Smoke Fried Turkey

Once in a generation does a cultural icon transcend all nations and borders. The Office. Sliced Bread. The Smoke Fried Turkey. A dude on the internet is even quoted saying, “The Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock dreamed of a day when they could Smoke Fry their turkeys.” This day is now. We’re living in the delicious future our forefathers dreamt of. 

Post Contributed by Jeremy Whitelaw.

Brine

Turkey is…. not the best thing ever. There I said it. I’m a known turkey hater. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make a great turkey; we can make turkey great again. It just takes care and attention to detail. 

We’re gonna start with a brine. Brines fall into two categories: Dry and Wet. They both have their own sets of pros and cons. But for us here today, we’re going wet.

The big deciding factor for me is that I don’t have an extra fridge to dry bring a huge bird in, so that obviously makes it a no go. A wet brine can be accomplished with a brine bag, a cooler, and a bag of ice. So that’s what we’re doing with this Smoke Fried Turkey.

The purpose of the wet brine is to help season the meat on a deeper level and break down the proteins on a molecular level. This will result in a more tender and juicy turkey.

Look, Thanksgiving is basically the Superbowl of cooking. We gotta show up the other neighborhood dads. Therefore, we gotta brine. 

Smoke Fried Turkey

Smoking a turkey can result in great flavor, but usually has limp skin. Frying a turkey can have the most amazing crispy skin, but not much going on in the flavor department. So we’re doing both! The classic Smoke Fry.

We’ll start as the Smoked Fried Turkey as the title suggest, by smoking the turkey. This will imbibe the turkey with that amazing smoke flavor and help dry the turkey from the brining process.

Now don’t fully cook the turkey, otherwise it’d be overcooked after the fry. I usually pull from the smoker 20-30 degrees below my target final temp.

Then we fry. 350 degrees for 10-15 min. Just enough time to finish the cook and make the most amazing crispy skin.

Tender, flavorful, juicy, and crispy; all anyone could ask for.

*Make sure to follow all manufacturer instructions when using a deep fryer. Safety equipment is a must. Always keep a fire extinguisher on hand when cooking. Water will not put out a grease fire. 

For other turkey ideas, check out my Maple Bourbon Spatchcock Turkey, Honey Fire Rotisserie Turkey Legs and Leftover Chipotle Turkey Empanadas.

Cajun

There’re so many flavor profiles to choose from when cooking up a holiday bird. Garlic Herb, Texas Salt and Pepper, Lemon Pepper, and so many more. For our Smoke Fried Turkey, we’re using Cajun. That beautifully blackened rub we all know and love.

The key to any flavor profile is to introduce it at every step. Add it to the brine, inject it, season the outside, and sleep with the bottle of rub so it feels the love (that last one is optional).

We’re doing it all in this Smoke Fried Turkey recipe, this is no time to hold back. Poultry soaks up flavors in the best way and we’re taking full advantage of that!

For more with cajun, check out my Creamy Cajun Shrimp Alfredo, Cajun Rubbed Steak with Bourbon Street Sauce, Honey Cajun Smoked Lobster Tails and Maple Cajun Salmon Pinwheels.

For more delicious recipes, check out my second cookbook Flavor X Fire or my first cookbook Food X Fire!

Needing more spice in your life? My spice line can help with that. Check them out here.