I need to transport a smoked turkey for thanksgiving. I plan to flavor brine the bird, smoke it over apple wood, then freeze it for travel. Does anyone have any experience with reheating smoked turkeys, and how much will it suffer from the time spent frozen?
How far are you traveling, and how long do you expect for the trip to take? I was under the impression that smoked turkeys have a pretty long shelf life.
ETA: I mean, isn’t that supposed to be the point behind smoked meats?
It’s the freezing that causes the damage, not the time.
if you can get hold of an Omaha Steaks cooler (or similar), they are fantastic at keeping things cold. Add some freezer packs or dry ice for a longer trip and you’re good.
My mom cooks and freezes turkey meat before Thanksgiving, so as not to have to work on it the day of. But, it’s not smoked. She does the whole bird then de-bones it and puts it in flat layers in freezer bags in chicken broth.
I think we saw somewhere - maybe Good Eats - that the broth that penetrates the meat will crystalize into sharp little shards which tenderizes the meat while it’s freezing. When you thaw it is good and tender and juicy.
Not sure if you are able to freeze in juice but maybe that’ll help.