Smoked turkey breast

The winter is a slow time for farmers. This year my family is busy upgrading our family's farm market. When they are not updating the market, they are fixing equipment, or pruning the apple, nectarine, and peach trees. Pruning promotes healthy plants by removing dead branches and allowing the fruit space to develop and grow. Fresh cut branches equals the perfect time of year to use a smoker.

This month's recipe redux theme was to heat up this New Year with smoke and spiciness. Some spices that provide a "bold smoke flavor" include: smoked paprika, harissa, and sriracha. I decided to use a smoker to provide the "real" smoke flavor. To increase the flavor, I used apple wood from my family's orchard. 

My boyfriend's brother had a smoker that he allowed me to use, I don't want to give it back! This was the first time my boyfriend and I used a smoker. It was easy, flavorful, healthy, and AWESOME. We smoked a turkey breast for a Sunday family dinner on a beautiful, cold winter day. With the help of my boyfriend, his mom and brother we had a successful and delicious dinner. The smoke flavor was so powerful, we even decided every Thanksgiving we are going to smoke the turkey. Smoking the turkey will also allow more oven space for other dishes on Thanksgiving. 

Smoked Turkey Breast

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

6-7 lb turkey breast

Brine

• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp peppercorn
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme

Rub

• olive oil
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp paprika

Gravy

• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Masterbuilt smoker

• 1 cup wood chips (we used apple wood from the farm)
• 1/4 cup Bourbon 
• Water to cover chips

Directions:

1. Brine: Add turkey to a bucket, cooler, or a bag in a big pot. Dissolve salt and brown sugar in 2 cups of hot water, let cool.  Fill container/bag/bucket with salt and brown sugar mixture, add cold water to cover the turkey, and add remaining brine ingredients. Let it sit in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. (Benefits of brining the turkey: increase in flavor, moisture, and more liquid for gravy later.)
   
   (It looks like a shark mouth to me!)
2. Turn on the smoker, without any wood chips, an hour before adding the turkey. Preheat to a temperature of 225 degrees F. 
   
3. Cut wood chips in small pieces or get precut wood chips. We used apple wood from the farm. You can also use peach, cherry, hickory, maple, mesquite, and oak. Soak wood chips in a bourbon and water bath for 1 hour. 
   
   (The wood from the farm)
   
   
   
   
   (My boyfriend in his flannel and Tom's shoes cutting the wood for me!)
   
   (The soaking wood chips on top of the smoker that is preheating.)
4. Get rub ready: Place pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and oregano into a spice grinder and grind for a few seconds. (Grinding is optional). 
   
   
   
   
5. Remove turkey from brine, rinse breast, and place in pan. Drizzle olive oil over turkey, add spices from the grinder and rub onto turkey breast, and sprinkle with paprika. Stick a food thermometer into turkey breast.
   
   (Olive oil being drizzled.)
   
   (The rub.)
   
   (Sprinkle of paprika.)
   
   (Food thermometer inserted.)
6. On the bottom shelf of the smoker, place a water bath with a glass dish inside. The water bath will provide moisture while the glass dish collects the drippings for the gravy. 
   
7. Once the smoker is at 225 degrees F, add the turkey on the shelf above the water bath.
   
8. One hour after the turkey has been smoking, drain wood chips and place them in the wood tray. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. Smoke turkey until internal temperature is 160-165 degrees F.  It usually takes 45 minutes for 1 pound. (Our turkey got done faster than we thought, so we left it in the smoker at a lower temp.)
   
   
   
   
10. Remove turkey from smoker, place on tray, cover with foil, and let it is sit for 1/2 hour before serving. 
    
11. In the meantime, make the gravy with the drippings from the turkey. Skim the fat off the drippings. Make the cornstarch mixture with water and cornstarch. Pour the drippings into a small sauce pan, boil, than add cornstarch mixture, and whisk until your gravy becomes thick. Place in gravy dish.
    
    
    
    
    (My boyfriend's mom helping so I can take the photos. Teamwork!)
12. Cut turkey down the middle. Slice small pieces for our guests, and serve on a serving platter. We added kale to decorate the serving plater.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Nutrition Tips on Turkey

-4 oz turkey breast w/o skin: 160 calories, 4g fat, and 30 g protein

-Light meat is healthier than dark meat

-High in vitamin B3 (niacin): for energy production, metabolism of macronutrients, DNA repair and gene stability

-High in selenium: supports functions of vit. E and C, component of thyroid hormone and immune system, antioxidant

-High in vitamin B6 (pyridoxine): part of the conversion of tryptophan to nicotinic acid, metabolism of essential fatty acids, critical for brain and nervous system during pregnancy

-Selecting turkey: fresh turkeys (additives are not allowed on these); local; pasture-raised; skin still on to improve cooking and flavor

-Storing the turkey: refrigerate raw for 1-2 days; refrigerate cooked for 3-4 days

-Defrost turkey in refrigerator on a plate

-Handling the turkey: use different cutting board, utensils, and wash hands with hot soapy water

-Cooking the turkey (internal temperature to 165 degrees F): roasting, smoking, used as ground turkey

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