Smoked Turkey


 
G

George Kerr

New member
Hi All,

I smoked a turkey for the first time yesterday. In a word, it was AWESOME. I used a Brinkman charcoal pan with the Weber water pan foiled and just set in the Brinkman pan. Temps were kept around 300 and fairly easy to control. 14 lb. bird was done in 3 1/2 hours! It was done a whole lot faster than I expected. I used Pecan and Apple chunks with RO lump. The Turkey was a little (OK a lot) darker than I would have liked, but the taste was execellent.

Now for the question. If I wanted to smoke two turkeys at the same time on the WSM, would I need to put the top bird in a pan so the juices did not drip onto the lower bird, or keep both on the grates? With two, do you swap their positions about halfway through the cook?

Thanks,
George
 
Next time you smoke a turkey, place the turkey in a brown paper bag, grocery bag. Fold the edges and staple shut. Becareful when you open the bag after the cook there will be hot juices inside the bag. The turkey will come out a golden brown. Try it, you won't believe it.

Dan
 
Not to start an argument but the ink, glue, and recycled materials in paper bags may emit toxic fumes when they are exposed to heat. Instead, use commercial oven cooking bags.

Al
 
I can't image turkey in any kind of bag would have skin worth eating. seems like it would be too much steam. Daniel - what's the texture of the skin like when you've done it?

George - about smoking two birds. the second would have to be much smaller because the gap between the grates isn't enough for an average sized turkey. Also, I wouldn't use water in the pan - too much steam in my opinion, for chicken skin if you are doing it on the bottom grate. But make sure you have the empty water pan in place to deflect the direct heat. Foil will help deflect further.

Are you worried about dripping because of food safety? If so, don't fret... if it is for the aesthetics of the lower bird, you could probably try and position it slightly askew to avoid most of it, but you won't be able to avoid it altogether.

I think the biggest issue you will have with this, though, is airflow. Putting two big birds one on top of the other creates challenges in getting an evenly browned bird - particularly for the one on the bottom. The breast (if breast side up) will be so close to the bottom of the upper bird, it's going to be near impossible for browning by the time it reaches temp. You'd have to rotate, which would be such a pain, I'm not sure it's worth it.

If I were you, I'd go with a much bigger bird - 20 pounds or so - brine it for added tenderness that I think you can sometimes lose with huge supermarket birds and do it that way.

Good luck!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Daniel Shuflin:
place the turkey in a brown paper bag, grocery bag... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ever try this with chicken?

--T
 
I smoke several turkeys during the holidays when they practically give them away! I use the Honey Brine recipe from this webbie. I do birds of 12-13 lbs, smoke 2 at a time and have no problems. I do mine at 250-275. The skin sucks but who cares. My $.01.LOL
 
I have never done this with chicken but am planning on it and as Pat says above who cares about the skin on the turkey. It looks good for a presentattion but as far as taste goes I just don't remember.

Dan
 
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