Worth-The-Wait Turkey

Title: Worth-The-Wait Turkey
Yield: 8 Servings
Categories: Main Dishes, Poultry, Smoked 

Ingredients: 

      1    Turkey, 10-pound to 11-pound


------------------------------INJECTION LIQUID------------------------------
    1/2 c  Oil, Garlic-flavored
      4 oz Beer
    1/2 ts Cayenne pepper

--------------------------------TURKEY PASTE--------------------------------
      4    Garlic cloves
      1 tb Black pepper, coarse-ground
      1 tb Salt, kosher
      1 pn Cayenne pepper
      1 tb Oil, Garlic-flavored

----------------------------TURKEY MOP (OPTIONAL----------------------------
      2 c  Turkey or chicken stock
      1 c  Water
      8 oz Beer
    1/4 c  Oil, preferably canola or
           -Corn
           Barbecue Sauce (Optional)
 
  The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the injection liquid
  ingredients in a small bowl. With a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture
  deep into the turkey in a half-dozen places, moving the needle around in
  each spot to shoot the liquid in several directions. Inject the greatest
  amount into the breast. With a mortar and pestle or in a mini-food
  processor, combine the paste ingredients, mashing the garlic with the
  pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add the oil to form a thick paste. Massage the
  turkey with the paste inside and out, working it as far as possible under
  the skin without tearing the skin. Place the turkey in a plastic bag and
  refrigerate it overnight. Before you begin to barbecue, remove the turkey
  from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
  Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 degrees
  F to 220 degrees F. Cut a 4-foot to 5-foot length of cheesecloth and dampen
  it thoroughly with water. Wrap the bird in the cheesecloth and tie the
  ends. Transfer the turkey to the smoker, breast side down (you should be
  able to feel through the cheesecloth), and cook for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours
  per pound, until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F. Wet the
  cheesecloth down with more water at 30-minute intervals in a wood-burning
  pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. After about 6 hours,
  remove the cheesecloth, snipping it with sissors if necessary, and discard
  it. When the cheesecloth is removed, baste the turkey for the remainder of
  it's cooking time, if possible, in your smoker. If you plan to baste,
  combine the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm the mixture over low
  heat. Mop every 30 minutes in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for
  your style of smoker. When the turkey is done, remove it from the smoker
  and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with warmed
  barbecue sauce (such as KC Masterpiece) if you wish. This wonderful TNT
  recipe was taken from "Smoke & Spice" Cooking with SMOKE, the REAL Way to
  Barbecue, on Your Charcoal Grill, Water Smoker, or Wood-Burning Pit by
  Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. Publisher is Harvard Common Press.
  ISBN 1-55832-061-X
  
  Posted to TNT - Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter  by KaylaD
   on Mar 25, 1997