A New Southern Tradition Smoked Turkey

The usual Thanksgiving turkey is either roasted or fried. However in the South most of the birds are smoked. This is an unusual way to approach the bird but it produces tender, flavorful meat. People can't smoke their own, hence Greenburg Turkeys. This is a third generation family business that take supermarket birds and create tender and delicious slices of juicy meat.

The piece, written by new Dining regular, John T.Edge tells about the Samuel I. Greenburg family and how for three generations they've supplied smoked turkeys. Their target was initially Texas Jews but quickly expanded into the Christian community.Its' founder was originally a shochet or a kind oi butcher that slaughtered geese and turkey according to Jewish rituals. The company is now run by the grandson, also named Sam and has a healthy business around the holidays.

Just how are turkey's smoked? Basically the same as hams. They were first smoked and still are smoked over hickory logs in a pit There are twenty pit houses to cater to the large volume.The birds come out not with a golden brown caramel color but more like a burnt umber with a black licorice wash. The birds have a special spicing on them (from the founder's mother's, Jennie, recipe). The result is a unique taste that have brought the Greenburgs fans for several generations. Some customers even serve the bird cut up and mashed as appetizers instead of with the meal.

There's nothing like starting the holidays off with a good , flavorful turkey. Instead of roasting or frying it try a smoked one. It'll be an unusual twist on a Thanksgiving staple.