Having been inspired by Wolfe's topic, I decided to try turkey breasts on my almost brand new WSM. I'd purchased it just a week or two prior.
I did a whole, bone-in, skin-on turkey breast last Sunday. Brined in 2 gal on H2O with a half-cup each of kosher salt & light brown sugar. Also had a dash of peppercorns in the brine.
For the brine I brought a quart of water to a boil, added all the dry stuff & mixed until dissolved. Let same cool for about an hour. Poured into 5 gal water cooler along with 3 quarts of tap water & 4 quarts of ice. 1 + 3 + 4 = 2 if you follow me. The breast sat in this brine for about 20 hours. There were still ice cubes when I pulled it out of the cooler.
I used the Minion method to get the WSM started, but, evidently, didn't quite use enough hot coals. Immediately after placing the hot coals on the unlit coals I put the breast on and closed the lid. The lid stayed on/closed until I removed the breast.
The temp never got much over 220, and hovered at or below 200 for almost 1.5 ours.
At hour 4.5 - 5.75 the breast temp plateaud at 154. The pit temp (taken with a 10" therm through the upper vent) was starting to roll back from 220 to 210 over that time. I then checked the briquettes and they were just about gone. I only used a layer-&-a-half or so to begin with. Of course, I had some chunk hickory in there too.
I added another half-chimney of hot coals 20 minutes later, i.e. at around 5.75 hour mark. Temp shot up to 280 but I didn't care. I just wanted what turned into a 6.5 hour cook to end as we were all hungry. Pulled the turkey off when finally got to 160. Wrapped in heavy foil & placed in newspaper lined cooler for 45 minutes.
The turkey was good, but not great. It was a little drier than I was expecting, and frankly, not as juicy as when I'd just roasted in the past on the One Touch Gold 22.5 using indirect heat & the same brine.
I think the breast was just out there too long. I believe that had I gotten the temp up earlier, like to 225-250, the time would have been right and the result much more juicy.
Next time, in addition to getting the temp up where it should have been, I think I may pull the breast at 155. Carryover will result in at least another 5 degrees to end at 160, won't it?
I did a whole, bone-in, skin-on turkey breast last Sunday. Brined in 2 gal on H2O with a half-cup each of kosher salt & light brown sugar. Also had a dash of peppercorns in the brine.
For the brine I brought a quart of water to a boil, added all the dry stuff & mixed until dissolved. Let same cool for about an hour. Poured into 5 gal water cooler along with 3 quarts of tap water & 4 quarts of ice. 1 + 3 + 4 = 2 if you follow me. The breast sat in this brine for about 20 hours. There were still ice cubes when I pulled it out of the cooler.
I used the Minion method to get the WSM started, but, evidently, didn't quite use enough hot coals. Immediately after placing the hot coals on the unlit coals I put the breast on and closed the lid. The lid stayed on/closed until I removed the breast.
The temp never got much over 220, and hovered at or below 200 for almost 1.5 ours.
At hour 4.5 - 5.75 the breast temp plateaud at 154. The pit temp (taken with a 10" therm through the upper vent) was starting to roll back from 220 to 210 over that time. I then checked the briquettes and they were just about gone. I only used a layer-&-a-half or so to begin with. Of course, I had some chunk hickory in there too.
I added another half-chimney of hot coals 20 minutes later, i.e. at around 5.75 hour mark. Temp shot up to 280 but I didn't care. I just wanted what turned into a 6.5 hour cook to end as we were all hungry. Pulled the turkey off when finally got to 160. Wrapped in heavy foil & placed in newspaper lined cooler for 45 minutes.
The turkey was good, but not great. It was a little drier than I was expecting, and frankly, not as juicy as when I'd just roasted in the past on the One Touch Gold 22.5 using indirect heat & the same brine.
I think the breast was just out there too long. I believe that had I gotten the temp up earlier, like to 225-250, the time would have been right and the result much more juicy.
Next time, in addition to getting the temp up where it should have been, I think I may pull the breast at 155. Carryover will result in at least another 5 degrees to end at 160, won't it?