By: Mike Reeber
If your turkey season was anything like mine, then you would probably agree it was a grind from start to finish. Who knows what the story was, but for a season that started off looking good, things quickly turned to very frustrating. In South Texas, the Rios started off strong; gobbling and strutting up like planned. Once the first week was in the books, the turkey’s decided to change things up and that made for a difficult rest of the season. From multiple interactions on different ranches, it seemed like the gobblers were super quiet, weary of decoys and just not interested in playing our game. But as luck would have it, we were still able to take some great birds, despite some seriously tough conditions. If you also had some good fortune this spring, a sincere congratulations is in order, because it was not an easy one! So, if you have this season’s bird chilling out somewhere in your deep freeze, here’s a great recipe to prepare during the upcoming summer season.
Smoking a turkey breast is one of the most simple and delicious ways to enjoy your bird. With a simple brine, a peppery rub and some time in the smoke, you’ll have a versatile final product that works really well for an incredible Reuben sandwich.
Recipe:
2 boneless, skinless turkey breasts
The Brine:
6 quarts of cold water
3 cups of kosher salt
1 pound of dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons of juniper berries, crushed
To begin, bring 6 quarts of cold water to a boil in a large pot. Once boiling, add the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved. Once dissolved, shut off the heat and add the juniper berries. Set the brining liquid aside and let cool. It’s really important for this to be brought back down to room temperature (or colder) prior to placing your turkey into the liquid. If you prefer, this brine can be made a day prior and left to cool in the fridge overnight.
Once the brine is cool, place the turkey into the brine, cover and place in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Note: there is enough brine for two whole turkey breasts. After 48 hours, remove the meat from the liquid, rinse with cold water and dry with paper towels.
The Rub:
3 tablespoons of dried mustard
¼ cup of fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons of crushed coriander
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
At this point, your turkey is ready to relax in the smoker. Using your favorite wood (mine is Post Oak), get your pit up to 275 degrees with a good bit of rolling smoke. While everything is warming up, it’s time to season the turkey. Combine all of the spices from the list above and generously cover the bird. Remember, pastrami is supposed to be peppery, so when in doubt, add more pepper to the outside! Once your pit is up to temp, place your turkey breast on and let it smoke until the internal temp reaches 170.
The Reuben:
Rye bread
Swiss cheese
Russian or Thousand Island dressing
Sauerkraut
Sliced turkey
For the Reuben, take rye bread, Russian dressing (or thousand island to keep things easy), sauerkraut, a couple of slices of Swiss cheese and a generous heap of sliced turkey. Place on a hot griddle with a sandwich or burger press if you have one. Let the cheese melt and the bread toast before serving.
