Smoked Turkey

Most people I know bake a ham for Easter.  My boys can't seem to agree on a ham they both like.  The Photographer prefers a "country" ham while Pierce would rather have a "city" ham.  The difference being a country ham is salt cured and needs to be soaked for up to 48 hours in water before cooking and a city ham is sugar cured and requires no special handling other than being baked. 

I do cook both types of ham throughout the year but baking 2 different hams for each holiday was becoming a little tedious and so they agreed a long time ago to compromise and decided that smoked turkey was their holiday meal of choice.

It's a fairly simple but long process - definitely worth the end result.  We have a smoker but it takes FOREVER to cook that way and I finally decided that I could do just as well with our charcoal grill.

Smoked Turkey

1 large whole turkey or turkey breast

3 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce

3 tablespoons canola or corn oil

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper
1/4 ro 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Wood chips (can be purchased at the grocery store)

Loosen the skin on the turkey by running your hand between the skin and flesh.  Mix together the Worchestershire sauce and oil and brush over the skin and meat.  Mix together the spices (I do this in a plastic baggie to ensure that the brown sugar gets evenly distributed).  Rub the spice mixture over the entire turkey - under the skin, on the skin and inside the cavity if cooking a whole turkey.  (This step can be done the night before and the turkey refrigerated.  Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let sit for an hour before cooking.)

Soak the wood chips in water (at least 30 minutes).

Start charcoal in the grill.  Once ready, evenly divide coals on both sides and place a large metal bowl or cast iron dutch oven in the center of the coals.  Fill the bowl with water. You can also place the turkey in a large disposable aluminum  baking dish and forgo the water, just be sure to divide the charcoal so that the turkey is cooking via indirect heat.

Place the turkey on the center of the grill rack.  Scatter a few wood chips on top of the hot coals.  Lower the lid and open the grill vents approximately half way to allow the chips to begin smoking. 

Check the turkey hourly, adding more chips as necessary.   The turkey is done when the juices run clear.  Cooking time depends on how much charcoal you use and how hot they get.  I use about a half a bag of charcoal and it takes 3-4 hours to cook a large turkey breast (6 hours for a whole turkey).  When done, remove from grill and let sit for 30 minutes for the juices to redistribute.  Carve and serve.