Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Smoked Turkey Breast

I have had a craving for smoked Turkey Breast for a few weeks.  I decided that it was time to take care of that.  Three days ago I found a nice 8 – 9 pound frozen turkey breast with the bone (very important), I let it thaw out in the fridge for a day and then brine it to finish the thaw and give it some flavor. It is important to keep the water below 40 degrees so I keep adding ice to make sure. It did help that the breast was only partially thawed – it was like a big turkey ice cube.  I only let sit in the brine for about 6 hours before I started cooking.  Here is the brine and method for cooking.


Brine

½ cup of Kosher Salt
3 tablespoons of garlic powder
4 fresh rosemary stems
4 quarts of water – enough to cover the breast.

Mix all of the above to ensure that the salt is dissolved.  Add the turkey and enough ice to cover.  I use a round Igloo cooler, it works great!

After 6 hours or overnight, remove the Turkey.  Get your smoker ready and set the temperature at 225.  Smoke for at least 3 hours.  Then move the turkey to a 325 oven and cook until the internal temperature is 165 – 180.  The last step will ensure that the breast is completely cooked and will crisp the skin.

Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.

If you do not have a smoker just cook the turkey in your oven at 325 for about 3 hours or until the correct temperature is reached.