Where to buy whole turkey breast - skin on
 

After a poor attempt a couple years ago, I had some really good success smoking a whole brisket last week (also smoked some sea and kosher salt at the same time). Now I'd like to try my hand at brining and smoking a whole turkey breast, but none of the usual places seem to carry them outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I need the whole breast instead of just breast fillets, so it doesn't dry out.

Any recommendations on where to pick up a couple breasts in the Calgary area?

Myself, I would try any of the local Hutterite / Mennonite colonies first.

Just curious, why not do a whole bird? Retains moisture better than a breast, even with skin on.....

Whole Turkeys are easy to smoke. Wash, pat dry stuff the cavity with citrus and aromatics, like rosemary, tyme and sage. Make a rub, there are lots of recipies on line. Rub the turkey, put in a pan with some water, smoke at 250-27 until an internal temp of 165. Baste often with the drippings from the pan.

BW

I second doing a whole bird. Brine for 24 hrs, rub, cook.

Unless, of course, you're a racist bigot and have something against dark meat?:sHa_sarcasticlol:

Ha! Ha! No prejudice here - I actually prefer dark turkey meat to white, which is why I thought to try and smoke a couple breasts to see if I can up the flavour and moisture. We're empty nesters, so a whole turkey is a lot but failing locating just breasts, I'll give a smaller whole bird a go in the smoker.

We buy skin on, bone in, at Costco. Have them in stock usually for Christmas, easter Thanksgiving etc.

Easter around the corner Walmart and wholesale/ superstore usually have the $15 a bird sale (<5kg) the higher one (<10kg)are around $25

I prefer to spatchcock turkeys and chickens when smoking them. If you want the flavours you would get by stuffing it with aromatics you need to brine or inject the bird.

ARG

If that is the case I would suggest spitting a whole small turkey in half and freezing half for round 2 down the road.
I would brine only the half you plan on smoking the next day, and would brine for only 16 hrs.

I did mine on a pellet grill. Smoke at 180° for 1 hour, then cook at 350 till done.
You need the higher temperature to crisp the skin. I find lower temps leave it quite rubbery.

Why don't you just buy the whole turkey (any size will do), remove the breast for your smoker and freeze the rest for your favorite meals.

The whole thing will probably cost very little more than just buying the breasts

Not quite accurate. On a 20 LB Turkey the average, bone in, skin on, breast weights about 7-8 LBs. The rest is dark meat and bones. The breasts sell for on average, 60%- 100% more per pound versus whole bird. We don't use the dark part of the Turkey for anything. For us, it is WAY cheaper to just buy the Breasts when they are available. Even if you use the dark meat, a whole turkey usually costs significantly more than just buying the breast.

So in some cases, your comment can be accurate, but it really depends on the cost per pound for a whole turkey, versus what the breast alone is selling for.

I have had no complaints with not brining the bird first. The way I do them they're juicy and have lots of flavour. Usually do 2 15 pound birds at a time out at the RV for Labour Day tailgate parties. Nothing left but bones when all is said and done.

I'd try a brine but do not have good refrigeration at the RV for large birds. I thaw, rinse, wipe dry then do my thing. I have also put pads of butter under the skin.

BW

I used to buy chicken breasts with skin on all the time, grab a pack of 4 or 6 on the way home from work. Over time they got harder to come by with skin on. That was when I was still in Calgary, haven't seen any with skin on in Drum or Stettler stores. Always like a spicy crispy skin as part of the meal.
No idea why that change occurred, what have the stores or meat processors got against leaving skin on?

Have you tried doing turkey drumsticks Disney style? Awesome treat to have.

I was meaning brine if you can't stuff the cavity... if you spatchcock (flatten) the bird there is no cavity left to stuff.

If space is a problem, you could try injecting instead of brine. Some people claim it is even better.

So far I've only used the injector for hams, never tried it for a smoked bird.

ARG

I was in Superstore (South Commons) today. They had split turkey breasts, skin on, bone in for $15 something per kg.

ARG

The you’ll need to decide if you want a ‘Organic’, ‘Free Range’ , or ‘Humanely Raised - but spoken to harshly upon occasion’ bird!