| Maple Butter & Herbs Hickory Smoked Vermont Turkey |
Recipe Type: Main
Author:
Cook time: 7 hours
Total time: 7 hours
Serves: 3
This recipe requires advance preparation as the turkey must be brined and then air dried in the refrigerator the day before roasting. Smoking a turkey is no more difficult that any other outdoor cooking and the flavor rivals any oven-roasted or deep-fried turkey.
Ingredients
- 1 (12-lb) Grade A fresh Turkey
- 1 ½ Cup chopped Celery
- 4 Cup Chicken Stock
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh Marjoram
- 2 Cup chopped Onion
- 1 ½ Cup chopped Carrots
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh Thyme
- 4 to 8 chunks Hickory wood
- 1 batch Maple Butter (Link)
- 1 batch Apple Turkey Brine (Link)
Instructions
- Recipe Note: This recipe was originally posted as an entire thanksgiving meal with: Deviled Egg Boats, Herb Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes & Celery Sticks, Lacquered Fois Gras, Maple Butter & Herbs Hickory Smoked Turkey, Decas Bog Spiced Cranberry Sauce, Cranberry-Horseradish Relish, Sausage/Apple & Cranberry Dressing, Giblet Gravy, Sugar Snap Peas with shallots, Caramelized Apple & Spice New Potatoes and Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie
- Remove neck and giblets (heart, gizzard, and liver) from the turkey. Reserve.
- Prepare brine as directed. Brine turkey, refrigerated, 10 to 12 hours. Remove from brine and air dry in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator one hour before cooking.
- Prepare maple butter as directed.
- Fill Grill Dome fire box with lump charcoal and heat to 250° F. Add four chunks of hickory to the charcoal. Position drip pan on a rack and fill with four cups of stock, onions, celery, and carrots. Sprinkle vegetables with one tablespoon of thyme and one tablespoon of marjoram.
- Slide hand under turkey breast skin to loosen. Rub 1/2 cup maple butter over breast under skin. Rub another 1/4 cup maple butter over outside of turkey. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Tie legs together loosely to hold shape of turkey. Reserve remaining maple butter for gravy.
- After 2 1/2 hours of cooking, add remaining hickory wood and baste turkey every hour with pan juices or spray with apple juice. (Continue checking the drip pan adding additional stock as necessary.) Smoke-cook until internal temperature of the thigh registers 175° F. (The average smoke-cooking time is about 30 minutes per pound; a 12-pound turkey will take about six to seven hours of cooking.) Transfer turkey to platter, tent with aluminum foil and let stand 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Reserve mixture in pan for gravy.
Notes
Recipe Submitted by: Mike Stines www.capecodbbq.com