Got my new smoker!!!

[lovebigbluegills]

I got a masterbuilt 30 inch about ten days ago.

I've done country style ribs, baked potatoes, hard boiled eggs (I didn't realize what I was missing with those!), and I just put in some beef short ribs.

Everything has turned out really good so far- using recipes off of this forum makes it a lot easier.

My mom wants me to smoke a turkey breast for her- its thawed out, and it said it had been injected in a solution of salt, broth, ......... so no need to brine it. All I have for chips is mesquite for now. Any tips would be appreciated. Also, should I leave it on the bone? Or fillet it off?

[eyeguy 54]

cool and I hope you get to enjoy many eggs over the years. mesquite might be a little strong for the bird but nothing wrong with that if you like strong. bone or no bone works for me. maybe rub a little olive oil on it and sprinkle with a little lemon pepper and cajon powder. mmmmmmmm have fun!

[lovebigbluegills]

I do have a couple cobs of plum I could make some chips with- would that be a better choice of wood?

[picksbigwagon]

make sure you put the rub on under the skin, not just on the skin.....

you will be fine with Mesquite, that is what I will be smoking our turkey breast with

[lovebigbluegills]

I now have apple, cherry, and alder to go with mesquite- which wood? And how much smoke? The entire time? Or just the first hour or two?

[pikestabber]

You'll get a 100 different opinions if you ask 100 "smokers," but for me, I'd stick to the mesquite. Good flavor. Apple and Alder are other good poultry woods (I tend to use these for fish, too, especially alder). Cherry I like for eggs and red meat. If you have access to it, maple is probably my favorite all around wood. That said, they'll all work in a pinch.

I think if you apply heavy smoke for too long (more than 2 hours) your run the risk of making your meat bitter. I usually do heavy smoke for an hour, moderate smoke for 30-60 more minutes, then dump my chip/pellet tray and just use the heat of the smoker to finish the job. Your smoke only penetrates so far anyhow and then you just need to get your meat up to a safe temp after that.

An important step that many skip is to dry out your smoker before you do anything... Turn it on fairly high heat (250 degrees or more) and just dry everything out for 20-30 minutes. Then add your turkey and let that dry for 20-30 minutes at your regular smoking temp with NO WOOD. After that second half hour, THEN add your chips. Your bird will be at its best to accept smoke at that point. Will it work without doing these initial steps? Sure. But I find everything I smoke benefits from this "pre" process except something fast like eggs where they'd be rubber bands before you ever got to the smoking part.

[eyeguy 54]

any smoked egg is a good egg... unless yer a hockeypuck...

[eyeguy 54]

cherry, apple, mesquite, hickory. all good for the bird. one pan full usually works just dandy.one thing to do on the masterbuilt is have the vent open about 1/8 or a sliver more on the wide side of the vent. It helps the temp be more accurate and still gets plenty smokey inside. have fun !

[lovebigbluegills]

It's at 160 now, won't be long. I'll post how it turned out after I get it sliced and delivered.

Thank you everybody for your input!

[Getanet]

I've only smoked one turkey breast, but I recall reading here about the importance of letting it rest by wrapping in foil and then either wrapping again in a towel or placing in a cooler for quite a while to let the juices disperse evenly.

Can any of you guys tell Lovebigbluegills how long to do that?

[leechlake]

I like about 15 minutes, but you can do it longer. Depends on what's going on, if kids need to eat, if you want another beverage. It truly does make a difference

[lovebigbluegills]

Well, I forgot to rub olive oil or butter on the skin before I put it in, but it didn't seem to matter.

I did rub it down with a garlic and herb seasoning under and on the skin, and it took about 4 and a half hours to get it up to 167 when I took it out. I used two full trays of apple chips.

The result was a tender and juicy breast but there wasn't much smoke flavor other than on the skin.

Next time (Friday for tday here), I think I'll use mesquite and a 3rd tray of chips. Or is mesquite that much stronger that 3 trays would be overpowering?

Oh, and I didnt wrap it for a rest period (I will next time), just put in an aluminum pan and into the fridgidaire to cool down for slicing.

[eyeguy 54]

try it and you will know. might be different every time.

[lovebigbluegills]

Excellent point. There's going to be a bit of learning curve, and some trial and error.