Smoked Turkey

Since its the holiday season I've had a few people ask me about smoking a turkey. Smoked turkey in my opinion is the very best way to eat turkey. The smoke adds a flavor that you just can't get from an oven.
Smoking a turkey is really easy. When smoking a turkey you will not want to stuff the turkey. You are using low temps and the stuffing will not get hot fast enough to keep it out of the danger zone. I like to smoke my stuffing in a casserole dish the last couple of hours with the turkey.
I began with a 18 pound turkey. Use your favorite wood and let it enhance the flavor of you bird. (I used apple wood this year)

Set your smoker at 180 to 220 degrees.
Prepare Turkey. I use my own rub but you can use any you like. Old bay seasoning works nice.

Rub the bird with olive oil and then rub your seasoning into the skin.
Place bird on grill and and begin smoking. This will take upwards of 10 to 12 hours. Mist the bird with apple juice every couple of hours to keep the skin moist. After 8 hours start taking the temperature of the bird. I like to take the temp in the breast and the thigh. I don't like to trust the pop up thermometers. I never can seem to get them to pop up. The temperature of a finished bird should read 165 in the breast and 175 in the thigh and the juices should be clear. You can increase the temperature after 8 hours to speed up the cooking time. Just make sure to check the temp so you don't over do it. Once you get to temp remove the bird from smoker and enjoy.


Click on images to get a better view.
Smoked Turkey is very juicy and flavorful. You will never go back to a plan old oven turkey again. And there is no oil to spill over your floor and start a fire.
Good luck and happy holidays.

Beef Brisket

Beef brisket was perfected in Texas. The brisket is one of toughest cuts of meat it is cut from the breast or lower chest of the cow. Once rubbed and slow smoked it becomes a very tender and delicious cut of meat.
All good things take time and brisket is no exception in fact its the perfect example as anyone who has tried a brisket that wasn't done properly can attest.
Over the years I've prepared many a brisket. In competitions and at home for myself and many others.
When purchasing a brisket you will find that there are a few different cuts. Whole, point and flat. I prefer using a whole brisket.

10 lb whole brisket
Rinse the brisket and trim fat cap so it is even but do not remove entirely. The fat helps keep the meat moist and adds a lot of flavor. Place brisket on prep board and rub with mustard and your favorite rub. Brisket rubs are a closely and sometimes a jealously kept secret. And is a subject for another time. But for are purpose here today you can use any of your favorite seasoning salts or there are a variety of rubs sold in stores. Use any kind of prepared yellow mustard. This helps the rub stay on the meat. You will not be able to taste the mustard after its cooked.

Use the rub generously. You want to have a lot of flavor in the meat. Massage the rub into the meat and then place on the smoker. Brisket is best done Low and Slow. You want to set your smoker at 180 to 220 degrees. Some smokers are easier than others to keep at this temp. (I use a Treager pellet smoker.)
The choice of wood is up to you. I prefer pecan wood but hickory or mesquite are wonderful also.


Place the brisket on the grill with the fat cap up. Smoke at 180 to 220 degrees for about 8 hours. mist brisket with a spray bottle of apple juice every couple of hours to keep meat moist. Remove brisket from smoker and wrap with aluminum foil. Place back in smoker and cook for another 2 hours. Remove from smoker and let rest for 15 min. Slice brisket and serve.

You can cut some of the brisket into chunks and place in a aluminum pan with some BBQ sauce and return to the smoker to make burnt ends.

Let me know how it goes
If you have any comments or questions feel free to post them here.

Smoked Cre'me Brule'e

Since I brought up Cre'me Brule'e lets start there.

This is one of my favorite desserts it's not only smoked it has vanilla in it. (The best of both worlds. How can you get any better than that.)
To make Cre'me Brule'e you will need
6 Egg yolks
1/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Vanilla bean roe or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Combine egg yolks and sugar and whisk until dissolved and egg yolk is thick and light in color. Add Cream and Vanilla. Stir gently.
Pour mixture into ramekins and place in water bath.
Smoke at 300 degrees for 75 minutes or until edges are set, but still slightly loose in center.(you can also cook in your oven at 300 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes)

Remove from smoker/oven and place on wire rack to cool. Remove from wire rack and chill for at least 2 hours.
You can serve the Cre'me Brule'e right from the ramekins by just sprinkling each one with 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar and melting it with a small hand-held torch or place it under your oven broiler until the sugar melts.
I prefer to remove it from the ramekins and make golden cages of sugar to go over it.(As seen in the Picture)

Blowing Smoke

Another one of my many hobbies and food weaknesses is Barbecue. I've competed in BBQ competitions and won a few awards. I love to smoke foods. It, like vanilla, gives the food a taste that you can't get just any where. I've smoked everything from cookies to prime rib. I've even won a first place for my smoked Cre'me Brule'e (Thats right smoked Cre'me Brule'e) I'll smoke anything once. (I'm starting to sound like a drug addict.) I have recipes for smoked apple pie, Cheese cake, Chocolate chip cookies and many other foods and desserts that I will share over time in this blog.

Homemade Vanilla

For the past year or so I've been experimenting with homemade Vanilla extract. I have always loved vanilla and the flavor it gives to things. I never dreamed that vanilla could be as simple and as complicated as it is. Vanilla extract is quite easy to make yet it takes a lot of time and patience. Like many things vanilla gets better with age.
Vanilla comes from the cured seed pod or bean of the vanilla orchid. The seed is a long dark brown pod containing thousands of tiny seeds. There are a few different varieties of vanilla beans. Planifolia, Tahitensis, Bourbon and Mexican to name just a few. Each one has its own flavor variation.
Vanilla extract is made by transferring the flavor of the vanilla bean into alcohol. I use Vodka. One ounce of beans per cup of Vodka works great and delivers a great product. I've purchased my beans from www.saffon.com
This is a great site and has good prices. Vanilla beans can be very expensive. So shop around.
Being LDS and from Utah I can't just go to my cabinet and pull out a bottle of vodka. I first had to get over the fear of having a someone see me buying a bottle and then because I live in Utah I couldn't just go to the store and buy a bottle either. I had to go to the state run liquor store. Then when I got there I had to choose from all the different kinds of vodka. Who knew that there would be an entire wall of vodka. (Not someone like me who has never even had a drink before.)So I had to ask what the difference was. The person that I asked. (A short heavy set man in a tank top and ripped Levi's.) He held up the bottle he was holding and said "If ya buy the cheep crap it taste like your drink'n battery acid and if ya buy the expensive stuff it goes down smooth like silk." I settled for a bottle of Smirnoff Premium triple distilled vodka 80 proof. You need to have a vodka that's at least 35% alcohol. After your adventure at the liquor store you need to add your beans. First you need at least 8 beans per cup of vodka. So I purchased a 750ml bottle of vodka (3 cups), which means you need at least 24 beans. Take the beans and split them down the middle.

You can scrap the seeds out if you like or just leave them in the pod. Place the seeds and the cut beans into the bottle of vodka. You may have to remove some of the vodka first since the beans will displace the liquid. Replace the cap and shake the bottle. Know comes the hard part. Place the bottle some where safe and let it age for 6 months to 6 years. Shake the bottle periodically and give it a good sniff. MMMMMMMMMMM
After 6 months you have Vanilla extract. Use as much as you like. You can always make more.
I started out buying one pound of Planifolia beans and 750 ml bottle of vodka. I have recently moved up to making a gallon at a time to give away as gifts for christmas. I have even tried ageing the vanilla in a oak barrel. Which gives it a slight oak flavor. I was going to try smoking some beans in my smoker and see how that turns out.