Turkey Problems


 
Alan F

Alan F

TVWBB Pro
I've been smoking turkeys lately and keep having the same issue- the dark meat is overcooked by the time the breast is ready. The white meat will be great but the dark is a little dry/almost stringy or completely stringy. Smoking at 325f with an water empty pan.

A few weeks ago I smoked a pork tenderloin and was surprised to see how much more cooking took place from the bottom. A cross section looked pink with a slim grey area around the edges but the bottom probably had 1/8-1/4" of grey to it. So that's what I think is happening here. The dark meat is taking a majority of the heat and is being overcooked.

What's the solution? Maybe spatchcocking is the answer.

Any ideas?
 
That's contrary to what I thought was the problem with turkeys--that is, the dark meat cooks slower than the breast so the breast would dry out before the thigh was done cooking.

I wish I could help. Do you brine your birds?
 
Usually, the opposite is the issue. The dark meat generally needs a higher finishing temp. You're not icing down the breast, are you?
 
Not to be a wise guy, I started just smoking turkey breasts and not the whole bird. Brine them and all you have is juicy turkey breast meat when you're done. Not a big fan of turkey legs anyway so it was a no brainer.
 
A Dolly Parton Turkey might have trouble getting the white meat cooked before the dark meat is dried out.

One method is ice packs. When you leave the turkey out so it can come to room temperature, cover the area that gets overcooked with ice packs. When it comes time to put the turkey on the bbq, the ice packed section will take longer to come to temperature.
 
JimK said:
Usually, the opposite is the issue. The dark meat generally needs a higher finishing temp. You're not icing down the breast, are you?
Click to expand...

Nope.

I'm wondering if an empty pan radiates more heat than most believes it does.
 
Are you cooking on the bottom grate, closer to that hot empty pan, or the top? I do my turkeys with an empty water pan, 325 ish, and seem to have the breast done before the dark meat. Is your turkey upside down with the breast facing the pan?
 
Andrew John said:
Are you cooking on the bottom grate, closer to that hot empty pan, or the top? I do my turkeys with an empty water pan, 325 ish, and seem to have the breast done before the dark meat. Is your turkey upside down with the breast facing the pan?
Click to expand...

They're cooked on the top grate with an empty brinkman charcoal pan.

Are you using the original pan?
 
I have not been happy with the Brinkman pan empty, too thin. It's great as a water pan but you have too much intense heat coming from below. You need to disperse it a bit more I think with something like a clay saucer.
 
I have been doing turkeys for 40 years or so. The dark meat has never been dried out before the white meat for me. It usually takes
longer for the dark meat to be ready than the white meat. If you have a kettle, try one indirect and see if it changes anything for you.
I like using the kettle for turkey more than the wsm. Maybe your bird was in a wet t-shirt contest just before slaughter?
 
Alan F said:
They're cooked on the top grate with an empty brinkman charcoal pan.

Are you using the original pan?
Click to expand...

I am, but with the newer 22 1/2" wsm.

Could be its the thinner metal radiating too much heat, cant think of anything else. Try throwing a little sand or clay pot base in there.
 
I agree with Bob H about the kettle.
I like the kettle especially over the 22 WSM mainly because of the lid height. With the kettle you get heat radiating back onto the breast as well as heat from underneath. I think the kettle works more like an oven and you can add smoke flavour by burning wood chips or chunks like in the smoker. This all results in a more even HH. Part of the problem with the 22 is that the dome is so big that you do not get enough heat radiating back so everything is coming up from the bottom, cooking the leanest thinnist part of the bird at high temp. I would suggest you try either a vertical rack with the 22 WSM and get the bird up inside the dome to take advantage of the heat or a raised grill rack. The bottom line is you need to get up inside the lid. With the kettle I like to have about 3" of clearance from the underside of the lid.

I have an 18 wsm and I have cooked turkeys on the top grate but not at HH. I read here somewhere that Chris A I believe warned against cooking a turkey on the bottom rack because of the heat. I like the vertical rack concept and in trying to listen to others advice as well as accomodating my own needs I decided to lower my top rack four inches. A large vertical turkey would not fit the way I wanted in the 18 otherwise.
This was the result
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The turkey cooked quite evenly with the heat coming up from the bottom to get the thighs where they needed to be and from the top down and around the smaller diameter.

This has become our favourite method
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I start on the charcoal grate with two fire brick under a broiler pan. This allows me to get the overall height I want to the lid depending on the size of the bird. It also allows for the pan to be a bit above the fire. I place a carton of stock in the pan to absorb heat and add flavour for my gravy. I then pour a few lit coals on either side of the turkey and add a few coals every hour or so. During the cook I will cover with foil to keep it from getting too dark. There are other minor adjustments I might make depending on conditions. I run the kettle at around 300-325 and I get some crispy skin and great fead back from the family. I should also add I prefer to inject with a butter compound over brining but that's just us.
In both photos these turkeys were 16-18 lbs. The lower one was 18 and I can't remember exactly the weight of the one in the WSM.
Hope some of this helps.
 
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I have never had a problem with the dark meat getting done before the white - it is usually the opposite. In any case, my last 3 turkeys have been cooked with the breasts on top rack and the thighs on the bottom rack. That lets me control the cook and I can remove whichever sections get done the quickest. Downside is that you do not have a whole bird to "present" to your guests.
Ray
 
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