On Apr 17, 9:41 pm, Walt Fles wrote:
I need some ideas for doing the above:
brine or not
type of wood
mop/sauce or just rub?
thanks in advance!

I can share an experience I had with turkey - close, so it may be
helpful.

I brined it in a brine that included Prague Powder #1 for 24 hours
along with garlic and some salt, I think. Then I rinsed and dried it.
I did not use a rub or anything on it, but put it directly into the
hot smoker, which I wasn't able to get very hot that day. Temperatures
hovered between 150 and 200, and in the end I really had to work to
get the temperature up to finish the bird. I used lump charcoal along
with hickory chunks thrown in every so often, and a dish of water
under the turkey. I stopped at normal done temperatures for turkey
(forget what that was) and the end result was an extremely juicy and
good tasting turkey, but unfortunately it had a tough skin that was
pretty much a complete loss. The turkey flesh, because of the PP#1,
was quite ham-like in that it had pinked up quite a bit and had a
flavor between ham and turkey.

So, it was very good, but next time for another data point I think
I'll try a brine without Prague Powder and up the temperature to
around 375-300 and maybe baste a few times to try to get a better
skin. I suspect it will not be as moist that way, but it's worth
experimentation. I'm guessing "perfect" would be a two stage smoking
session where the temperature is quite high for some portion of the
process - not sure if that would be early or late in the game. The ham
cure like quality went well with the smoke.

--Jeff