Actual smoking time vs total cooking time?

John T · April 19, 2018, 10:30:07 AM

Hi
I'm John T. from Cicero, NY. Just got my digital 4 rack smoker - and plan on smoking a turkey this Sunday. I'm a little confused on how long should I set the smoke time for vs the total cooking time. The bird (after pre heat) should take about 4 hours total cooking time. Do I cook 1/2 time (2 hours) with the smoke / briquettes - then turn off. And let the balance of 2 hours (or however long to reach done temp. of the bird) go without the "smoking" on?
Or should I smoke the entire time - just a bit confused.
Thanks for any help, (and yes it snowed up here this morning but temps in the higher 50's on Sunday)
John T

TMB · April 19, 2018, 11:07:18 AM

Have never smoked a turkey on my Bradley, but I would think 3 to 4 hrs of smoke would be fine no more

John T · April 19, 2018, 11:47:37 AM

Hey TMB,
Thanks for the reply. Guess I'm still not sure - if I hear you right - 3 to 4 hours of smoke. The total time to cook is 4 hours. So you smoke the entire cooking time? Or maybe 3 hours smoke - then just let the balance (1 hour) without smoke?
Thanks

TMB · April 19, 2018, 12:06:12 PM

Quote from: John T on April 19, 2018, 11:47:37 AM
Hey TMB,
Thanks for the reply. Guess I'm still not sure - if I hear you right - 3 to 4 hours of smoke. The total time to cook is 4 hours. So you smoke the entire cooking time? Or maybe 3 hours smoke - then just let the balance (1 hour) without smoke?
Thanks

3 hrs should be enough if using hickory but if using a light flavor wood you may want to go the full 4 hrs but I relly don't think it would be necessary to smoke the full 4 hrs.

Just my two cents ;)

Habanero Smoker · April 19, 2018, 01:20:09 PM

Hi John T;

Welcome to the forum.

Poultry absorbs a lot of smoke quickly. Depending on what flavor bisquette you are using, for my taste 3 hours is the maximum. If this is your first turkey in the Bradley, you may only want to apply 2:20 hours or 2:40 hours.

What size turkey do you have, and what temperature do you plan to cook at? It may take you longer than four hours to fully cook the turkey, unless you butterfly it, or it just a turkey breast. It will take the Bradley a while to get to your set temperature, so that increases your cook time. Even when you preheat, once you open the door and place the turkey in it you lose a lot of heat by opening the door, and the conversion of heat to bring the temperature of the turkey up. It's been a long time since I've used the Bradley for smoking a turkey. When I did I would smoke/roast 15lbs. - 17lbs. turkeys, and I believe that would take me 6 - 8 hours.

John T · April 20, 2018, 07:21:26 AM

Hi Habanero,
Thanks a lot for the good info. It's a smaller bird (whole) - probably 7-8 lbs. I plan on using Apple flavor bisquette. I think I'll go lighter with 2:20 hours smoke (can't hurt)- probably around 225 - 250 degrees. I'm also throwing in some potatoes, onions, & peppers up top rack - for 2+ hrs. My first smoke so a learning experience (and not a real expensive meat). Will report back on results.

TwistedSanity · April 20, 2018, 09:31:48 AM

Make sure you let us know how it goes :-)

John T · April 23, 2018, 03:12:20 AM

Thanks all for the help. I ended up doing two whole chickens (couldn't find a whole fresh turkey) & baked potatoes & some veggies. It all turned out great. But I will say - it took much longer than planned. Especially the last 5+ degrees to get the birds up to 165 degrees. But with adding potatoes & veggies - and opening up the door - and a bit of wind........ just couldn't get the Bradley temp up to 250 degrees. But a delicious meal !!!

TwistedSanity · April 23, 2018, 09:43:28 AM

Great to hear!!!

tskeeter · April 29, 2018, 03:57:50 AM

Quote from: John T on April 23, 2018, 03:12:20 AM
Thanks all for the help. I ended up doing two whole chickens (couldn't find a whole fresh turkey) & baked potatoes & some veggies. It all turned out great. But I will say - it took much longer than planned. Especially the last 5+ degrees to get the birds up to 165 degrees. But with adding potatoes & veggies - and opening up the door - and a bit of wind........ just couldn't get the Bradley temp up to 250 degrees. But a delicious meal !!!

John, I suspect t that the biggest contributor to your longer than expected cook time was the wind. Seems to just suck heat out of a Bradley. Sheltering the vent from the wind helps a lot.

Wade · May 23, 2018, 03:17:37 PM

I did 2massive turkey breasts and smoked for 2hours then cook time 4 hours. Wow that was fantastic.

forwardres · June 03, 2021, 11:54:56 PM

3 to 4 hours for me. I love to play around with different hours to see which one I like to most. When I am cooking for myself, I am usually letting the meat get the smoke for about 4 hours, because I like this. But when my friends are coming over, now that's a different story. They are asking me to let it for about 2 hours and a half. I was able to learn some recipes from https://chopnotch.com and I love it when I am cooking something new for my friends. All of them are feeling like they are at a fine dining restaurant haha

AlikerStone · August 21, 2022, 09:20:45 AM

Smokehouse does not give you the same taste as after the heat treatment. To make the meat taste cooked and not just smoked, you need to roast it beforehand in the oven or marinate it with special sauces. I used a butter sauce and added tofu https://www.amazon.com.au/TofuBud-Tofu-Press-Presser-Drainer/dp/B086Q4TRG8 only so that the meat does not lose all the moisture before smoking. And only then I add spices and dry the carcass