Bone in Turkey Breast... HELP appreciated!

[MattENewbie]

Ok... I know it's short notice, but any help I could get would be greatly appreciated. As the name says, I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to smoking.
I'm planning on smoking a 4.5 lb Bone in Turkey Breast. It's currently brining using this recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/smoked-turkey-breast

I'm planning on covering it with maple bacon and smoking it this afternoon. I was thinking 2-2.5oz of Pecan Wood @ 225 and start checking the internal temperature at about 3 hours. It is not split.

Any advice on amounts of wood/temp/time are welcome! I also have hickory from SI. I also know I'm looking for about 160 internal temp before taking it out and tenting it for 1/2 hour.

I'll probably be starting in 4.5-5 hours - so if you see this, feel free to respond quickly 

Again- I'm woefully aware of the short notice, so please feel free to help even after the fact! It helps when I compare my mistakes to good advice and prepare for next time!   

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[swthorpe]

I usually smoke 7# turkey breasts and they run about 4 hours at 235F.    I would start checking your breast after 2 or 2.5 hours just to be on the safe side, but it may well take up to 3 hours.   Good luck with the smoke!

[NDKoze]

I think you have a pretty good plan. I agree with Steve about bumping the temp up to 235.

Pecan is great, but my favorite and go to wood for poultry is Cherry.

If it is skin on, I wouldn't worry about a water pan. But if it is skin off, I would add a water pan filled with cider/beer/water placing it on the floor of the smoker resting right up against the smoke box.

[DivotMaker]

Personally, Matt, I use 250 on all poultry.  It doesn't benefit, at all, from "low and slow," as there is no internal fat to render slowly (like beef or pork).  Plus, poultry needs to be taken up in temp rapidly to get it out of the 40-140° "danger zone."  Crank it to 250, and watch the internal temp for 165.  Hickory is good on anything, but try some cherry on poultry sometime; good stuff!

[SconnieQ]

Crank it to 250, and watch the internal temp for 265.

I believe he meant 165.

[MattENewbie]

Thank you to everyone! Last night was yet another epic fail in my series of newbie learning experiences. However- they're leading up to what I know will be a Complete Mastery of the Art of Smoking  NOT!

Here's how it went down. I left the skin on and covered the bone in breast with bacon. I cooked it at about 235 till my probe said 162IT. This took a little over 3 hours. (It looked glorious).  I took it out and tented it. Waited 25 minutes and checked the temp again. Both my probe and a good ol' Kitchen thermometer read 142IT.  This - combined with the fact that the pop-up timer didn't pop up scared the wife- who was not going to let the kids eat this. So - back to the oven at 375 until the pop-up timer said done. The bacon was burned to a crisp. Turkey meat was not toooo bad- dry toward outside- good further in- but not very smokey.

I later learned (and will share separately in a different VERY SIMPLE thread) that pop-up timers don't pop until 180-185!

Two questions (really like 20 in 2 main areas) to help me grow:

1. Temp went down after tenting? Am I supposed to "wrap" the food - or just "tent" it when it comes out? Does it make a difference? Was my "in the smoker probe read" just wrong?

2. Why so little flavor? I used 2oz. Of Pecan on a 4.5# breast. The smoke barely penetrated into the meat. Was the bacon over the skin blocking the smoke? Should I have taken the skin off and left the bacon? What works best to get the smoke in and keep the meat from drying out?

Thank you again for all your help. This forum is great and I want to be able to thank everyone with a picture of a successful smoke!

[SconnieQ]

I'd leave the the skin on, and the bacon off. The bacon probably got most of the smoke. Take the IT to 165. If your family is worried, probe it in a couple places when you take it out to make sure it hit 165. I just lightly tent with foil. It really doesn't matter what the temperature is after the rest, as long as it got to 165, all bacteria was killed instantly. You don't have to worry about bacteria growth upon cooling unless it has been below 140 for more than 2 hours. Bacterial spores start to germinate upon cooling at about 123 degrees. I think your Turkey breast was probably fine when you took it out of the smoker. I'd eat it. But if anyone is worried, just take a couple extra steps to make everyone feel better, and keep your meat from overcooking.

[DivotMaker]

I agree, skin-on, bacon-off.  If you like a stronger smoke flavor, try hickory.  Pecan is pretty mild, for a hardwood.  Personally, I love cherry on poultry, but hickory is right there with it!  I probably would have used 3-4 oz on a breast that size.  That's pretty much what I've gone to for whole chicken or turkey.

Tenting or wrapping:  It depends on the meat.  I don't wrap poultry, unless I need to keep it warm for awhile.  Tent poultry that you plan to serve within 15-30 min.  Anything like a pork butt or brisket, you want to wrap in 2 layers of heavy-duty foil, and pack in a cooler with a towel below and one on top (for insulation). 

With tented poultry, like Kari said, the key is getting to 165 in the breast.  Always make sure your meat probe isn't touching the bone, or the tip isn't too close to the edge.  Hit it "center-mass."  You won't really get any carryover cooking if you don't tightly wrap it, so make sure you just hit your desired temp from the start.

One last thing - if you want the most moist poultry, brine it first.  About 4-5 hours would have been fine on this breast.