Thanksgiving Goodies

[smoknlinda]

Hi All,
I am doing 2 5ish pound turkey breasts for turkey day, and I normally brine if I am doing turkey in a regular oven. I usually do salt, sugar, and apple cider vinegar in water. I was going to brine before the smoker too. Is it necessary? Are there any issues with dry meat? I love smoking stuff, but I haven't done turkey yet. Thanks!

[bigwalleye]

The ST's are sealed units, so brining isn't necessary for moisture, but if you like the flavor of the brine, go for it! Watch your internal temp, and I'd recommend some type of remote-read thermometer, so you're not opening the door to check temp. Opening the door causes huge moisture losses. Too high an internal temp will cause drying much more so than smoking without a brine.
I'd recommend something really mild like apple or alder, but whatever your tastebuds like will work too!

Let us know how things turn out. I also recommend a little notebook to keep track of your successes and failures. It'll help you develop a catalog of recipes you can keep going back to.

[smoknlinda]

Sorry for the late late response, but these are my observations:
I did brine the breasts but as you said, it wasn't really needed. We just threw them into the oven for a bit at the end to crisp the skin. They were still very moist after that, though.
I also did a whole duck to about 165F, and it was amazing. I did a glaze that was great, and though I didn't measure the ingredients, it was approximately like this:
1 cup Northland cranberry juice (no sugar- juice sweetened)
1 cup Knudsen's cranberry juice (no sweetening- 100% cranberry)
Juice and zest of one orange
Juice of 1 lime
2T pomegranate molasses
1-2T honey
1/4 C soy sauce
cinnamon
dried turmeric/ginger mix
red pepper flakes

I cooked in a saucepan until reduced to a syrupy consistency. It was delicious and very Thanksgiving-y!

[bigwalleye]

Glad things turned out well for you. Thanks for sharing that sauce recipe, it sounds wonderful!!