Smoked Turkey with Vinegar Pepper Mop (Rodney Scott Style)
A Carolina pitmaster's holiday bird: spatchcocked, rubbed with a sweet-hot barbecue seasoning, smoked low over wood on a kettle grill and mopped with tangy pepper vinegar.
Rodney Scott started barbecuing at about eleven at his family's business, Scott's Variety Store and Bar-B-Q in Hemingway, South Carolina, where they smoked whole hogs over wood. In 2018 he was named the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: Southeast, only the second pitmaster to win a Beard chef award, and he opened Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ in Charleston (Wikipedia:)).
His holiday turkey appears in his 2021 cookbook, "Rodney Scott's World of BBQ," written for a ceramic smoker. Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen's magazine, adapted it for an ordinary kettle grill using a "charcoal snake," a slow-burning ring of briquettes that lights at both ends, and kept his peppery vinegar mop.
🇺🇸 This one is American
A Carolina pitmaster's holiday bird: spatchcocked, rubbed with a sweet-hot barbecue seasoning, smoked low over wood on a kettle grill and mopped with tangy pepper vinegar.
🇲🇽 The original
In Mexico, where the turkey was first domesticated, the classic is turkey pieces braised in mole poblano, a dark sauce of dried chiles, spices, nuts and a little chocolate. See the Mole Poblano with Turkey (Mole Poblano de Guajolote) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
A slow fuse
The charcoal snake burns from both ends for hours without refueling, the wood chunks along it release smoke as the fire reaches them, and the water pan steadies the heat.
Vinegar against smoke
The sharp, peppery mop cuts the richness of the smoked skin, and its sugar helps the surface brown.
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the mop: simmer the vinegar, lemon, sugar, pepper, cayenne and pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat about 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Cool completely and discard the lemon. Pour half into a separate jar for the table; use the other half for mopping.
- Step 2
Spatchcock the turkey (see our Spatchcocked Roast Turkey recipe, step 2) and press it flat. Mix the rub and season the turkey all over, both sides.
- Step 3
Build the snake: open the grill's bottom vent fully. Arrange 50 briquettes two wide around the edge of the charcoal grate in a C shape, leaving a 9 inch gap, and set 50 more on top. Space the wood chunks along the snake. Put the aluminum pan in the gap and pour in 6 cups water.
- Step 4
Light 20 briquettes in a chimney starter. When they are partly covered with ash, pour 10 onto each end of the snake.
- Step 5
Oil the cooking grate and lay the turkey skin side down over the water pan, drumsticks toward the snake. Cover with the lid vent fully open and cook, undisturbed, 2 hours, keeping the grill at about 250°F to 300°F (close the bottom vent partway if it climbs above 300°F).
- Step 6
Mop the turkey generously, flip it skin side up in the same spot and mop again. Insert a probe in the thickest part of the breast, cover, and cook about 1 hour more, until the breast reads 165°F on both sides, the innermost wing 165°F and the thighs 175°F.
- Step 7
Move the turkey to a rimmed baking sheet and rest it 30 to 40 minutes. Carve and serve with the clean jar of mop at the table.
Smoked Turkey with Vinegar Pepper Mop (Rodney Scott Style)
Serves 12 · one 12 to 14 lb turkey · 4 hr 5 min total
Turkey
- 1 turkey (12 to 14 lb), thawed, neck and giblets removed
Rub
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp MSG (optional)
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
Mop
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 2 thin lemon slices
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Method
- Make the mop: simmer the vinegar, lemon, sugar, pepper, cayenne and pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat about 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Cool completely and discard the lemon. Pour half into a separate jar for the table; use the other half for mopping.
- Spatchcock the turkey (see our Spatchcocked Roast Turkey recipe, step 2) and press it flat. Mix the rub and season the turkey all over, both sides.
- Build the snake: open the grill's bottom vent fully. Arrange 50 briquettes two wide around the edge of the charcoal grate in a C shape, leaving a 9 inch gap, and set 50 more on top. Space the wood chunks along the snake. Put the aluminum pan in the gap and pour in 6 cups water.
- Light 20 briquettes in a chimney starter. When they are partly covered with ash, pour 10 onto each end of the snake.
- Oil the cooking grate and lay the turkey skin side down over the water pan, drumsticks toward the snake. Cover with the lid vent fully open and cook, undisturbed, 2 hours, keeping the grill at about 250°F to 300°F (close the bottom vent partway if it climbs above 300°F).
- Mop the turkey generously, flip it skin side up in the same spot and mop again. Insert a probe in the thickest part of the breast, cover, and cook about 1 hour more, until the breast reads 165°F on both sides, the innermost wing 165°F and the thighs 175°F.
- Move the turkey to a rimmed baking sheet and rest it 30 to 40 minutes. Carve and serve with the clean jar of mop at the table.
Adapted from "Rodney Scott's Holiday Smoked Turkey" by Morgan Bolling for Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen), August 24, 2021, itself adapted from "Rodney Scott's World of BBQ". ATK controls the heat with the charcoal snake and gives no grill temperature; the 250°F to 300°F target below is ours. ATK pulls the breast at 160°F; we use USDA FSIS's 165°F (thighs to 175°F, as ATK). The tip about keeping half the mop clean for the table is ours. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Equipment: a 22-inch kettle charcoal grill, about 120 charcoal briquettes, 4 wood chunks (about 3 inches each), a 13 by 9 inch disposable aluminum pan, a lid thermometer or grill probe, and an instant-read or probe thermometer for the meat.
- Never put a brush that has touched raw turkey back into the serving jar; that is why the mop is split in step 1.
- A pink layer under the skin is a smoke ring, not undercooked meat. UGA Extension says turkey at 165°F is safe even if pink.
- The mop keeps up to 2 months in the refrigerator (ATK).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Pink smoked turkey is undercooked. Folklore: USDA guidance, as printed by UGA Extension, says turkey that reaches 165°F is safe even if it is still pink.
- Pull the breast at 160°F. Disputed: ATK does, saying it keeps the lean meat moist; USDA FSIS's safe minimum is 165°F. We use 165°F.
- Barbecue means pork. Folklore: Scott is a whole-hog pitmaster, and this is his holiday turkey (Wikipedia; ATK).
Every other turkey
Mole Poblano with Turkey (Mole Poblano de Guajolote)
Poached turkey under Puebla's dark, glossy mole: three dried chiles, charred vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, spices and a little Mexican chocolate, simmered for two hours.
Yucatecan Turkey in Black Chile Broth (Pavo en Relleno Negro)
Yucatán's jet-black turkey stew: turkey simmered in a broth darkened with recado negro, a paste of chiles toasted until nearly burnt, served with slices of "but," a pork and beef roll with whole egg yolks in the middle.
British Christmas Roast Turkey with Pigs in Blankets
Britain's Christmas bird, the Delia Smith way: buttered, covered in streaky bacon, roasted inside a loose foil tent, then unwrapped for a hot finish, with chipolata sausages wrapped in more bacon on the side.
Portuguese Christmas Roast Turkey with Oven Rice (Peru Assado no Forno)
Maria de Lourdes Modesto's Christmas turkey: soaked overnight in salted water with lemon, stuffed with bread, eggs and cured ham, roasted without a drop of basting, and served with oven rice that soaks up the drippings.
Puerto Rican Pavochón (Turkey Seasoned Like Pernil)
A Thanksgiving turkey with the flavor of a Puerto Rican pork roast: garlic, oregano, olive oil and adobo spread under the skin, butter tucked in, two days in the fridge, then basted with dark beer.
Classic Roast Thanksgiving Turkey
The plain American centerpiece: a buttered, salted and peppered turkey roasted breast side down first, flipped, and finished breast side up until the thermometer reads 165°F. No basting, no fuss.
Dry-Brined Turkey (the Judy Bird)
The Los Angeles Times' famous no-bucket brine: a few tablespoons of salt rubbed on three days ahead, the bird kept in a bag in the refrigerator, then dried uncovered so the skin roasts crisp.
Spatchcocked Roast Turkey
Cut out the backbone, press the bird flat and roast it hot: a 12 to 14 lb turkey is done in about 80 minutes, with crisp skin all over and breast and legs finishing together.
Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey
Louisiana's outdoor turkey: injected overnight with butter, onion and garlic juice, hot sauce and beer, then lowered into a big pot of peanut oil at 350°F and fried in about 3 to 4 minutes a pound. Outdoors only, with a fire extinguisher.
Roast Turkey Breast with Lemon and Thyme
For a small table: a bone-in turkey breast with garlic, thyme and lemon butter spread under the skin, roasted hot and then gently, ready in about 1 1/2 hours.
Turkey Giblet Pan Gravy
Real gravy from the bird: a giblet broth made while the turkey roasts, a nutty brown roux, and the roasting pan deglazed with white wine so every browned bit ends up in the sauce.
Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini (30 Minutes)
The day-after dinner named for an opera star: spaghetti tossed with leftover turkey, peas, browned mushrooms and a quick sherry, cream and Parmesan sauce, all on the stove in about 30 minutes.
Kentucky Hot Brown, Inspired by The Brown Hotel
Inspired by, not official: Louisville's open-faced roast turkey sandwich, smothered in Pecorino Romano Mornay sauce, broiled until bubbling and topped with crossed strips of bacon.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.