Smoking the turkey frees up the oven for other holiday goodness.
It also keeps one person mostly out of the kitchen, and let’s be honest, is your kitchen big enough?
And while we’re being honest, does anyone actually like that flavorless, overcooked turkey breast that comes out of the oven? Nope. You want slow smoked, juicy meat.
So let’s get to it.
First off, that oven roasted turkey breast is dry because the breast is overcooked. The breast is overcooked because you need to get the thickest part of the meat up to 165* which means the thinner parts got much warmer. And breast meat doesn’t have the fat content to protect it from drying out.
Two factors are going to keep these breasts juicy today. (And I’m going to struggle with boob jokes for this entire post.)
First we’re going to spatchcock the turkey. Removing the backbone and cooking the bird flat allows the heat to penetrate from all sides. {That backbone is also going to become part of my gravy, since I can’t get pan drippings from the smoker.}
Second the lower temperature and higher humidity in the smoker keeps the moisture in the meat from evaporating.
Of course nothing in life is without trade offs. Those of us in the smoked & fried turkey camps don’t get pan drippings for gravy. And gravy is definitely one of the top things for me at a holiday table. So giblet gravy it is. (Or gravy from a jar, but I don’t think anyone who smokes meat would stoop to jarred gravy or instant stuffing.)
The giblet gravy recipe was terrible. I’m going to have to find a new one.
Also, because I have a vertical smoker, I had to quarter the bird. Offset smokers should be able to keep the spatchcocked turkey in one piece.
Modern Anachronist 