Turkey Breast

[Oct.1]

Salom,
Glad to see you here with some great receipts.
Just bought an electric smoker myself (Wallmart Type)and have been doing some sauage, jerky ect. ect. Not bad for the first try.
Had my wife pick me a turkey breast.
Some of my friends here at work have said that I should do the whole turkey instead cause the breast alone dries out.
Any thoughts from you.
Sure hate to waist a whole Turkey on the first try.
Thanks
Oct.1

[Salmonsmoker]

Oct.1,

Last spring my wife got a large (22 lb) Tom with an 11 in beard.

I cut the parts into 2 breast peices, 2 leg & thigh sections, 2 wings, and the remainder of the bones.

In order to prevent drying, I basted each piece with olive oil, then smoked for 6 hours in an electric smoker.

At that point, my wife took the breast pieces and finished them in the microwave. It was excellent -(However, I much prefer my black iron and a good camp fire.) The trick is to put it in a cooking dishand and completely seal with Seran wrap so that all moisture is trapped in. Then cook for about 15 min on high.

The remainder of the bird went into a large soup pot - it was covered with water, and boiled until the meat fell off the bones.

Once it was cooled, we picked out the bones, and grissle, and put the remainder (meat and broth with an excellent smoked flavor) into jars to freeze. Since, I have used that in the following ways:

1. added vegies for smoked turkey &vegie soup.
2. added noodles.
3. as a hot drink
4. as a base for turkey gravy with dumplings.

The primary way to prevent drying is to coat with oil (which leaves the turkey meat directly exposed to the smoke,) or covered with bacon (prevents drying but limits exposure to smoke.) Once smoked, then proceed with cooking as you normally would.


Salmonsmoker

[Oct.1]

Salmon,
Thanks, I won't be doing a wild turkey breast, ain't had one of them in three years. But one of them domestic beasts will be out of the freezer and in the smoker soon.
Never thought of the micro wave idea.

[Erik]

Oct 1, I have just two words to say to you, "cornish hen". Its cheaper than turkey, and smokes much faster. If you screw one up no harm done!
By the way, I always observe a moment of silence when ever I see your name posted. Hey the best time of year is almost here!

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Phish

[Oct.1]

Eric,
Can't wait for opening day.
Been shooting about a month now and already buying new toys.
I'll try the cornished hen, most likely will burn it under low heat.

[Salmonsmoker]

Oct.1

The idea to testing recipe's is good. When working out some fish brine recipe's I went Sucker fishing one spring - cought 14 giving me plenty of meat to try out several brine mixtures, strengths, and times. When working out a recipe for venison jerkey, I experimented with several pounds of beef. Prior to smoking my wife's spring Tom, I used domestic turkey and have served many back-yard parties (at our house) with a smoker full of chicken.

The point is, experiment on meats that are not prize wild-game food that is often hard to acquire.

ss

[Salmonsmoker]

Some people will soon have fresh Turkey - so this disucssion from last fall looked like it might be worth updating.

Salmonsmoker

[Salmonsmoker]

Making current

[Duck Tales]

Thanks Salmonsmoker,
I smoked skinless turkey breast fiilets as you described, coating them with oil and finishing it in the microwave. I sliced them thinly across the grain and used it for sandwiches. It was excellent and not at all dry.
Duck Tales