Doin' my first bird this year. Figured I'd play it safe with the frozen variety. Paying $5.99 for a 14# turkey seems strange to me, it's by far the cheapest meat I've ever purchased. Slightly worried about the quality...

Anyhow, I figure a good compound butter with sage and thyme should help my cause.

The question is, would applying a rub to the outside of the bird be overkill?
If not, should I try to match the flavors of the butter or add different flavors?

Thanks for all the great info on this site! I don't know if I'd have the confidence to smoke a turkey without the sound advice I've already received.

Mosef,

Many people have had great success with frozen birds, even the enhanced variety. This time of year, they're all on sale.

Overkill with butter??? Never!. A nice herbed butter would be fine under the skin. IMO, for presentation purposes, maybe straight butter or something with just a little citrus zest; something that won't show up dark on the exterior of the bird. The butter on the outside will primarily run down the sides, but will help in browning and crisping up the skin making for a nice presentation. If you gently separate the skin from the breast meat with your hand, forming a cavity, you can then rub the herbed butter underneath. Want to make it look extra special? After rubbing under the skin, place some whole sage leaves in a fan pattern on the breast meat. Once the turkey is done, the skin will be a golden and translucent, and the sage leaves will be easily visible. Guests will love it.

Paul

Paul's right, I did a frozen enhanced $10 bird the other day and it was excellent! I brined then oiled w/Salt and Pepper, smoked her over some cherry and she was great!

I'll be doing a frozen enhanced bird next to a fresh natural free range bird this Thanksgiving, I'm looking forward to the side by side comparison.

Regarding "overkill" see this POST

Thanks, guys. I should have known this had already been addressed (particularly by the benevolent Mr. Kruger), but I had to ask anyway.

I might have to try the whole sage under the skin idea.

Can't wait to see the side-by-side comparisons either!

Now the only question is... what am I going to smoke on Friday?