Smoked Turkey Rub Food

SMOKED WHOLE TURKEY

Steps:

• Pat the turkey dry. Put 2 tablespoons salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, the sugar, paprika, rosemary and orange zest in a food processor and pulse until combined. Carefully loosen the skin from the breast and legs with your fingers; rub the salt mixture under the skin, inside the cavity and all over the turkey. Let stand at room temperature while you prepare the grill, 30 to 60 minutes.
• Soak 2 to 3 cups apple, cherry and/or pecan wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes; drain. Heat a grill to 325˚ F to 350˚ F and prepare for indirect cooking: On a charcoal grill, bank the coals to the sides of the grill; on a gas grill, turn off half the burners. Place a large drip pan under the grates on the cooler side of the grill.
• Gently drizzle and pat the vegetable oil all over the turkey. If using a charcoal grill, scatter about half of the wood chips over the coals; for a gas grill, fill a smoker box with the wood chips and use according to the manufacturer's directions. When the wood chips start to smoke, place the turkey, breast-side up, over indirect heat so that the legs are closest to direct heat.
• Cover the grill and smoke the turkey until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165˚ F, 3 to 4 hours, adding the remaining wood chips to the grill about halfway through; add more charcoal or adjust the vents as needed to maintain the temperature.
• Carefully move the turkey to direct heat and grill, uncovered, until the bottom of the turkey crisps up a bit, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 30 to 45 minutes before carving.

SMOKED TURKEY

Steps:

• Pulse rosemary leaves, peppercorns, coriander, fennel, bay leaves, and orange zest in a spice grinder until finely ground, 30 to 45 seconds. Stir salt into mixture. Season turkey cavity with salt mixture, then rub it all over skin. Transfer turkey to a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack; refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
• Fill a ceramic grill about halfway with hardwood (lump) charcoal. Fill a chimney with charcoal and light it. When coals are uniformly gray, pour them over the unlit charcoal spread over bottom of grill, avoiding vents (for proper airflow). Add one unsoaked 3-by-3-inch applewood chunk (for bolder flavor, add another). Place indirect-cooking rack in grill. Place a 9-by-13-inch disposable pan filled halfway with water on top of it; top with direct-cooking grate. Close lid and adjust temperature, using vents (start with top and bottom vents each opened about a quarter of the way), bringing internal grill temperature to 300° to 325°; maintain that temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove turkey from refrigerator; rinse and pat dry. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, 1 hour. Stuff cavity with halved orange, onion, and rosemary sprigs. Tuck wing tips behind back and tie legs together with twine. Rub oil all over turkey; season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Place turkey on cooking grate and cook, covered, and maintaining grill temperature between 300° and 325°, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 155°, 2 hours to 2 hours, 30 minutes (begin checking after about 1 1/2 hours; it may take up to 3 hours, depending on exact size of bird). Let stand 30 minutes before carving (internal temperature will continue to rise, reaching a minimum of 165°).

HICKORY SMOKED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• To make the sauce: In a saucepan, stir all the sauce ingredients together using a whisk.
• Bring mixture to a boil; lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the apples are cooked and the sauce is thickened.
• Throw out the cinnamon stick; let sauce cool for 5 minutes.
• Puree sauce in a blender or food processor.
• Equally divide sauce into 2 bowls; set aside.
• To make rub: In a bowl or heavy duty plastic zip-top bag add all the rub ingredients; stir or shake to combine.
• Rinse the turkey legs under cold water and pat dry.
• Coat turkey legs with rub mixture; let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature before grilling.
• Spray or lightly brush turkey legs with vegetable oil.
• Follow your grill manufacturer's instructions for using wood chunks.
• Grill turkey legs over indirect medium heat for approximately 1 hour or until meat thermometer reads 180° when inserted into the thickest part of the meat (baste occasionally with sauce from 1 reserved bowl).
• Take legs off grill and served with sauce from the 2nd reserved bowl.

SMOKED TURKEY

Steps:

• Place the charcoal into the bottom pan of the smoker. Light the coals and wait for the temperature of the smoker to come to 240 degrees F (115 degrees C). Lightly oil grate.
• Rinse turkey under cold water, and pat dry. Place hickory chips into a pan with water to cover.
• Place turkey onto the prepared grate. Add 2 handfuls damp chips at start of cooking, then a handful every couple of hours during the cooking process. Leave the lid on - DO NOT keep looking at the turkey, or you will let the heat out! Continue smoking until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), or keep going until the coals die out.

SPICE-RUBBED SMOKED TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove and discard giblets and neck from turkey. Trim excess fat, then rinse turkey with cold water and pat dry. Loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Lift wing tips up and over back, and tuck under turkey. Place turkey on a jelly-roll pan. Combine the brown sugar and the next 7 ingredients (brown sugar through coriander). Rub seasoning mixture over and under skin. Cover turkey with plastic wrap; refrigerate 8 hours.
• Soak wood chunks in water 1 hour, and drain well. Place a large, disposable aluminum-foil pan in center of bottom grill rack. Place 25 charcoal briquettes on each side of the pan; ignite briquettes. Place wood chunks over hot coals. Coat top grill rack with cooking spray; place over foil pan and hot coals. Uncover the turkey; remove from jelly-roll pan. Place on top rack over aluminum-foil pan. Insert a meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone. Cover and smoke turkey 2 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer registers 180°, adding 8 additional briquettes to each side of drip pan every hour.
• (Cover the turkey loosely with foil if it becomes too brown. Turkey should be a deep mahogany brown when done. Closely monitor the grill to make sure the coals burn steadily, with continuous smoke, although don't check too often as lifting the grill lid decreases the inside temperature significantly).
• Serve with Roasted-Pear Stuffing (Recipe #194583) and Cranberry Syrup (Recipe #194648).