Xmas turkey

[braveheart]

I smoked/cooked at 225, my 15 lb turkey for 4 hours with apple and then took into the house and put into the oven to crisp the skin. It came out of the smoker  about 145 and i cooked it in the oven to 165, removed, foiled and into a cooler for a couple of hours. It turned out just ok, not tender and juicy as I am used to doing the whole job in the smoker. I think  i overcooked it! My guests thought it was great but being the perfectionist that I am, I felt that it was too dry.
So, any suggestions for improving on the smoker/oven combo?
I am leaning towards just doing the whole thing in the bradley and not worrying about the skin.
Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated and I hope your xmas was great.
Braveheart

[mikeradio]

You should  brine the turkey first, then into the smoker till 160, then finish in the oven to crisp the skin up.  I just did a 15lbs turkey started at 7am at 200 and pulled it at 6pm.  It is the most juicest , tender turkey, the biggest thing is to brine first.

[TedEbear]

Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated and I hope your xmas was great.

I did my first smoked turkey for Thanksgiving. It was a 13 lb whole hen with no factory injection.  I smoked it in the Bradley at 230*F for about 3.5 hours, until the internal temp was 140*F.  Then I moved it to the oven and cooked at 325*F until the internal temp was 165*F to make the skin a bit more crisp.  I used a vertical turkey rack in the Bradley that I bought at Cabela's.



The key to a moist turkey, other than not overcooking it, is the brine.  I've read to brine it for one hour per lb.  In my case, after the brining, I applied some dry rub (Rub with Love Turkey Rub) and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  It turned out very well for my first smoked turkey. 

BTW, you didn't cover it in foil while it was cooking in the oven, did you?  That would lead to an overly done turkey.

[braveheart]

Thanks for the replies,
I did brine the turkey for 24 hours and I do believe that it makes a huge difference. I think I overcooked it in the oven trusting an internal thermometor which may have been off.
Oh well it still was good, playing with the smoker is so much fun and experimenting with stuff is just like life - you just have to do it.
Braveheart

[Habanero Smoker]

Why did you decide to FTC a turkey?

If you FTC when the internal temperature was 165?F after taking it out of a hot oven, the carry over will take it much beyond 165?F.

[braveheart]

Habenero,
I foiled it  to keep it warm for a few hours before carving but I think that definetly overcooked it. Fortunately the turkey was fat enough to be forgiving and still tasted ok.
what temp would you take it out of the smoker and put into the oven and how would you keep it warm before carving?
I have another 28lb turkey from last year and am not sure if i should smoke/oven combo or just do it completely on the bradley. I was going to use the chainsaw to cut it in half for smoking but it is quite messy so will just do the whole thing - any thoughts?
Braveheart

[Habanero Smoker]

That all depends on how the turkey was cooked. The way your finished the turkey at high heat, the exterior of the meat is much higher than the interior. If you completely finished it in the smoker at 225?F, the exterior would be be as hot. So if you wrap it tightly in foil, and place it in the cooler, much more of the surface heat is going to conduct towards the center. The way you finished the turkey, it's possible that it may rise 10 degrees or more.

I usually cook my turkeys a day or two ahead of time; but here are a couple of thoughts. If you are planning to smoke and cook the same day and you find the turkey is cooking much faster then you expected, once the internal temperature hits 140?F, lower the cabinet temperature to 200?F. Take it out much later and then transfer to the oven. Or FTC at 150?F, to hold for an hour or two, then transfer to a hot oven to crisp the skin and finish cooking.

Once your turkey is fully thawed, it is easy to halve them with a simple sharp boning knife or chef's knife. Just google "How to butterfly a turkey". Once it is butterflied you just lay it flat and finish cutting it in half.