Getting started and turkey question

[Patio Smoker]

Hello everyone who reads this forum. I want to thank all the contributors because after reading a lot of information contained in the forum I decided to purchase a BS. The first thing I smoked was a chicken in the morning and some ribs in the afternoon. Both turned out great [] except I had a little difficulty with the ribs. One end was a little dry and the other end had to be warmed up to get fully cooked (after leaving smoker). Any suggestions on how to handle meat that varies in thickness would be appreciated. The rib was cut into 3 parts.

For Thanksgiving I want to smoke a turkey. I’ve read a few topics in the forum, but I am looking for some more advice on preparing and smoking the turkey. I have pre-ordered a 12-16 lb. turkey from the local store. I am leaning towards soaking it in a brine solution (overnight) and then putting in the BS in the early hours of Thanksgiving Day.

Thanks,
Alan

[MallardWacker]

Patio,

You bring up a good point.  With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching us, I hope we can have a <font color="blue"><b>SINGLE THREAD</b> </font id="blue">with all the turky stuff.  It sure would make it easier.

Concering your ribs, you might want to tell us more.  Temps, types of ribs, which rack did you use??  That would help.  Welcome to the forum and keep us informed.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[SMOKEHOUSE ROB]

one thing with the bradley is if you have meat to close to the back of the smoker it will cook alot faster then the front, , it seems the the back of the smoker is hotter due to the heat bulb is sting agaisnt the back, when i do jerky about evrey hour or more i rotate the racks , top to the bottom and move the back to the front , just keep that in mind, , if you are doing just one piece of meat on one rack put it on the middle rack on far away from the back and you will be fine, just remember that jerky is thin and thats why i rotate it as often as i can , i hope that this helps you, ps for t day  just smoking 2 very large breast, soaked in brine over night

[Habanero Smoker]

Going over 12 pounds, you may not have the space in your BS. I did a 12 pound turkey, and it just fit on the rack. If you are able to get a turkey that is over 12 pounds to fit in your BS, you should double up the racks for support.

Your time frame for the turkey makes me nervous. Whenever you brine meat, you should let it air dry uncovered in the refrigerator until the skin feels tacky when you touch it. This will often take 6 or more hours. If you smoke the meat when it is moist, the film of smoke will not develop as well, as if it were dry.

As PA Smoker pointed out, the rear of the unit is hotter, and you would need to rotate the rack. I did it after 3 hours; about half way through the cooking process - I smoked at a temperature of 200 - 210 degrees. I can't recall how long it took, but I believe it was 7 hours.

MW your right about having one thread for Thankgiving. There is a good thread with a lot of information, but for some reason I can't seem to locate it. In the mean time you can check out this site http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brining.html .

[Patio Smoker]

The ribs were baby-back. About 21 actual ribs. It came as a single piece and I cut them into thirds. They were in the 2nd from the top rack. I smoked them for 3 hours @ 165 degrees and then turned the temp up to 230 and waited for the rib temp to get to 165. I think my main problem is that I didn't rotate and I had my rib thermometer in the wrong place. It should have been in the thickest part. I read somewhere in the forum where a member pulled off the membrane on the back of the ribs. Is this a good idea?

Based on the recommendations for the turkey it sounds like I'm going to make sure I get one that is no larger than 12 lbs. AND I'm revising my brining schedule. I checked out the site that Habanero referred to and it has some great information. Pictures helped too.

Hey Smokehouse, what brine recipe are you using and how are you going to prepare the turkey breasts?

I'm fine with everyone using this thread as a Thanksgiving turkey thread too. As I figure out what I'm gonna do I'll post it to this thread.

Thanks all for help,
Alan

[nsxbill]

I always pull the membrane.  I don't want to eat it later, and I think it allows the rub and marinade to get to the meat better.

Bill

[Chez Bubba]

I haven't done a whole turkey but from what I've read, it's anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours per pound. If true, you're gonna be getting up mighty early. Hopefully some more experienced members chime in.

Seems to me though this has been discussed before. Did you try a forum search?

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[Patio Smoker]

Yes I've reading through the forums, but you know it's nice to have a discussion about it. Especially since I'm just starting out. Here was one of interesting links: http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=66 This was 19 lb. turkey that was cooked in 5 hours. I don't expect the same results. BTW, Kirk, do I have to call Chez Bubba to order the pucks?

[PAsmoker]

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=677 has brine recipies and such.

[Chez Bubba]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Patio Smoker</i>
<br />BTW, Kirk, do I have to call Chez Bubba to order the pucks?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
You can call 574-276-8746 or order online. If you order online though, PayPal will charge a fortune for shipping.

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[Oldman]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I always pull the membrane. I don't want to eat it later<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I always pull the mebrane but cook it for my dogs []

 <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">If you order online though, PayPal will charge a fortune for shipping.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Plus PayPal is a total pain in the shorts~~!

 <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Final temp was 175 in the thigh and juices were clear.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

This from the link referenced here this thread. 175 temp for chicken/ Turkey is the minimum. At 170 you are asking to make your family sick. [V] So make sure the 175 temp next to the bone and not on the surface of the bird.

 <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> 574-276-8746 <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Ok now that we all got the number who wants to relieve me tonight around 2 am and continue to call Chez-Ole-Boy hanging up as he answers saying to him Opps sorry wrong number! [}:)] [}:)]

[Patio Smoker]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">This from the link referenced here this thread. 175 temp for chicken/ Turkey is the minimum. At 170 you are asking to make your family sick.  So make sure the 175 temp next to the bone and not on the surface of the bird. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I just purchased a 2nd thermometer (Maverick remote). I plan on putting 1 in the breast (thickest part) and the other in the leg. Would it be a good idea to put the one in leg next to the bone (during the entire cooking process)?