Cooking Resources

Andy M. · 07-09-2011, 03:42 PM

SO and I were sitting on the deck earlier this afternoon, enjoying the perfect weather and each others company when the subject of food came up. (No surprise there).

I was speculating about grilling the chicken I'd just defrosted for tomorrow's dinner. I also mentioned I could smoke it if she liked.

We immediately leaped from there to "I want you to smoke a turkey breast next! They're delicious. I'll pick one up for you Monday."

So now I'm on the hook for a smoked turkey breast. I need some direction.

What kind of wood for smoke? Apple, Maple, Cherry, Hickory?
About how long will it take?
Do I need smoke the whole time?
What temperature? (assuming I can actually manage to control temperature)
What didn't I ask that I should know?

Save my bacon, guys. I'm counting on your help.

Hmmm, bacon! Could I wrap it in bacon?!?!

**Zhizara** · 07-09-2011, 05:00 PM

It sounds good wrapped in bacon. I love turkey and bacon sandwiches.

pacanis · 07-09-2011, 06:10 PM

I never smoked a turkey breast, Andy. No idea if it would be done at normal smoking temps or something a little less, like 160 or so. If I was doing one by the seat of my pants I would definitely brine it. And I don't brine anything, but in this case I think it could only make it better and help prevent it from drying out. I'd probably go with something mellow, like maple, too.
Of course, you could always go to a dedicated Q forum... But post your results here

CWS4322 · 07-09-2011, 06:46 PM

I haven't smoked anything--but the wood that I'd chose would be apple if you have it, next would be cherry. Hickory would be my last choice---don't know why, other than we have a saw mill and hickory smells "heavy" whereas the other woods when they are sawn smell "sweet." Weird, I know (I have a super-sensitive nose). I don't know how else to explain that, but I'd use hickory with red meats or game, not with poultry. But I guess it depends on the flavor profile you are after. Maple is a lovely wood, but it doesn't have a lot of odor--(I'd describe that as "clean" when sawn) so I don't know how much of a flavor it would infuse. Cherry is less dense than ash and hickory--I only know that because I picked ash for the butcher block counter my DH made--I had a choice of cherry, hickory, and ash. I went with ash. I can't remember why I ruled out the maple--that was another option, and birch was definitely not an option for the counter top. Oh--I ruled out the hickory because of the way the grain is--but that wouldn't matter for smoking <g>.

Sir_Loin_of_Beef · 07-09-2011, 07:02 PM

Were you planning on rolling it up in zig zags, or using a pipe?

Andy M. · 07-09-2011, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir_Loin_of_Beef

Were you planning on rolling it up in zig zags, or using a pipe?

It seems every time there is a thread title with the word "Smoke" in it,...

Uncle Bob · 07-09-2011, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy M

What kind of wood for smoke? Apple, Maple, Cherry, Hickory?
About how long will it take?
Do I need smoke the whole time?
What temperature? (assuming I can actually manage to control temperature)

My go to wood for poultry is Cherry......
For a medium/Avg sized bone-in breast (6-7 lbs)...figure 3 hours and check closely after that until it's done....
If you're nervous....check it at 2 hours. That is if you don't have a remote Therm-O meter in the deepest portion to monitor progress... Strongly recommended!
No...A couple of hours should be plenty......
225*-250* breast side up......
Pull it at 160....Tent, rest....You know the drill....30-45 minutes....
Brining is strongly recommended!!!

Fun!