The 4th of July is a special day for Americans and I hope you all have a safe 4th!

From Across the Pond, may I extend warm wishes for a happy and enjoyable Independence Day to all of my fellow forum members who are from the US.
We went swimming It was HOT I don't think we've had weather this hot for this long since I've lived here right now it's 2150 and it's 88 degrees.
We just had a relaxing day at home with family. Smoked a turkey and had a great meal.
I know how you feel, it was 95 degrees yesterday and today, makes jogging fun!
How do you smoke a turkey? And, more importantly, what does it taste like and what do you serve it with?
Aside from all of that, I hope you had a great day.
You put it in a smoker???
How do you smoke a turkey? And, more importantly, what does it taste like and what do you serve it with?
Aside from all of that, I hope you had a great day.
You season it with spices and dress it to your taste. For us that means stuffing it with apple slices and cinnamon. Then we cook it slow on a smoker with your choice of wood. All in all the process takes about 4+ hours of cooking time. The end result looks like this....
View attachment 566555
We had avocado salad/salsa, corn on the grill, and cucumbers as side dishes.
The leftover turkey made for great sandwiches today.![]()
So, my question stands: How do you smoke a turkey?
Is a smoker similar to a barbecue? And do you need to baste the bird with cooking juices - or oil - while it is smoking?
Thanks for that exceptionally enlightening post.
Context is everything. Now, some further enlightenment, please, just what exactly is a smoker?
Well, I'm from mostly wet, windy, misty, rainy, northern Europe,(not, admittedly at the moment) - so barbecues are a fantasy we see on TV rather than a reality we live with.
Indeed, I've never used one, personally, and when I have seen them used, it has been when I have served abroad in hot climates, and they were usually used for steaks, kebabs, sausages, burgers or chicken. Never for a turkey.
Besides, while I genuinely don't know the first thing about barbecues, (apart from admiring the stupefying heat and volcanic appearance that can come from the depths of disintegrating charcoal), I do know about turkeys, - Christmas and all that - and have cooked them - and the first thing that strikes you is that they are big birds. Birds that challenge most ovens by dint of being rather enormous. Birds that take bloody well forever to cook properly - that is the second thing that strikes you - these creatures can take forever to cook properly.
So, my question stands: How do you smoke a turkey?
A smoker is a special grill that is designed to both provide heat for cooking and simultaneously burn wood blocks, chips, or pellets for the purpose of flavoring the meat you are cooking. Different kinds of wood produce different kinds of flavor as the smoke penetrates the meat that is being cooked. Smoking is a slow cooking process and it will take several hours to properly complete the cooking process. I hope that helps.
Generally, you do not need to baste your turkey or other meat while cooking. All seasoning is done prior to cooking. Now, over the course of the cooking process you might need to add more wood for the continued generation of smoke.
Here is a smoker available in the UK.
http://www.forfoodsmokers.co.uk/
Humans have been smoking foor for a very long time, it's not European vs. American thing I've lived in Germany for a decade and you could go to BayWa and get a smoker before you could get a decent grill.
Re cooking with smokers, does the meat retain its moisture when this method of cooking is used? And, what are the preferred woods to use for this method - how do their flavours differ? Such differences stand to reason, as woods can differ drastically - in appearance, texture, durability - when used in floors, or furniture, or for other purposes.
We went swimming It was HOT I don't think we've had weather this hot for this long since I've lived here right now it's 2150 and it's 88 degrees.
You want to know hot? Let me tell you of the 4th Of July fishbake of 2012, when it reached 107 by early afternoon, and the humidity made it feel like so much worse.
It was tragic. Old people keeling over left and right, kids sizzling on the sidewalks like slabs of bacon. I brag about being able to take the heat, but that? Man, it was oppressive.
I was part of a parachute jump in Egypt, unfortunately a Major suffered a broken femur, it was 128 degrees, we repaired his femur, and then we did did a good barbie!