- Turkey weighs 22lb.
- Defrosting will take 5-6 days
- Brining will take 24-48 hrs
- Cooking should take 8-10hrs @ 275º smoke (reference)
What I did
- 2 nights before – made brine (Tara has recipe)
- 9am night before – added 22lb bird to oven bags (2x) in cooler, ice on sides, poured in brine
- 9pm night before – pulled bird from brine. Dried with paper towel, added herb butter under breast (recipe), added turkey rub to outside (recipe).
- 4:30am – turned on Traeger smoker
- 4:45am – moved bird to 225° smoker
- 8:30am – increased temp to 250° because it was falling below 225° sometimes.
- 8:55am – breast 109°, thigh 128°. Increased temp to 275°.
- 9:30am – smoker at 275°, breast 123°, thigh 142°
- 9:33am – turned smoker up to 300°
- 9:57am – smoker 300°, breast 131°, thigh 152°
- 10:18am – smoker 300°, breast 140°, thigh 160°
- 10:30am – added ham to smoker
- 10:50am – smoker 300°, breast 150°, thigh 170°
- 11:09am – breast 155°, thigh 175°. Turned smoker up to 375°
- 11:30am – smoker 375°, breast 160° (forgot to check thigh), pulled off smoker to rest
Herb Butter
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp thyme finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp oregano finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Turkey Rub
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp crushed rosemary
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp rubbed sage