot better and more evenly cooked so maybe that's part of the reason your Thanksgiving turkeys came out better. Great job on the brine and custom rub. That's what I love about BBQ. There's a couple rules to follow (temperature etc.) but lots of room for "moments of creativity" everywhere in the process. There's no right way to do it. Just the way YOU want to do it.
Thank you for this awesome and very detailed video, I will cook smoke my first turkey next weekend. I been looking for a video that would help me out and I found this one.
Nice! Good luck with your turkey!
My turkey came out perfect, it looks like yours. Thank you for your insight.
i realize it is pretty randomly asking but do anybody know a good website to watch new series online ?
lol, You forgot one of your four pillars to a good smoke. I use the Alton Brown’s Brine for this smoke. I have since changed my electric smoker to a pellet Traeger and has been always been the best and juiciest turkey. I do enjoy your video every time this year. Happy smoking everyone!
Followed this method for our Thanksgiving turkey and it was really good. This was our first time smoking a turkey and it will be my method of choice going forward. I didn't use your rub, but rather a sweeter one, and the skin was still crispy and tasty. I used apple wood chips which was good, but next time I think I will use pecan or cherry. I read that cherry with hickory make a good combo for poultry.
I brined for 24 hours using the suggested ratio, and then spatchcocked the turkey. Next time, i think I will spatchcock first. I think the brine was great and I have no desire to introduce other flavors. It worked great.
When I took the turkey out of the smoker and felt the texture of the meat, I thought it was overcooked and going to be tough and dry. It felt like there was no give to the meat. I let it rest for 20 minutes. The meat was firm but it carved like butter. And, it was the best tasting turkey I have ever had; flavorful, moist, fragrant and visually appealing. (And so much easier to carve!!!)
I am originally from Montreal. Your snow vignette made me a little home sick. I currently live in the southern US. I say this because I had planned on a 3 hour-ish cooking time. It was done in less than 2. (10 pound bird). I lowered the heat and pushed all other parts of the menu ahead. All told, it stayed in the smoker for 2.5 hours and sat for 20 minutes, and it was great.
So thanks for the video, and thanks for the inspiration.
Cheers
Dripppy! love the video man, looking forward to cooking my turkey this weekend!
Very well done sir! You said some things I'd not thought about! Thanks
Great video! Was just given a whole turkey cut in 1/2. Already have 1 half brining as I write. Hope mine turns out half as good. Thanks again.
And BTW, I love the Meater probe as well.
What if u spatchcock b4 drying in fridge? So you only swapped once? An wouldn’t that cooler make skin chew steaming?
We just brown our butter then add seasoning to the mixture. This reduces the moisture in the butter while getting some of the nutty, warm vanilla notes.
I've always had a problem with the skin. It comes out like shoe leather. I'll try this method this year and see how it works out. Good Video!! Thanks!
Thanks Tom! Let me know how it turns out
Really great video. Hope you get a ton of views over the next couple months because you deserve it.
Thanks Brayden!
First, thank you for the content. I've used a lot of your videos for brisket, jerky, ribs and everyone, including myself have been really pleased with the results so thank you, thank you. I smoked a 13lbs turkey today that finished in a little over two hours (165 white meat, 168-170 dark). Needless to say the sides were nowhere near done. What do you do to keep food warm for several hours while we wait for the sides?
Thanks! You can let it sit on the counter about 10 mins so it stops cooking, then foil it and leave it in the MES set to 150 to hold it until dinner.
So you have the vents wide open? 6:39
Yep! More airflow
What kind of smoker did he use?
Just bought one yesterday. Gonna use it for Thanksgiving and Christmas for sure. Made a rack of ribs last night on it took me 6 and a half hours but it turned out great. Finishing up a 5 lbs chicken right now but I will go by this video for next Thursday
Hey Thomas! I just used my MES for hamburgers, and it was cold out and could only maintain 263 out of 275 but instead of taking 1:30 to slow smoke the burgers I had them in there for 40 mins, then 10 mins in the oven at 400!
Burgers were delicious and ready 40 mins ahead of time. Maybe you can practice something like that with your ribs?
They absorb the smokey flavor and seal in the moisture in the first 1/2 of the smoking process it appears.
Being a newbie after you fill the chamber with pellets and open the first hour.. do you add more pellets or no?
Henry you are so right I have watched him from his beginnings, I have learned sooooo much and am now an awesome turkey chef. I use a flavored olive oil. Stay safe all. Love master built and Smoke Trails. Ladies you can do this also.
Thanks so much Sharon!
I like your old fashioned grinders...
Thank you,!
@SmokeTrailsBBQ
Have you done this with out cutting bird in half
Ok. First time to smoke a turkey in the MB. I have a 20 lb turkey. Do I dry brine or wet brine or both? Do I inject or rub or both? Do I use chips or pellets? Do I use a water pan with juice or nothing? How long do I prepare to have it smoke for? I have been up since 4am and I can’t watch another video. HELP!
Should I fill the moisture bowl or not? It would prevent a crispy skin, no?
Not necessary
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ You won't get this until it is too late, but with my leuvers barely cracked my masterbuilt electric smoker temp will not exceed 200 deg inside (with my turkey in there). It is 42deg outside and overcast.
@@georgeramos1462 put it in the oven?
What size smoker are you using in this video? thanks
Mes 30
My Masterbuilt manual says to not use pellets, only wood chips. Have you ever had issues with the pellets? Any reason to not use them?
Mine says that I can use pellets, and even for a base Masterbuilt model (I forget which it is off the top of my head). Hickory pellets from my local big box home improvement store worked well and they burned hot, which was great when operating in cold, windy, and rainy weather. 2 hours is a bit of a stretch for burn time, but certainly we got at least an hour per batch (3 in total).
Since I've always only used chips I was dubious about suddenly switching to pellets, but after reading a bunch of smoking message boards, and also watching a bunch on RUclips, I felt comfortable going the pellets route. Not sure if I will ever return to chips.
*_New here fam!_* That bird is juicy. Thanks for the tip on using pellets versus chips. 💈💈💈
If you wrap your brisket through the whole process you might as well put it in the oven,smoke won’t penetrate the foil or paper.
Who is talking about brisket?
I have a 22lb turkey 🦃 what do you estimate cook time would be ? Could you use mayo instead of olive oil ? Thank you for a such informative video ☺️
are you cutting it in half and staking it in the MES like in the video? if so then pretty similar amount of time. I would use oil.
Smoke Trails, would there be any reason to not spatchcock the turkey before brining? Would doing so change the amount of time needed for brining or drying? I'm thinking of going this route because of space limitations in my fridge and the size of my largest marinating container. Thanks for the videos! Lot's of great ideas for me to try.
Hi Brian. That's a really great idea. I cant think of any disadvantages of doing it that way. You're exposing a bit more of the breast to the salt but that's actually a good thing. I say go for it! Also, let me know how it turns out because I want to try it!
I sawzall the bird before brining. I brine for a minimum 60 hours. Inject with my apple cider brine, and smoke for 6hours with apple wood at 175.... perfect every time.
@@Cyberman1960 You sawzall the bird?! That's bad-ss! :-)
@@np6715 yes I do....I use a brand new 12" blade, works great.
Cheers
Seems like putting the turkey in a shut up cooler would cause steam. Wich would soften the skin and take away some of the crispness??
Yes, I am curious about this too. We just draped a sheet of aluminum foil over each bird and it worked well.
@@np6715 👍👍👍
How about injection to add moisture?
It works!
Did you add any water to the water pan?
I'm curious on this one as well.
I use 1/2 water and 1/2 apple cider vinegar.
I used 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 apple cider vinegar. Very nice.
It looks very very dry when you cut into it even the knife did not have moisture on it?
I find that the majority of commercially available turkeys are already brined. Are you saying to brine it again?
Smoke Trails, did you apply the oil each time you rotated them?
Hi Donnie, thanks a lot for watching! I hope you got some good info out of the video! I basted them in oil every time I opened the smoker (including for rotating them)
Do you have to cut the turkey in half like you did? I’m not going to use the spine for any type of gravy. Also if I cook the whole 16 lb turkey at 275. How long will it take to cook? Can I cut it in half without taking the spine out? I don’t have any cutters like that. Thanks
Great video definitely . Turned out amazing
Thanks jacob
I use mayo and rub gives great flavor very moist and bite thru skin yum
Great Video Thank you!!
So no water pan?
Can I inject the turkey before smoking?
Hi john. Thanks for watching. You sure can. Try a mixture of chicken stock and melted butter for the injection. The important think is to get salt in there for some brine action (via chicken stock).
Smoke Trails what should the ratio be for the chicken stock to butter?
If I inject and let dry in the fridge will my skin still be crispy? Has anyone tried that?
You really should emphasize the effort it takes to split the bird. Editing that now makes sense.
Was the skin on this bird leathery at all?
No it was crispy. Leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry the skin and cover with oil before it goes in. The skin will come out great
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Exactly correct. If people follow exactly what you presented here, it turns out as advertised.
Serrated knife cuts through that easier than sheets.
Y didnt u show cutting along the spine ....
I cut out the boring parts for your convenience. As a rule, I try to show myself doing something just for as long as it takes to say what I'm doing.
Looks dry
Smoke a Turkey in Masterbuilt using the boil water method.
Looks too dry?
Do it quick, the Masterbuilt electric smoker has a life span of about 48 hours of on time before the connection to the heating coils are toast.
Supco T1104 Quick Disconnect, Non Insulated, 16-14 Gauge, 1/4" Flag
These are high temp connectors that you can replace. Chances are its not the element itself, but the connectors.
@@ShaneGraham057 ...... It wasn't the element; On the first unit nor on the second unit Masterbuilt replaced the first with on warranty.
When the second died, I decided to stop beating this dead horse. . . My arm was getting tired.
205 for pork??? I think not
Best way to smoke food is with a better smoker than a MB they're junk check the reviews before buying
Have you used one? What was your experience with it?
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I have one used it 4 or 5 times no longer works MB is no help phone or email my smoker stayed in my shop never got wet. Had it less than a year
@@dannybonds4174 that sucks man. Maybe you got a lemon. If you register it here (do that first) and THEN submit a warranty/replacement request on the same page then they will get back to you. may take some time but they always get back to me and when they do they have always just replaced whatever isn't working: www.masterbuilt.com/pages/support They've replaced out of warranty parts for me and also fully replaced a cold smoker attachment that was missing a part. It's kind of like going to the DMV, as long as you follow the process they will eventually get to you and get you what you need. Just my two cents on how I approach it.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I got a Pit Boss smoker now and love it. Trashed the MB and will not buy any of there products again.
@@dannybonds4174 It sucks yours had issues. I’ve had the base model Masterbuilt smoker for 2 years now with hundreds of hours on it and have yet to replace a part. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t.
Never trust anyone who carves meat with a serrated knife...
That's the best knife for brisket imo.
so he touches the cooler...then touches the turkey... then touches the cooler again... then touches the turkey also again. bad food etiquette.
Umm excuse me, I licked my fingers clean before touching any of that stuff.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I STAND CORRECTED! LOL. YOU ARE A MORON!
@@aloharandomvlogs9787 thanks for watching!
this year the presidential turkey pardon will be a Rudy Giuliani pardon
Looks kind of dry
It was dryer than soup!