To those of you that are smoking your Thanksgiving turkey, what kind of wood will you use?

I'll be using apple as usual, but I've thought about adding a little cherry wood too.

This year i'm using HIckory

Oh, sorry. I thought this was a thread about a bizarre form of substance abuse.

Lou,

I plan smoking a turkey for Christmas. How long does it usually take? I know that it is dependent on size, so what size will you be smoking?

I use a combo of grape vines and old oak barrel staves, turning the wine side up on the fire so the aroma is released into the smoker.

I'll be using a combo of mesquite and hickory soaked in red wine of some kind.

Does anyone think the type of wine makes any difference?

RandyW mine are 5 year old barrels from Cooper Garrod (Actually at least 8, 3 air dried, and 5 in wine). I actually prefer the Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for smoking as opposed to the Cab Franc. A little more fragrant.

Hey tlily, isn't the oak a little strong for smoking? I've never tried smoking with oak because I always thought it would be way to overpowering.

OK, at the risk of starting a firestorm of controversy... I don't smoke the turkey to 170. Usually pull it out around 150-155. It may not be safe, but it tastes a heck of a lot better than eating the shoe leather like turkey that results from a 170 temp.

Also, Lou's question was about the smoker, not a 325 oven. Since a smoker only goes up to about 200, the cooking time is significantly longer than in an oven. I'm estimating 6-7 hours for my 14 pound bird, but I'm shooting for it to be done two hours before dinner. Its easier to keep it warm than to tell guests to wait an extra hour or two.

Oh, and the single most important thing to remember is to let the bird come to room temperature before putting in the oven or the smoker. That should be the first thing you do in the morning.

Just my $0.02

175-180 is also way too high imo. 160 is fine (the temp will go up a few degrees after the bird is removed from the oven).

One more question... What is a good liquid to use when smoking turkey? I was thinking of apple juice as I like the slight sweetness. Other thoughts?

Pardon me Randy, you are correct, I'll leave this to the experts and not offer useless information again. Dang, now I'm all butt hurt

As far as time goes, I'm taking tomorrow off to start mine. The rough schedule is:

1PM bring fire in smoker up with preheated coals. (Never use lighter fluid in the smoker)
1:30 PM add first of wood, keep Temp at 200-225
9ish PM cover brid with foil depending on color.
11PM remove brid from smoker and place in 150-175 oven to stay warm (trying this for the first time, so I don't have to wake up every few hours to tend the fire)
7AM ish return bird to smoker.
2PM ish check temp (I shoot for 150). Remove brid to 325 oven to finsh as needed. I know this is cheating but I need the next 3 hours to prep other dishes and can't tend the fire during that time, plus it gives me a chance to shower and get the smoke off or everything ends up tasting like wood smoke to me.

I've used apple juice, wine, beer and water. I like a little combo of apple juice and water best I think.

'Regular' oak is to green and harsh, especially if there is any bark on the wood. The barrel staves are 8+ years old of dried out crispness when I smoke with them, and give a great flavor, with no harsh odors or green flavors. It smells like cooking wine actually. Davidn, Eric_White and Otisabdul have sampled the results, I think it turns out ok

PS I'll be making New Mexico style smoked turkey enchiladas the next night and having a tequila tasting and hot tub event

As far as cooking temperature goes, I agree with JW1, 160 degrees is just about right.

As far as liquids go, I like apple cider best. I cut it with some water, and it adds a nice sweetness.

Smoking with apple wood also adds a sweetness as does cherry, but cherry seems to work alittle better with beef.

Lou, everything I've read says you can't properly smoke a turkey of that size. Best of lluck, and let me know how it comes out!

Randy - the turkey is butterflied so I've been assured that it will be okay.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

I can definitely attest to the gustatory splendor of tlily's barrel stave-smoked turkey. It was absolutely delicious!

One method I have used when smoking turkey is to stick a number of toothpicks (not too deeply) into the bird, slide wedges of sweet onion over each one and then drape slices of apple-smoked bacon over the toothpicks and onions. The fat from the bacon and the onion juices baste the bird and infuse the skin with terrific flavor.

Cheers,

Otis