Turkey

[Roger Talkov]

Now that Thanksgivings coming up and I have to order my Turkey, I would like to get comments on what size we can fit in the BS comfortably, should I cut it up or put it in whole and how long will it take. Questions, questions, questions. I'm thinking of brining it the night before and using Apple. Comments from the experienced Turkey smokers?

Regards
Roger

[Habanero Smoker]

There are several posts on this board about smoking turkey and brining. Here are a few threads:

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=677

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=709

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=66

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=629

I did a whole 12 pound turkey, and there was not much room left on the rack, but there was a posting that someone did a 19 pound bird, but I would be cautious about that. If you go over 12 pounds double up your racks. When I place my 12 pound bird on a single rack and lifted it, I felt some give in the handles. Cutting up the bird prior to smoking can be done, and it is an option you have. If you do smoke the turkey cut up, check the meat temperature in more than one piece to ensure all parts are done.

If you don't have one already; at a minimum, get a remote digital meat thermometer, that is essential. I suggest you smoke the turkey by itself; if that is possible. Poultry has a lot of moisture, and when that moisture starts to evaporate, it really cools down the cabinet. I did my turkey with two chickens, and the BS was struggling to maintain 200 degrees, with it often dropping down to 190. The time will depend on what temperature you are smoking at, and weather conditions. For the life of me I cannot recall how long it took me to smoke my turkey, but as Chez mentioned in another post, estimate 90 minutes per pound, if smoking at 200 to 210 degrees. If it is brined, and you are short on time you can crank up the temperature. You will find that the rear of the BS is hotter than the front of the unit, so you will need to rotate your tray. I rotated mine after 3 hours that seemed sufficient for the bird to cook evenly. If you choose to smoke at a higher temperature, you may want to rotate your rack sooner.

I like the smoke flavor so I smoke poultry for 3 hours, but other on this board may suggest less smoke. I use a combination of pucks, either 1 hickory per 2 apple; or just maple. In the future I am going to try pecan.

As always, follow the basic rules, use a remote thermometer, vent enough to let the moisture escape, do not open the door unless absolutely necessary, and enjoy your meal.

[BigSmoker]

Roger,
You could fit a pretty large bird in the Bradley if you cook it vertically with a Foster's beer can cramed right up the cavity of the bird[:D].  First season outside of turkey as usual.  Rub herbs under skin if you prefer.  <font color="red">IMPORTANT STEP</font id="red"> drink 1/2 of the beer.  Carefully insert can into cavity of bird and set beer can turkey on a pie pan for stability.  Place in smoker with doubled wire rack at highest rack setting possible.  Smoke with 2 to 1 apple and pecan with top vent open 1/3 of the way for 3-4 hours, continue to cook until breast is 160f and thigh is 180f.  This will also work with a brined bird[;)].  Have fun and try a nice roaster this weekend so you don't get egg on your face on the big day.

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

[Oldman]

Or you can get a turkey rack. In an 8-10 inch rack you can get part of a can of beer inside of it with a little effort. Next once it is all put together just pour the beer through the bird and fill the can that way.

To make it fit correctly cut the can just short so that when the turkey sits on the rack it does not quite sit on the can.  

This picture is of a chick rack. There are some racks you can insert into the bottom instead of through the neck.

BTW You can normal find items like this through a resturant equipement supply house.

Chez if you see this may I suggest that you consider addons like this to your current line.

[Habanero Smoker]

A vertical roaster is a good idea. I have one that I forgot about, somewhere in one of my storage bins. It was for oven roasters (chickens), but I am sure it would handle a small turkey. It's much taller than the one that Olds posted. I've never seen them mounted upside down like that. You would think it would make it top heavy and prone to tip over.

I'm still not sure if you will get much more then a 12 pounder in the cabinet. The turkey I had was just as wide as the rack, and the breast depth was greater then it was wide. I'm going to do some measurements to see how large a bird one can get into that cabinet.

Another good thing about doing the turkey vertically, I just remembered, that when you cook it horizontally a lot of juices build up in the cavity. I would say about a cup's worth, and you have to be careful not to spill any while removing the turkey from the smoker to a platter. Some one had posted that they put an ovenproof pan one self down to catch the juices to use for gravy, but doing it verticaly you can place the turkey right into the pan.

[birdboy]

hmm... I was thinking of smoking a turkey for my first attempt ... but the bird my mother-in-law got is 22 lbs ....  Sounds like that may be a little too big for BS.  At the 90 minute/pound rule that would be close to 1 1/2 days ...

I don't know if that big a bird would even fit in a deep fryer... it may be a bbq bird...

[BigRed]

<i>Originally posted by birdboy</i>
<br />hmm... I was thinking of smoking a turkey for my first attempt ... but the bird my mother-in-law got is 22 lbs ....  Sounds like that may be a little too big for BS.  At the 90 minute/pound rule that would be close to 1 1/2 days ...

I don't know if that big a bird would even fit in a deep fryer... it may be a bbq bird...

Hey BirdBoy!

Put that 22 pounder in the oven and get a 14 or 15 lb Bird for smoking. At 22 lbs it is way too big for deep frying. You also need  10 to 12 lb bird to deep fry. Hope that helps!

BigRED

[birdboy]

Ya, I couldn't believe it when she told me the size... I told them that was probably too big to be cooked ... by any means [:D]

I may get a smaller bird and try smoking it, that would give a good side by side comparison, see how much difference there is.

I'll have to look at the side of my fryer, I think the biggest it will take is 15 - 17 lbs.

Hopefully the pucks I ordered from Chez will get here before this adventure, sounds like pecan/apple is a mix that seems pretty popular?

[Oldman]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Put that 22 pounder in the oven and get a 14 or 15 lb Bird for smoking.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I would say a 12 pound bird at the largest or you run a chance of staying in the danger zone too long.

http://rminor.com

[PAsmoker]

I've done quite a few 20-22#ers in the BS.  Have not experienced any problems. Also, I did not cook it vertically.  Brine it well overnight & set temp on box to about 225-235.  Time wise, about 12hours (give or take a few).  Sit back, relax, and have a cold one or two.  Don't get too wrapped up in exact times or temps.  This is supposed to be fun.