Follow-Up on Smoking a Turkey

The weather was perfect for being outside so much today. It was near 70 degrees with a cloudless blue sky. With weather like this, who would think that next week is Thanksgiving. Even my flowers have been enjoying the mild autumn.

Pansies grow all winter long in the south. How wonderful it is to have vibrant color during the dreary winter months.

Ingredients for Injection Liquid
1/4 cup garlic-flavored oil
4 ounces beer
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
10-pound to 11-pound turkey

Ingredients for Turkey Paste:
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon coarse-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne
1 tablespoon garlic-flavored oil

Ingredients for Turkey Mop:
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
1 cup water
8 ounces beer
1/4 cup oil, preferably canola or corn.

The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the injection liquid ingredients in a small bowl. With a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture deep into the turkey in a half-dozen places, moving the needle around in each spot to shoot the liquid in several directions. Inject the greatest amount into the breast.

With a mortar and pestle or in a mini-food processor, combine the paste ingredients, mashing the garlic with the pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add the oil for form a thick paste. Massage the turkey with the paste inside and out, working it a s far as possible under the skin without tearing the skin. Place the turkey in a plastic bag and refrigerate it overnight.

Before you begin to barbecue, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 to 220 degrees.

Cut a 4-foot to 5-foot length of cheesecloth and dampen it thoroughly with water. Wrap the bird in the cheesecloth and tie the ends.

Transfer the turkey to the smoker, breast side down and cook for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours per pound, until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Wet the cheesecloth down with more water at 30-minute intervals in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker.

After about 6 hours, remove the cheesecloth, snipping it with scissor if necessary, and discard it. When the cheesecloth is removed, baste the turkey for the remainder of its cooking time. If you plan to baste, combine the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm the mixture over low heat. Mop every 30 minutes.

When the turkey is done, remove it from the smoker and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before carving.