This'll be my first turkey, and I think I have most of my questions answered from previous turkey posts. However, in doing my research on the forums here, I was unable to get definitive answers for the following:
The turkey is 10.5 pounds, and will be brined for ~24 hours, and then dried in a fridge for 24 hours. I have an OBS and plan to just crank the slider all the way to the right (this works GREAT when I do chicken). Now, if I take the turkey directly out of the fridge after its 24 hour evaporation and put it directly in the (preheated) OBS, will it take 30-40 minutes per pound as I've seen in recent posts? or 60-90 minutes per pound, as I've seen in older posts?
Now, what if I take the turkey out several hours before smoking to let it warm up, even to room temp at say, 65 degrees F. Will this take 30-40 minutes per pound? less? Obviously the heat load of the turkey will be drastically different between these two scenarios, and will affect cook time. So, fellow veteran turkey smokers, what say you?
If it helps, I'd rather go with the first scenario, taking the turkey right out of the fridge, putting into the OBS, and leaving the heat fully cranked.
Thanks for your help.
The only reference I have is that I did a 12 # turkey at 225* and it took 7 hours.
if youleave the OBS dialed all the way to the right,
You are looking at that 5 to 6 hour range.
Be sure and post pics!
Mat;
I would not leave the turkey at room temperature for more then a couple of hours; since the recovery time in the OBS will be in the "danger zone" for a period of time. Probably either way would be the same amount of time, so from the refrigerator to the OBS, I would add a couple of hours to be on the safe side.
If you are planning to do this on Thanksgiving day morning, and you haven't done a practice run, you should have a backup plan on how to finish the turkey if it is cooking slower then you had expected.
A backup plan would be a source of high heat that you may need to use to finish the bird, when time is getting short. If you don't have oven space, a propane (or charcoal) grill with a lid will fit the bill. Try to keep the grill at 350°, place the bird in a foil pan, and tent cover with aluminum foil.
Ok sounds good. I think what I'll end up doing is just go straight from the fridge to the smoker to be on the safe side. There's definitely a back up plan in place. We have a 2nd turkey (another 10 pounder) that'll be cooked in the oven.
If the smoked turkey is slow on time, we'll have room in the oven or we've got a good weber grill to finish in.
Mat, it will be ok to let it sit on your counter for the same time it takes for the smoker to heat up.
Rich