Thanksgiving comes early

After weeks of being lazy and not BBQin' anything, I decided it was time for me to open my mind and get back to the order of smokin' meat! The meat of choice this weekend, turkey breast. With Thanksgiving just over 2 months away, this would be a good trial run if I plan on smoking a full turkey at Thanksgiving.

I followed the Maple Smoked Turkey Breast recipe exactly from BBQU.net. The 5.5 lb. bird breast was rubbed and refridgerated overnight, brought to room temperature, and then put on the grill. Using the Minion Method (the method that seems to work the best for me), I was able to keep the temps steady at about 250. I had a few spikes up to 300 but quickly fixed that by adjusting my vents or extinguishing any flaming wood chunks. I used fresh rosemary stalks to baste the turkey with the maple syrup & butter glaze.

The recipe said the bird would be done in about 1.5 hours but it took about 2 full hours to reach 170 using straight smoke. The turkey was very juicy and tender, no gravy needed. Although the skin was a little rubbery, it was still very flavorfull with just a hint of the maple syrup and rosemary. All in all I think this was a huge success and one of my favorite things I have smoked. I will definetly use this recipe for a full bird on Thanksgiving.