Turkey seems to be cooking fast


 
S

Scott Jeff

New member
Put it on at 6, and just went to put the Maverick thermometer in and it was already showing around 135 in one part of the breast. Been trying to keep temps around 325 since it is a 21lb bird. Was hoping it was going to cook slower since we aren't supposed to eat until 2.

20141127_073915.jpg
 
Mine is cooking pretty quick too.
Everything I read indicated it would cook faster than it would in an oven, I usually don't peek but at 1.5 hours in the breast probe is at 124 degrees so a little looking ain't cooking isn't going to hurt anything.
Since I had the lid off I figured I might as well snap a couple of pictures.
I lit the chimney at 6:00 and got the WSM fired up, the bird went in at 7:00 with the cooker at 300, it got up to 360 after an hour, when I saw it I throttled the WSM back to 325.
It's all good, right now.

The shadow is bad but this is the breast side.


Turkey breast side 1.5 hrs in by chashint1, on Flickr

And this is the back side. I really didn't expect the skin to split like that.


Turkey back side 1.5 hrs in by chashint1, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Same here. I got it on around 7:45, expecting it to be done around 12:45. Early on the temp spiked to over 400, but I've managed to keep it between 275-350 since then. Now, at 11:30, the breast is already reading 165. We're not eating until 3. D'oh! If I just trim the temp down to 200 or so, think that'll keep it warm without overcooking?

 
The ROT is 20 min/pound at 325F but a convection oven usually takes 20+% off that and I would see an unstuffed bird in smoker being more like the convection cooktime (or less). So <scribble, scribble...> that means 420 min - (25% of 420) = 315 minutes or 5:15 give or take. Since you started higher temp, yours would be less. If the breast is truly at 165F then take it off and wrap it up. I'd rather eat cold/reheated than dry turkey. Our fresh 20 lber took right about 5 hours in a convection. Breast was 160 when I pulled it.
 
One the things I have found over the years is that if the bird has been brined it will cook faster. I usually hit somewhere around 15 min per lbs @ 325°. I'm doing a 20lbs bird, just got it on the smoker about 30 minutes ago @ 8:30 AM
 
Go with it take it off when the breast is 160 and the thigh 180. Let it rest and it will be delicious. Especially if you brined it. Hard to overlook a well brined bird if you stick to the temps.
 
I left it on while the wsm coasted to shutdown. Easily the juciest and tenderest turkey I've ever made. The skin was just a touch leathery, but I attribute that to the long hold time drying it out too much, but the meat was amazing. The Simon & Garfunkel butter under the skin really made a difference in the flavor.
 
Mine ended up being pretty good. Only thing was the skin wasn't perfect, but the meat itself was really good. I took it off after about 5 hours and let it rest for an hour, then lightly covered with tin foil. Cut it at around 1, and it was still hot. Everyone raved about it.
 
Both my fully defrosted 10lb test bird and my 12lb tday brined bird took just over 2 hours and my 18.5 was almost never over 320 on either one. 12lb on TDay held for almost 2 hours in my cooler with no issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top