Yes, I know they are hard to light.

Never smoked a turkey before. Going to kill a few birds on Saturday and I am going to try smoking a bird or two, or three, for Thanksgiving. Any tips or tricks?

All I have to smoke it is is a Big Chief smoker.

Many thanks.

Brine it in some time of brine that has apple juice in it.Use apple chips or cherry when ya smoke it.Good luck,
SZ

It'll probably take forever in a Big Chief.

2qts apple juice
1gal water
1cup salt

i've done a similar brine for wild birds, then wrapped the breast in bacon and smoked low and slow. i finished it in the oven to make sure it was done. sliced thin for sandwiches....good eats! btw, the breast was off the bone. don't know how a whole bird would go.




willy

Used this for chickens - worked great

1 gallon water
1 cup salt
1 cup sugar

KISS

Kind of convinced I need a better smoker to do this right.

Traegers are SPENDY. Bradleys are more my speed.

Any suggestions on where to buy?

I love my Bradley...I bought it at G.I Joes on closeout so I don't know who has the best deal anymore. Shop the internet would be my best guess.

I think I'd not spend the money on the digital version and stay with the manual type. If you don't peek much and get a feel for the temp control I find the temp. to remain steady...which is important for a good finished product.

Good luck with your search.

I usually smoke'm in the head with a 12 gauge.

pictures please

Read a bunch of reviews on the Bradleys, now I am depressed.

Almost looks like if I want to get what I want, I'll need to build my own. Want smoke, infinite adjustability from 100-300 degrees, reasonable capacity, and repeatability.

Good news is I have the skills. Bad news is that I need to source parts and limited time.

Wish I would have kept that old Fridgidaire from Westport. Perfect steel shell to start with. Dammit.

Temps over 200 isn't smoking it's roasting.

Understood, but I don't want it to take more than a few hours to get up to temp.

Here is my current method. It was pieced together from several smoking websites about a year ago. I use a propane water smoker and plum wood (because I have a big pile of it) but any fruit tree wood will work. The key is the brine and keeping the smoker between 225 and 250 degrees F...and not over cooking. Get an instant-read thermometer. This method will yield a smoked turkey that is almost as tender as a fried one but 100 times more flavorful.

Smoked Turkey

•Make brine:
oSimmer the following for 15 minutes to dissolve the sugar and salt:
2 qrts apple juice
2 qrts orange juice
2 cups kosher or coarse salt
½ cup brown sugar
10 cloves
1 T nutmeg
oAdd 1 gallon of cold water
oAllow brine to chill in fridge
•Use a 10-14 lb non-seasoned/non-brined turkey (fresh if possible)
•Rinse with water
•Separate skin from breasts and thighs
•Soak in brine overnight in fridge
•Rinse and pat dry
•Season inside, outside, and under skin with the following rub:
2 T olive oil
2 T onion powder
1 T paprika
2 t. sugar
1 t. celery salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. sage
½ t. cayenne
•Smoke 30-40 minutes per lb at 225-250º F using 3-4 trays of fruit wood. Ensure the breast reaches 160 º F and the thigh is at 170 º F
•Allow to rest breast side down under a foil tent for 30 minutes

Bradleys are a good smoker Dogfish. I love mine but the temp will not get up to were you want it. I have hard time on cold days touching 200'. Sweet for fish though.

I have a second propane smoker for hotter temps when doing stuff like brisket. I actually can use the smoke generator off the bradley as I cut a hole in the propane smoker and fitted it. Very nice to just place the pucks and walk away.

Dogfish,

I bought my four rack Bradley from cabela's a couple years ago and love it.I can smoke from 100 degree's to 300 degree's and the pucks feed automatically so your not having to open the door letting out the heat and smoke all the time to change chips/puck's.It will take some getting used to @ first but it's money after you get it dialed in as far as timing and temp's.I have done lotsa smoked pork shoulder roast for pulled pork sammy's and also smoked chickens that turned out awesome for dinners.Done plenty of smoked salmon and jerky also.I even bought four extra meat racks and have inverted them to turn my smoker into a 8 rack when needed.I have learned that doing smaller batches of fish turn out better then larger batches.Go get yourself one you want look back.Good luck,
SZ

That is within the perfect size range for smoking.

My smoker is made by Masterbuilt and retails for $160-$180...not to bad considering how much use it gets. It holds temp between 200 F and 250 F. I've never tried lower (for that I'd use my Big Chief) or higher temps (that would be a job for the grill). The 225-250 range is where you want to be anyway for pork shoulder, ribs, turkey, chicken, brisket, etc.

Dogfish, I've also got a Bradley and it works fantastic. I've done fullsize (15lb) briskets for 16 hrs and they turn out perfect. I try to stay between 200 and 225 deg. so I don't know if it will get as hot as you say you want. Had a Little Chief before this and the Bradley beats it to death.

Oh yeah, bought it at the old Sportsmans warehouse in Federal Way, can't remember what it is called now.

this is how us city boys do it. first time using the photobucket deal so I am not sure as to how this will turn out:

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[img][IMG]http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l494/papaslap/PB261258.jpg[/img][/img]



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Chasbo's pix: