2 14 lbs turkeys ... need some help


 
S

S Cushman

New member
Smokin 2 14 lb turkeys. One with Maple and the other wrapped in bacon. Everything. Heard that this can take 6 hours, then again, reading it could take 3 hours. Knowing that its more about temp rather than time, any thoughts on what to expect? trying to figure out my timeline for T-day. will post pics.
 
Brining buys you a lot of hold time before serving, but could cause the skin (or bacon) to lose the crisp texture you're probably going for. Time will vary based on the temp, vehicle and method. I'm doing two 17 lb. turkeys outdoors, one on an OTG and the other on a WSM. Planning on 3-4 hours on the grill and 4-5 in the smoker, trying to keep both at or near 350 for the duration.
 
All depends on what temp your cooking your birds at. I'll assume 325/350; at these temps you should be done around 3 - 3.5 hours. Also if you're brining, in my experience brined birds cook faster.
 
Take your watch off and put a probe in. #1 rule in smoking meat: Go by temp NOT TIME. Most likely both bird will finish at different times.
 
I smoked two 12-14lb birds last year (at different times) and they were in the 3 to 3.5 hour window, cooked at 325-350 in my 18.5 WSM.
 
Todd Phillips said:
Take your watch off and put a probe in. #1 rule in smoking meat: Go by temp NOT TIME. Most likely both bird will finish at different times.
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Todd is 100% right. I only use time as a guide for when to to check for doneness and to estimate my timeline for other items I'm cooking and an estimate of when we'll be eating.
 
FWIW my store brand 8% soultion 1lb bird only took about 2 hours last week and never got hotter than 315. So I'd expect 3-3.5 at the long end. Be prepared to hold
 
Just finished my second run of the week. First one was 5 breasts averaging 8.5 lb apiece - top rack (2) came off in 3:45, bottom rack (3) came off in 4:15. Smoker ran 300-310 after about an hour run-up, outside temp about 48 degrees. Second run was a 21 lb whole bird on bottom, 2 9 lb breasts on top. Breasts came off right at 4 hrs, whole bird at 4:30 - smoker struggled to get to 300 (good breeze and high of 39). All birds injected, using 1 lit chimney under a very full unlit.
 
Another factor is the temp of your bird prior to going on the grill or smoker. My birds are at room temp for an hour before hitting the gates.
 
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