Smoked Turkey With Smoked Oyster Dressing

Directions

• Step 1 This is a fairly straightforward smoked turkey recipe. Prepare your smoker and smoke the turkey for six to eight hours between 220-240F, using your choice of hardwood (a 50/50 mix of apple and oak is excellent, if you can get it–try your best to include at least some fruit wood). If you live in a particularly dry climate, you can put a water pan underneath the turkey, or between the turkey and the heat source, to insure a moist smoke.
• Step 2 When you start the turkey, take your loaf of bread and spread it out on a table to let it get dry.
• Step 3 About an hour before the turkey is ready to come off the smoker, take your quart jar of oysters, strain and reserve the oyster liquid, put the oysters into a pan, and put them in the smoker with the turkey. Keep up a good, steady smoke throughout the time the turkey is in the smoker.
• Step 4 At the end of six or eight hours, remove the turkey and the oysters from the smoker.
• Step 5 Set the oysters aside, put the turkey into a large Dutch oven with a cover. Add one cup of white vinegar and about six or seven cups of water to the Dutch oven–enough liquid so that there is about one and a half to two inches in the bottom of the oven. If you’d like, you can sprinkle the turkey with a little garlic powder and black pepper and drizzle with honey, but this is optional.
• Step 6 Put the turkey, covered, into your
• Step 7 oven and bake at 325F until done.
• Step 8 While the turkey is baking, get out a large baking pan. Brush lightly with oil, pull your dry bread into chunks, and place in the pan. About 15 minutes before the turkey is done, add the chopped onion and celery, pressed garlic, chopped jalapeno, sage, oregano, black pepper, and crushed mustard seeds. Combine well. Add the smoked oysters and reserved oyster liquor (make sure you’ve strained this well). Combine.
• Step 9 Remove the turkey from the oven and keep covered. Add 2 to 3 cups of the turkey liquid from the Dutch oven and 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce to your dressing and combine well. Don’t make it too wet, but you do want it to be somewhat doughy.
• Step 10 Place the dressing in your range oven and bake at 325F for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the top of the dressing is just slightly darker than golden brown. Remove the dressing from the oven and serve along with the turkey.