Smoked Turkey With Coffee Glaze Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 1 gallon of the water to a boil; keep warm. In a large stockpot, combine the cider vinegar, coffee, onion, thyme, salt and peppercorns with 1 3/4 cups of the brown sugar and the remaining gallon of water. Bring to a boil. Holding the turkey by the legs, carefully ease the bird into the hot brine, neck end down. Add enough of the hot water to the stockpot to cover the turkey and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Carefully remove the turkey from the stockpot. Strain 2 cups of the braising liquid into a heatproof bowl and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Discard the remaining braising liquid. Meanwhile, light a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill. A few minutes before the turkey has finished simmering, add 2 cups of the hickory chips to the coals. When the chips start smoking, brush the turkey breast with oil. Set the turkey, breast side down, on the grill. Cover and smoke over a low fire or flame for 15 minutes. Baste the turkey with the reserved braising liquid; turn it breast side up and baste again. Cover the grill and continue smoking the turkey for about 40 minutes longer, basting occasionally with the braising liquid and adding more coals or hickory chips to the grill as necessary. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 165°F. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 20 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Set up an outdoor grill for indirect grilling, placing a large foil drip pan in center. (If using a smoker, light and set it up according to manufacturer's instructions and heat to 275 degrees. In a smoker, you will need to cook bird longer, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.)
• Drain bird. Blot dry inside and out and truss if desired. Place in center of grill grate, over drip pan and between mounds of natural lump charcoal. Toss 1/2 cup of soaked wood chops on each mound of coals. Place lid on grill. Adjust vents to keep temperature between 325 and 350 degrees.
• Grill turkey until darkly browned and cooked through, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Baste turkey with melted butter after first hour and every hour thereafter. If skin starts to brown too much, loosely tent bird with foil. Use an instant-read thermometer to test for doneness; turkey is ready when internal temperature of the thigh is 180 degrees. Replenish charcoal every hour, adding 8 to 10 lumps of charcoal to each mound of coals and leaving grill uncovered for a few minutes to allow charcoal to light. After 1 hour, add 1 1/2 cups of soaked wood chips.
• Transfer turkey to a platter, loosely tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Reserve any drippings in drip pan for gravy.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider, butter and honey.
• Brush over entire bird 45 minutes before it completes cooking. Repeat several times before removing turkey from oven.

Steps:

• Place the charcoal into the bottom pan of the smoker. Light the coals and wait for the temperature of the smoker to come to 240 degrees F (115 degrees C). Lightly oil grate.
• Rinse turkey under cold water, and pat dry. Place hickory chips into a pan with water to cover.
• Place turkey onto the prepared grate. Add 2 handfuls damp chips at start of cooking, then a handful every couple of hours during the cooking process. Leave the lid on - DO NOT keep looking at the turkey, or you will let the heat out! Continue smoking until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), or keep going until the coals die out.

Steps:

• Gas Grill Set-Up:
• Using wood chips in a gas grill is very easy but takes a little planning. If your grill has a smoker attachment, follow the manufacturer's instructions and fill it with wood chips that have been soaked in water or other non-flammable liquid for 30 minutes. If you don't have a smoker box, follow these simple instructions: Fill a small disposable aluminum pan with soaked wood chips, remove the cooking grate, and place the pan in the upper left corner of the grill, or at the spot where all the burners come together. The pan of wood chips will be resting directly on the ceramic briquettes, flavorizerbars, or lava rocks.
• Preheat the grill with all the burners on high until smoke begins to appear around the edges of the grill. At this time, set the grill for indirect cooking (turn the burners that will be directly under the food off) and turn the other burners down to medium-low heat. Immediately place the food in the center of the cooking grate and close the lid of the grill to retain the heat and the smoke. You won't need to add more chips, as one panful is enough to impart a nice smoky flavor to the food.
• Note: It is essential that you put the soaked wood chips in a gas grill during the preheat stage. Once you set the burners for indirect heat, there won't be enough heat to smolder the chips. Likewise, if you don't soak the chips, they will ignite and burn, not smoke.
• Charcoal Grill Set-Up:
• Using wood chips on a charcoal grill is much simpler than a gas grill. There is no special equipment necessary; all you do is soak the chips and put a handful directly on top of the white-gray ashed briquettes. To set up a charcoal grill for indirect cooking, place two equal piles of ashed briquettes on each side of the grill, separated by an aluminum pan filled with a bit of water. If you want just a hint of smoke, only use one handful of chips. If you want a more pronounced smoke flavor, add a handful or two more, but be careful: Too much smoke will turn the meat acrid and your food will taste more like ashes than smoke.
• Note: There is a barbecue contingent that believes that smoke dehydrates the cooking chamber and steals moisture from the meat. To prevent any loss of moisture, I usually add some liquid in an aluminum pan to both charcoal and gas grills. After all, it can't hurt and we all know that steam does tenderize and cook food.
• Smoke the Turkey:
• Remove and discard excess fat from the turkey. Rinse the bird and pat dry. Twist the wing tips under the back. Brush the turkey with oil and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper inside and out. If you brined your bird, skip the salt and pepper.
• If using a gas grill, place the turkey on a roasting rack set in a disposable aluminum-foil roasting pan and place in the grill over the unlit burners. Bend the roasting pan to accommodate closing the gas grill.
• If using a charcoal grill, set an aluminum pan filled with 2 inches water on the charcoal grate directly under where the turkey will smoke. Place the turkey, breast?side-up, directly on the cooking grate above the pan. Add wet wood chips directly to the gray-ashed charcoal briquettes. Place the lid on the grill and adjust the vents so that two-thirds of them are closed on the bottom and the top.
• Cook over indirect heat without lifting the lid for at least 40 minutes to get good smoke on the turkey. Add more wet wood chips to the smoker box or to the charcoal as desired. After a total of 1 1/2 hours, you won't need to add any more wood, as the turkey will have developed a nice burnished color and "cooked" skin. Charcoal grillers will have to add about 12 briquettes to each side every hour; gas grillers don't need to do any tending. No need to baste; the thin coating of oil will promote browning and keep the juices inside the bird.
• While the turkey smokes, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the hot pepper jelly, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. When the jelly is melted, stir in the vinegar to combine. Add the salt and red pepper flakes, if using. If the glaze is too thick, add a bit more vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Cook the turkey for 12 minutes per pound total, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) registers 165°F and the juices run clear when the meat is pierced. Brush the smoked turkey with the glaze, cover, and cook for 15 minutes more. Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving and serving.