Thanksgiving is this week and I am hosting my family over for dinner. As we are heading up to the cottage for Thanksgiving, I just can’t wait. While the temperature has been getting much cooler lately, it is supposed to be a beautiful weekend.

A Whole Turkey or Turkey Breasts, Both Work on a Bradley Smoker

With a Bradley Smoker at the cottage, plans are to fire it up and smoke some of the meal. Although turkey is a typical Thanksgiving meal, and it is possible to smoke a whole one in a Bradley Smoker, I decided for something else.

My choice was for some boneless turkey breasts, instead. In addition to being much faster to smoke than a whole turkey, they also turn out really well.

Furthermore, it is possible to smoke them using the same temperature and methods used for chicken breasts. However, since turkey breasts are larger than chicken breasts, it will take a little longer to smoke.

A Spice Blend Rub or Bacon Wrap?

Rubbing a spice blend on the turkey breast, or wrapping it with bacon will work just fine. In addition to keeping the turkey breast moist, bacon will add that delicious flavour. However, if you want to smoke the turkey breast without bacon, simply follow the instructions below and omit it.

Smoked Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast

Ingredients

You will need two boneless skinless turkey breasts and eight bacon slices, besides the following seasoning:
One tbsp paprika, one tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, one tsp salt and two tbsp of sugar.

Directions

After mixing the paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and sugar together in a small bowl, you have to rub the spice blend all over the turkey breasts.

Four slices of bacon must be enough to wrap each turkey breast. After that, they are ready to go to the smoker rack.

Setting the smoker to 250 F, select your favorite wood bisquettes – oak, maple or hickory work great.

The ideal internal temperature for turkey is 165 F When you get it, it’s ready to go.

And if you have that smoker running anyway, you might as well smoke some veggies to complete your whole Thanksgiving meal in one run!

Examples

4-6 tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant. You can season them with three tbsp olive oil, one tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper.

Directions

How to prepare the vegetables:

• Tomatoes, halved
• Sweet peppers (red, yellow, orange, green), cored and halved
• Onions, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• Zucchini or eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

With cut side facing up, lay the vegetables on the smoker racks. Drizzle the oil on the vegetables and sprinkle the salt and pepper on them.

Finally, set the smoker to 250 F using wood bisquettes of choice. Vegetables will be tender after 2 1/2 to 3 hours of smoking.

By Steve Cylka