First Smoked Turkey - Semi Fail

Tried my first turkey on Thursday following the recipe on Virtual Bullet. Started the fire using the KISS method but the temperature never got above 275 even with all the vents open. Tried to diagnose and correct the problem by adding more fully engaged charcoal/taking charcoal out but it only made things worse. Temperature kept dropping and would not go above 250 after the first hour. What was I doing wrong?

Details:

1. Windy day here on Thursday with WSM exposed to frequent strong gusts.

2. This was my fourth time cooking on the WSM (2 chickens and a duck) and every other time the temperature ran high and needed to be throttled down with the vents.

3. Started with the bottom vents at 50%, top 100% open then everything open 100% after the first 45 minutes.

4. Using all natural briquettes

5. 14.9 lb bird apple brined for 16hrs, air dried (in refrigerator) for 5hrs.

6. Finished the turkey in the oven. It had a nice smokey flavor but the skin was rubbish.

Don't see any obvious problems with what you were doing. Might be as simple as cold winds sucking too much heat away, in which case even a simple windbreak would make a big difference.

There's a bunch of possible causes but all are kinda hard to check after the fact. I once had ashes piled up inside the charcoal bowl enough to block one or two of the bottom vents, but that seems unlikely. Damp charcoal is sometimes a problem this time of year.

Just curious, did you have water in the pan and if so how much / what temp ?

I also use the K.I.S.S. method but instead of briquettes I use lump and start with all vents 100* open. If I want a low and slow fire I fill the water pan to within 1" of the lip. If wanting a hotter fire I don't put water in the pan, I instead put a clay sauce wrapped in foil in the pan.

What went wrong? Well, I imagine the 14 lb turkey was quite a bit larger than 2 chickens or duck so I'd say the additional mass "sucked" more heat from your cooker than your past cooks did. For the skin to get that crisp texture, you need to get the temps up to "oven temps" (325 - 350*). Which is probably what you were trying to do.

Wind can create an issue so I recommend using a wind block. It can be as simple or as involved as you want. There are numerous posts about some great ideas here and elsewhere on the 'net.

All in all, we get to eat our mistake so a "semi fail" also means semi success which means you should have learned something while you get to eat. I recommend making a log of what you did so you can repeat what you want to and correct what you need to.

@John, Full pan, started with cold water from the sink. Should I have measured the water temp? Charcoal was from a brand new bag but maybe I spilled a bit of water when putting the center ring on.

Good point Dwaine, semi-success indeed. Everyone really enjoyed the bird but I'm sure you know what it feels like to have wanted it executed perfectly. I am absolutely starting a log so I can refine and repeat/avoid things in the future.

Yes....definitely the water in the pan. Use water when you want to go low and slow...225ish. If you want temps in the 300s, just use an empty water pan with all vents open. The water acts as a heat sink....absorbing the heat and then letting it boil off as steam escaping from the wsm and keeping the temp low.

James H said:

Yes....definitely the water in the pan. Use water when you want to go low and slow...225ish. If you want temps in the 300s, just use an empty water pan with all vents open. The water acts as a heat sink....absorbing the heat and then letting it boil off as steam escaping from the wsm and keeping the temp low.

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I will second that big time , dan. I learned my lesson this year. Started out with the water pan with some stone in it. COULD NOT get the temp above 250..... Took the WSM apart , took out the pan and the temp ROCKETED up to 300-350. I am now a believer! You want high and fast , 86 the water pan.