Something I’ve recently realised with smoking turkey is, for me anyway, it does need quite a lot of attention to make sure it all goes to plan. But when you see it all broken down in front of you it shows how important it is to maintain the temperature and stop the meat from drying out.

Method

• The day before you need to cook the turkey, boil the water with the salt, pickling spice and rosemary. Allow to cool, add the turkey and leave in the fridge overnight.
• Start to heat your barbecue, drain the turkey onto a paper towel and then rub with the old bay.
• Once your barbecue is really hot add your smoking chips, draining off as much of the water as possible. Place the turkey on the barbecue and close the lid and all the vents (you are going to have to move quickly at this point so not to lose all the smoke created).  Leave for one hour.
• Start to open the vents and allow the barbecue to slowly come back up to temperature. At this point it’s important that you try to maintain a temperature of 300°C. Cook for 45 minutes.
• Now start to baste the turkey every 10 to 15 minutes for the next hour.
• At this point your turkey should be cooked, but please ensure that the temperature has reached at least 75°C.