The art of smoking - part 4

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
The flesh of the turkey tends to be dry. Many a turkey
Cooked by conventional methods has turned out with the texture
Of dry blotting paper. The smoke oven does not dry food so
Much as does the ordinary oven, nevertheless, careful basting
Is essential with turkey to keep it thoroughly succulent, and
To develop the best flavor.

Directions

SMOKED TURKEY

Turkeys are sold in several grades. Grade A birds are perfect in every part, breast, wings, skin, etc. Grade B birds may have some minor defect such as a missing wing, a humped back or a skin tear that does not affect the rest of the bird. Grade C has a more serious defect, such as skin missing from the breast. A bird could also be graded B or C for being too lean and scrawny; this lack of fat could to some extent impair the flavor, and would certainly call for extra-careful basting. So, if it is specially desired to disply the handsome appearance of the whole, smoked bird before carving, a Grade A turkey should be chosen. But if the bird is to be cut up before the diners see it, a Grade B or C turkey, carefully treated to conceal or compensate for its minor defects, will serve the purpose quite well. Seasoning: Liberally apply Basic Seasoning to the skin and inside neck and body cavities. Moisten the skin if necessary to make the seasoning adhere. Smoking: Place the turkey on the rack, breast up, with the oven at 200 to 225 F. Baste with butter or vegetable oil; about three times is usually sufficient. A wide, shallow pan should be placed about 6 inches below the turkey to catch the oil or melted butter that drips off. Stick a meat thermometer in the heavy part of the breast, not touching bone. This will indicate when the bird is cooked. It is worth emphasizing that with turkey, as with most other smoked birds, the inner meat, around the joints, may still be red, although it is fully cooked! In this matter, trust the meat thermometer. Be guided by the taste and tenderness of the meat; do not be deceived by the red coloration. Use of Ordinary Oven: If the smoke oven is not hot enough to cook the turkey completely, wait until the bird has turned a rich amber and has absorbed the smoke flavor. Then lay the bird on aluminum foil; put in 4 tablespoons of water; turn up the foil, bring the edges together, fold and crimp them as tightly as possible, and wrap the foil closely around the bird. Put in the kitchen oven at 450 F until done. This high temperature will not burn or dry out the bird if the wrapping is carefully done. The foil forms, in effect, a miniature pressure cooking which conserves nmoisture and cuts down cooking time. Serving and Storage: Serve hot or cold. A delicious sandwich can be made of sliced smoked turkey (or chicken) with mayonnaise and butter on toast. Smoked turkey can readily be frozen whole, or whatever is left cup up into meal-sized portions to be foil-wrapped, frozen and thawed, one by one as required. If the wrapping is carefully done, there will be no dehydration in storage. In general, turkey hind quarters may be smoked separately. Apply Basic Seasoning on both sides. Smoke skin-side down until browned, then turn and smoke-roast until done, or wrap in foil and transfer to the kitchen oven to finish. As with chicken, for a stronger smoke flavor, give a preliminary cold-smoking at 85 to 95 F until the skin is well browned, then finish off at 225 F in the smoke oven, or wrap and finish at 450 F in the kitchen oven. It is not customary to use dressing when smoking a turkey, but if this is desired, do not use cold dressing. In the moderate temperature of a smoke oven, there is a possibility of spoilage before the dressing becomes heated above the temperature that stops development of harmful bacteria. Here is a safe procedure. Heat the dressing in a baking dish in the kitchen oven, and stuff the turkey with the hot dressing. Wrap in foil as described before, and place in kitchen oven at 450 F for 1 hour or until thermometer reads 185 F. Remove foil, and put bird in smoke oven at 100 to 125 F for about 3 hours, till it has picked up the desired smoke color and flavor. Wild turkey, of course, gets much more exercise than the domestic variety, so it usually has less fat under its skin. It may be processed the same as domestic turkey except that, because of this lack of fat, it will require extra-careful basting with vegetable oil or butter. Bacon strips may be used instead, but they should be removed part-way through, to allow uniform browning. If a turkey is big -over 15 lbs- start with the oven at 200 F and quickly heat the bird right through. Then reduce temperature to 180 F for an hour or two to let it pick up smoke. Then fishis off at 225 to 250 F. From Jack Sleight and Raymond Hull's "Home Book of Smoke Cooking Meat, Fish & Game." ISBN 0-8117-2195-7

TO ALL Submitted By DENISE LANGLOIS SUBJ HELP! - NEW SMOKER GRILL On

07-10-95

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