Poultry Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Smoked Turkey Game-plan

[svanes28]

Hello all,
I swear I read through as many threads as I could and hopefully I'm not missing anything. I'm going to smoke a turkey for the first time in my Pro 575. Hoping to help someone else in the future, I'm going to list my current game-plan below.

My current plan:
• Heat "Bird Bath" (by Meat Church BBQ) brine with 1 gallon of water until fully dissolved. Let cool completely.
• Transfer brine mixture to a food safe bucket and submerge Turkey overnight (or 45 min/lb)
• Rinse Turkey and Pat Dry
• Apply Garlic/Herb Rub and let sit for 15 minutes
• Preheat Traeger to 275 Degrees
• Lay Turkey directly on grill grate
• Cook until 160-165 degrees in the deepest part of the breast
• Baste with Melted Butter 2-3 times during cook
• Catch all drippings in Drip Bucket Located on Side of Pro 575 (New Drip Liner and New Drip Bucket Liner)
• Use Drippings to Make Turkey Gravy (Butter, Flour, Drippings, Salt/Pepper)

Questions:
-I planned on putting the turkey directly on the rack, but I see some guys use roasting pans. Anyone have any opinions on this?
-As far as Turkey Gravy goes, I was hoping I could catch the drippings in the drip bucket on the side of the Traeger. Has anyone done this before? Wasn't sure if enough would end up in the bucket. I can add chicken stock if not.

Any Suggestions or Tips? Thank you!

 

[aarieas]

directly on the rack, or roasting pan? pan might be cleaner? this is my first rodeo...looking for advice.

 

[CMTiger]

Your drippings will still have to travel down that little shoot.

I went directly on the rack this past Saturday

 

[aarieas]

Will Do!

 

[svanes28]

Your drippings will still have to travel down that little shoot.

I went directly on the rack this past Saturday

I assume there was enough for turkey gravy?

 

[CMTiger]

I assume there was enough for turkey gravy?

I didn’t try and actually catch any drippings for that purpose

 

[primeone]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Halfway done with dinner!

 

[Cyndi]

Hello all,
I swear I read through as many threads as I could and hopefully I'm not missing anything. I'm going to smoke a turkey for the first time in my Pro 575. Hoping to help someone else in the future, I'm going to list my current game-plan below.

My current plan:
• Heat "Bird Bath" (by Meat Church BBQ) brine with 1 gallon of water until fully dissolved. Let cool completely.
• Transfer brine mixture to a food safe bucket and submerge Turkey overnight (or 45 min/lb)
• Rinse Turkey and Pat Dry
• Apply Garlic/Herb Rub and let sit for 15 minutes
• Preheat Traeger to 275 Degrees
• Lay Turkey directly on grill grate
• Cook until 160-165 degrees in the deepest part of the breast
• Baste with Melted Butter 2-3 times during cook
• Catch all drippings in Drip Bucket Located on Side of Pro 575 (New Drip Liner and New Drip Bucket Liner)
• Use Drippings to Make Turkey Gravy (Butter, Flour, Drippings, Salt/Pepper)

Questions:
-I planned on putting the turkey directly on the rack, but I see some guys use roasting pans. Anyone have any opinions on this?
-As far as Turkey Gravy goes, I was hoping I could catch the drippings in the drip bucket on the side of the Traeger. Has anyone done this before? Wasn't sure if enough would end up in the bucket. I can add chicken stock if not.

Any Suggestions or Tips? Thank you!

How did it turn out? What would you do differently next time? What lessons did you learn the hard way? Trying to learn from you! Thx!