Turkey time

[icerat4]

I do half turkeys in my bs.Just throw them in let them go to desired temps and they are very nice.Moist and smokie.I have never did this brine deal.Maybe i should. ;)

[Habanero Smoker]

Yup, I'll try to determine if it has been pumped before I do this.

Do you think I'd have better results if I spatch0 the bird and do two halves? Or is smoking the whole bird fine as far as flavor goes? Also, I am unsure about one thing (well maybe more..)

- if I have to smoke vertically, is it recommended I hang it with the open cavity upwards, or downwards? Seems some do it upwards, and say that there is a fair amount of juice collected in the cavity afterwards.
- if I hang it vertically, should I use a drip pan to catch some gravy-makin' goop? Or should I do that no matter what way I orient it?

Malc: I am tempted by the beer can, but if cavity up is the way to go I guess I'll just have to drink the whole thing.

Thanks again - this forum is great for advice, and I think the one universal constant of the posters here is the way you can tell they drool and smack their lips when talking about smoked food...  :D

Mike

I have never done a turkey vertically, but I know others on this board have, and some have collected the juices in a drip pan. Nor have I every butterflied one. I'm sure you will get more responses.

A twelve pounder will fit horizontally in the smoker. If you do the turkey horizontally, it's easier to load and unload, but it is best to rotate the turkey from front to back half way through the smoking/cooking time, because the rear of the cabinet is hotter. If you do it vertically, and face the breast towards the from, I would think you would not need to rotate it; but being vertical you have to be careful loading and unloading. My hands and walking are not that steady to keep the turkey upright :)

[Chez Bubba]

.. I think we bought more.

MLM,

I'm going out on a limb here, but might I surmise that alcohol was served at the fair? ;D ;D ;D

Alcohol is to "Q" as MSG is to Chinese. :D :D

Kirk

[Malc]

Another thing I tried was a 4lb. Turkey Roast(it is basically a boneless turkey breast plus a little dark meat).  It turned out awesome.  All I did was inject a little marinade into it(beer mixed with Wild willy's), rubbed it with some wild willys and let it sit overnight.  Leave that net thing on it, so it holds together.  Smoke/cooked until it was done.  One of the best things I've ever smoked.  It doesn't look as impressive as a whole bird, but it tastes good.  Plus, in my family I am the only one who will eat the dark meat, so it pleases everybody.  It might be a good thing to experiment on before taking the time to do the whole bird.

Malc

[Me_Like_Meat]

Another thing I tried was a 4lb. Turkey Roast(it is basically a boneless turkey breast plus a little dark meat).  It turned out awesome.  All I did was inject a little marinade into it(beer mixed with Wild willy's), rubbed it with some wild willys and let it sit overnight.  Leave that net thing on it, so it holds together.  Smoke/cooked until it was done.  One of the best things I've ever smoked.  It doesn't look as impressive as a whole bird, but it tastes good.  Plus, in my family I am the only one who will eat the dark meat, so it pleases everybody.  It might be a good thing to experiment on before taking the time to do the whole bird.

Malc

Ah, I wish I had the time to do so, but that sounds good. Sunday is the big day this side of the 49th, and tomorrow is another family dinner elsewhere. I am simply gonna have to give it my best shot, and hope for the best! With all the good advice I get here, I think I'll be fine.

Chez Bubba: well, there might have been a bevvie or two. You can bet your shorts that there will be many this coming Sunday! The more the merrier, it might distract people from any turkey disasters.

Honestly, everything I have done so far in my BS has turned out well, maybe not as good as it may get later, but all good and some superb. So I think the turkey will be fine. I like the idea of crisping it up in a real hot oven for a bit after smoking.

I'll let y'all know how it goes for future reference. Hope there's some beer left for the brine is all..

Cheers,

Mike

[iceman]

Good Luck MLM. What ever you do, HAVE FUN!!! ;D

[MWS]

I'm doing a 10.5 pound turkey Sunday also. If I cook @ 215F, what would you folks guestimate the total cooking time to be. I've read conflicting posts that range from 7 hours - 15 hours.  ???

This is what I found by search.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=696.0

- Unfortunately, Scooter never did report back...

Thanks for any advice.

P.S., the Turkey is not brined or self basting.

[iceman]

I'm doing a 10.5 pound turkey Sunday also. If I cook @ 215F, what would you folks guestimate the total cooking time to be. I've read conflicting posts that range from 7 hours - 15 hours.  ???

This is what I found by search.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=696.0

- Unfortunately, Scooter never did report back...

Thanks for any advice.

P.S., the Turkey is not brined or self basting.

I'd give it at least 7. Just from my trials and blunders. You can always call them to dinner a bit early if it gets done faster. It can sit for a bit and then get crisped up in a hot oven to finish it. :) If it was me (oh brother here we go again) I'd shoot at least the breast with some butter / oil mix or something like that to keep it moist.

[MWS]

Thanks Iceman,

I was going to inject some applejuice/EVOO mixture into the breast and brush butter all over the skin.

The timing thing was starting to freak me out.....thanks for the advice. Cheers

[iceman]

Thanks Iceman,

I was going to inject some applejuice/EVOO mixture into the breast and brush butter all over the skin.

The timing thing was starting to freak me out.....thanks for the advice. Cheers

Let it smoke for awhile before you slather the butter on the skin. It takes the smoke better with dry skin. Just my opinion from trial and MANY errors. :D

[MWS]

Thanks again Iceman. Glad I posted. Whew :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Mike,

If you begin running short on time, just take the turkey out of the smoker and place it in a preheated 350°F oven to finish it off.

[MWS]

Thanks Hab, that's what I'll do. I'm just preheating the Bradley now, should give me about 8 hours. Thanks.

P.S. I placed cut-up apples in the cavity to hopefully add moisture to the Turkey during the cooking process. Normally I would have brined, but, plans came together late and I ran out of time.

Never done a whole turkey.....wish me luck  ;) ;D

[iceman]

You got it covered. It'll turn out just fine I'm sure. ;)

[Me_Like_Meat]

Mike,

If you begin running short on time, just take the turkey out of the smoker and place it in a preheated 350°F oven to finish it off.

On Sunday, I smoked the 12.5 pounder for 5 hours at 210F with apple wood, and at that point it registered 141F in the breast meat. I then tossed it in a preheated 450F oven to crisp the skin for about 10 minutes or so, then dropped that to 350F and left it for an hour and change. The internal temp never registered 180F, I think it got as high as about 165F, but the leg and wing joints were loose, the juices ran clear, and it sure "looked" done. So out it came, and it was just fine. The meat was very tasty indeed, the dark especially seemed to have pulled in the most flavor, though the external white was great too. Well, the internal was good but not as smoky. The dark had the "hammy" flavor I recalled fomr years back when I had my first smoked drumstick.

So all in all I was quite content with the outcome. BTW I brined it for about 18 hours before smoking, in a mixture of:

16 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbs pickling spice
handful of chopped fresh sage and rosemary
3 cloves garlic
I think that was it..

Plus I hit it with a dry rub on and under the skin, and tossed some sprigs of sage and rosemary and leftover leek tops in the cavity. Personally, I hit myself with a few glasses of nice Cab as I worked.

All was good!

Thanks to all for the advice!!

Mike