Always use remote probe thermometer. Cook until the breast reads 165°F or thigh reads 180°F.
Turkey is usually done if the internal temperature of the turkey rises to within about 5 to 10 degrees of desired finish temperature and temp does not increase over the course of the next 45 minutes then remove and check.
Brining over night in a salt water solution will provide a juicier turkey. But if you have never brined before go easy on the salt.
Cooking whole or half turkeys breast side down will allow the juice and fat to drip through the breast for a juicier turkey.
Spraying your turkey with Pam prior to smoking will improve golden coloring. Can also be rubbed with butter, or olive oil. Adding a bit of paprika will help as well.
Adding corn starch to any rub will firm up and improve texture of skin.
Removing entire breast from whole turkey and then slicing horizontally will improve slicing.
Try smoking just breast with skin on making sure to get seasoning/rub under skin. Often get a better penetration of both smoke and seasoning. Just be certain to wrap and place fat on top.
Chef Amy smoked 3 pork shoulders for 19 hours with dried sugarcane and oak wood.
She says, ” We grow sugarcane. I cut it into 4 inch pieces. It is best when dried because fresh can make the inside (of the smoke box) a little sticky. Both ways give a sweet and grassy flavor.”
We met Amy last year at the Louisiana Restaurant Association show. She is a busy chef with Langlois, radio, writing cookbooks and she is also very involved with her community.
You can find more on Chef Amy on Instagram and her websitehere.
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4-5 pounds of tri-tip
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup granulated honey or raw sugar
2 Tbs fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
Combine seasoning mixture and rub on roasts. Wrap and refrigerate 4-24 hours. 1 hour before smoking, remove roasts from refrigerator to get them closer to room temperature.
Prepare your SmokinTex with 1-2 oz cherry or your favorite wood. Add roasts to smoker and smoke at 225°F until desired doneness.
My tri-tips reached 115°F in less than 2 hours. This was perfect, as I knew they would continue cooking, plus my plan was to finish the tri-tips on the grill just before serving.
At this point, the roasts can be held for up to two hours, if desired, before quick-searing on the grill for a darker crust. If you need to hold longer, use the refrigerator.
To finish the tri-tip, sear on a very hot grill for 4-5 minutes per side until nice grill marks and “sizzle” appear.
Using your SmokinTex smoker will insure that this taste cut of meat is juicy and tasty. It’s perfect served hot or thinly sliced for sandwiches later.
“I’ve been wanting to give this a try for quite some time and I’m so glad I finally did!
I started with a couple of choice ribeyes, seasoned liberally with kosher salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic. I let them sit for a few hours to draw in the salt and seasoning.
After letting them come up to room temperature on the counter, I put them in my SmokinTex 1400 with only about an ounce of hickory chips @225°F. I smoked the steaks until they reached an internal temp of 110°F. After that I let them rest while heated up a grill to about 600°F.
I brushed the steaks with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on both sides and seared them on the grill for about a minute to a minute and a half on each side, and then resting them under foil with a pat of compound butter over the top.
The steaks came out perfect! I don’t think we’ll ever just grill a steak ever again without smoking them first. It was better than any steakhouse steak I’ve ever had, and this wasn’t even prime meat.
I put a couple of cobs of corn in the smoker along for the ride, and they turned out great also.”
“I smoked them (pork bellies) for three hours at 225°F giving me an interior temperature well over 165°F and then I actually cool them off with a breeze from a fan, let them sit overnight before I cut them and actually fry them or grill them from there. These are thin bellies though. If they were thicker I would’ve gone for four hours. I just want to make sure they’re above that magic 165°F degrees.”
