Smoked Whole Turkey In The Smoker

The Method:

1. Basically what we do is remove the giblets and neck and wash

the turkey thoroughly, inside and out. I usually make a paste

with salt, pepper, thyme (dried okay) and liquid smoke.

Then I loosen the skin on the breast with my hands and try to get

the paste rubbed over the breast as best I can.

2. I do the same thing to the outside of the turkey as well with

the paste. If you're not up to this, just salt, pepper and thyme

the inside and out after rubbing with liquid smoke.

3. We put a quartered onion, a few stalks of celery and a bay leaf

inside the turkey.

4. In the water pan we put some water, cheap white wine, a lemon

cut in half, a quartered onion, a stalk of celery, a few bay leaves

and some green & Black peppercorns.

5. We soak our wood blocks (the chips don't seem to give it the

flavor we like) at least an hour before starting.

5 stars. You just can't
beat the 22" WSM for value.
I have had one since 2015
and I have cooked nearly
everything on it. My 22" is my
"at home" smoker, and I use it
for everything from ribs, to
roasts, & my Thanksgiving Turkey.

We use a lot of the hickory blocks during the smoking process,

adding them every couple hours when we check the

liquid in the water pan.

6. We have a Weber smoker (no, not the Weber grill

used as a smoker) which is pretty large and also a lot more air

tight than our last smoker. It cooks a lot quicker than our

old smoker. John has pretty much decided that he

cooks them approximately 1/2 hour per pound, though we

usually use the following

Pierce the dark meat with a fork and if the juice runs

clear, it's time to take that baby off. If pink juice, leave it on.

Another way that works is when it's done, the leg will move

pretty easily. Just remember it continues to cook for a while

when you take it off. We tried using the liquid from the

water pan once and it was too strong in smoked flavor for

our liking... much too strong. Taste it before you use it?