Use these pointers from BYB Owner Jay Mathiesen to ensure a perfectly smoked bird this Thanksgiving!

Remember the scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where Clark Griswald proudly brandishes the carving knife and cuts into a beautiful, golden turkey only to have it grotesquely break open to reveal dried out meat, the last bit of remaining moisture escaping in a hiss of steam?

Well…Backyard Bash is here to keep you from feeling like you’re a character in one of the Griswald family’s disastrous holiday scenes, at least where your cooking is concerned. We have no control over weird relatives or unruly family pets.

1. Consider using the Spatchcock method for quicker and more even cooking. If you don’t spatchcock your turkey, make sure to remove the giblets!

2. Rub the inside and the outside of your turkey with vegetable oil, gently working your fingers under the skin. You want to keep the skin attached as much as possible to retain moisture.

3. Sprinkle the outside of the turkey with rub, and, using the same method described above for the oil, rub seasoning under the skin.

4. If injecting, try to inject along the leg and thigh bones and breast bone just under the skin rather than directly into the meat, which can cause pockets of marinade to form.

5. Smoker temperature should be 275º-300ºF. Poultry tends to get a little rubbery at lower smoking temps. This will also bring the bird through the danger zone temperatures of 45º-140ºF more quickly. These are the temps at which bacteria have a higher possibility of flourishing.

6. ALWAYS use a meat thermometer! Do not rely on the pop up devices that are on many store-bought turkeys. They are unreliable and normally set to pop at higher than needed temperatures. Meat temperature should be 165ºF in the breast meat and 175º-180ºF in the legs.

7. Cooking time is approximately 1/2 hour per pound when cooking at 275º-300ºF. Juices should run clear and the legs should move easily when the bird is cooked properly.

8. In NO case should you stuff a bird that will be smoked! The cooking temperatures are too low to prevent bacteria from developing in the center of the stuffing.

9. Tent turkey with foil if your bird starts to get darker than you want.

10. Let bird rest for a period after removing from smoker before slicing.

11. Recommended woods: Apple, Cherry or Pecan.