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Smoking a turkey without leathery skin?

Gatorgrizz27

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We generally fry a couple turkeys for Thanksgiving and smoke one also. I brine it then use a dry rub, the issue is the skin always turns into leather. I’ve heard using olive oil, butter, etc on the skin will help it crisp rather than doing that, but it hasn’t worked on chickens so far.

Any ideas? At this point I’m considering smoking it for 2 hours then finishing it in the oven.
 
Keep lubing it up along the way...
A cheesecloth soaked in the spritzer juice helps, pull it the last 20 min.
 
We follow the brining part of Alton Brown recipe for our smoked turkey: Good Eats Roast Turkey
Then smoke it and after the first couple hours we put foil over the top, that ends up with a nice crispy but not leathery skin and it tastes amazing.

We also follow that recipe for the oven baked turkey and usually do one turkey in the oven and one turkey in the smoker each year.

Aaron Z
 
We follow the brining part of Alton Brown recipe for our smoked turkey: Good Eats Roast Turkey
Then smoke it and after the first couple hours we put foil over the top, that ends up with a nice crispy but not leathery skin and it tastes amazing.

We also follow that recipe for the oven baked turkey and usually do one turkey in the oven and one turkey in the smoker each year.

Aaron Z

I do this every year in the oven, best damn turkey. This year I am going to try smoking it and am debating if I should brine it like I usually do for the oven.

What temp do you smoke it at?
 
I do this every year in the oven, best damn turkey. This year I am going to try smoking it and am debating if I should brine it like I usually do for the oven.

What temp do you smoke it at?
IIRC, around 215-230.
Correction, 250F(ish)

Aaron Z
 
Last edited:
I am undecided on the Alton Brown with a lower / longer smoke or this. He does a dry rub at oven temps, I did pick up apple, cherry, and alder pellets to mix together.

Meathead Recipe
 
Wrap it in bacon.

You might laugh but that’s actually possible.
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I do this every year in the oven, best damn turkey. This year I am going to try smoking it and am debating if I should brine it like I usually do for the oven.

What temp do you smoke it at?

I‘ve never regretted brining anything so long as you remember that when you do your rub/seasoning. Use less salt at that point.
 
Skin's the best part. I'd eat turkey and chicken skin in packets if there was such a thing. :laughing:
 
Skin's the best part. I'd eat turkey and chicken skin in packets if there was such a thing. :laughing:

Agreed, hence the point of this thread. It’s less enjoyable when it’s like eating a work glove, which tends to happen after smoking for 5 hours.
 
Spatchcocked it and ran the smoker a little hotter, was done in just over 4 hours. Basted it with apple cider vinegar and beer/ melted butter. Best smoked turkey I’ve done, skin was fine.

53D434AD-51FF-47CD-AB21-EA5C99E125FF.jpeg
 
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