Are you fully cooking the turkey by smoking? If so, treat it like any cooked meat. We smoke/roast a big turkey every Thanksgiving. We eat some of it over a day or two, the rest is frozen. I prefer to break down the whole carcass as soon as it's done so I can put it into the stock pot. The big joints are cut off the bones which also go into stock. This is to minimize the space it takes in the freezer. We keep some of the meat in the fridge to be eaten but everything else is in the freezer within hours of taking the turkey out of the oven. Cheryl

I read on one of the BBQ sites that if the skin is too dark, then I was using too much smoke. I must say - the smoke was *pouring* out the vent in the top! LOL - I bet my whole neighborhood had their mouth's watering! We cooked it at 275 and it was done in about 4 hours - much faster than we expected. Dinner was 3 hours away, so we wrapped it in foil, turned it breast side down, and let it sit on the counter until dinnertime. It was still plenty hot 3 hours later!!! Our current plan is to try 225 and use less wood. Can anyone comment on any of this? We had thought about cutting the bird up since we will not be "presenting" a whole bird at the table. That way, we can monitor the white meat separately from the dark and pull each when ready. Thoughts on this? I'm trying to keep the oven free for the side dishes. :-)

If you really want to be adventurous, use it as a basis for a turkey and andouille gumbo. Assuming the turkey is about 8 pounds, and assuming you know how to make stock, here's how to do it: 1 smoked turkey, about 8# 2 to 3 lbs andouille sausage (see notes) cut into 1/2" 'coins' 1 lb baked ham, diced (see notes) 2 bell pepper, chopped 2 bunch green onions, chopped 4 cups onions, chopped 4 qt turkey stock (made from the carcass--see notes) or water 2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground 4 tbsp chopped parsley 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 tsp cayenne 3 tsp thyme 6 bay leaves Flour vegetable oil Salt Gumbo Filé Remove the skin from the turkey (save it) and carve the turkey. Save the meat. Take the carcass and skin and make stock. (Use a couple of onions, a few ribs of celery and some fresh parsley, about 6 qts water, DON'T ADD SALT, simmer for hours, strain; don't bother defatting because you will defat the gumbo later) Have all the vegetables prepped and chopped before starting the roux. To make the roux: in a large 8-cup pyrex measure or microwaveable glass bowl, use 2 cups oil and 2 cups flour. Put it in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. ItÂll bubble and froth. Stir it well, nuke it again for 2 minutes. Stir. Nuke again for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat the nuke/stir cycles, 30 seconds at a time, until it turns medium brown (about the color of peanut butter) At that point throw in some of the chopped vegetables to arrest the browning. ItÂll steam (be careful). Mix well. Put the roux and the rest of the vegetables in the bottom of a stock pot, mix well, add a little of the stock and mix again; then add the sausage, ham, all the seasonings except for salt and file powder, and the rest of the stock. Simmer for about 30 minutes. The oil from the roux and the sausage will rise to the top; ladle it off and discard. During this time, make some rice. Add the reserved turkey meat, simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Degrease the dish again. If the gumbo is too thick, you can add more stock or water. Add salt if needed (but you probably wonÂt need it, because there's salt from the turkey stock and the sausage). Serve over boiled rice. Each diner may wish to add ¼ to ½ tsp of gumbo filé to his dish, and adjust the level of spiciness with Tabasco. Notes on ingredients: Andouille is a rich and spicy smoked sausage. Acceptable substitutes are kielbasa or smoked sausage. DonÂt use low-fat turkey sausageÂitÂll taste like hot dogs. Ham: get a chunk from the deli and cut it into ½ inch dice. Gumbo filé is powdered sassafras leaves; it thickens the broth and gives an herbal touch. Chicken Stock: If you donÂt want to make stock, you can use canned stock but that can make the dish salty. Half canned stock and half water is okay. ItÂll even taste good if you use 100% water instead of stock, but stock makes it richer.

I've never done anything with the carcass...but it sure brings up a memorable story...I was raking leaves the day after thanksgiving several years ago...my Alliegirl Collie came out in the front yard carrying a carcass...it was almost like she was bringing me a present of her "Kill"...except the kill most likely came from the neighbors garbage can...the look of utter disappointment when I took it away from her and threw it in our garbage can which she couldn't get to was priceless!! It broke her heart that I took it away from her! Let's not forget the year my mother in law was with us at Christmas...she took my beautiful turkey leftovers...mixed in a bunch of fatback and who knows what else and made some horrifying thing...neither dh nor I could even figure what it was...well she got her feelings hurt and sat it outside pan and all to which our two shelties promptly found...OMG they were sick for DAYS!! we laugh about it now and I still don't have the heart to ask her what in the world she was trying to fix!! I may have to seriously think of trying to make Turkey Soup...it sounds delicious!!