For Thanksgiving, my wife and I decided to stay with traditional meat (turkey) but decided to prepare it a bit differently. Recently, I had been reading up on different ways to barbecue turkey (of course) and came upon an article on dry vs wet brining. I thought, why not both. Here’s how it went.

First, we carved the breast from the turkeys, leaving the skin attached. Next we made a salt and cane sugar wet brine with lemon juice in a large boiling pot. We placed the turkey breast in the pot and then place the pot in the refrigerator for two days (48 hours).

On day two, before placing on the smoker, we covered the turkey breasts in a cilantro and lime sauce. I know, it’s not a dry brine/rub, per se, but we didn’t want to risk the turkey drying out.

Next, we placed the turkey on the smoker (pecan wood) and smoked the turkey, skin down, at 250 degrees Fahrenheit until the met was 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a side note, we’ve been using a Weber bluetooth thermometer to keep track of the internal temp of the meat. I can say enough how much of a help this has been. Keeping the lid closed during the entire smoking process had really helped with temperature control.

About two and a half hours later we took the turkey off the smoker, wrapped in butcher paper, and allowed to rest for two hours.

I have to say, this is one recipe I will not be changing. The meat had lots of flavor, and most of all, it was juicy.

Being juicy makes all the difference, because, really, who likes dry turkey?

And another side note:

This is a cutting board I made several years back from scraps I had left over from a furniture project. If you have any unique cutting board designs or comments, I’d love to hear about them.