22 lb. bird

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I am smoking a 22 lb turkey this weekend and wanted to know about how long I should plan for. I was planning on keeping the temp at about 250 using a polder in the top vent.
Thanks for your help.
Dan
 
Hi Dan,

Don't want to be an alarmist or to discourage you, but convential wisdom says that bird is too big to smoke. The reason for this is that the inner meat is in the "danger"(40 - 140) zone for too long and bacteria could grow and ruin your party. One thing you can do to buy a little insurance is to brine the bird, this slows the growth of the bad guys. Now, having said this, many people report smoking big birds like that with no problem.

Good luck
Doug W.

[This message has been edited by Doug Wilbur (edited 07-18-2001).]
 
I would like to say the Doug is right and he is not being an alarmist. If you are cooking a bird that big the brine will work but you must use a cure (tender quick) to slow the growth of bacteria.
Your other choice is to cook at a higher temp like 325?.
Good luck
Jim
 
Hello everyone,
I found out the bird is only 18.19 lbs, does this size still consitute a danger?
Thanks
Dan
 
The key food safety issue here is that a turkey should reach 140*F internal temp within four hours from the start of cooking, according to producers like Butterball.

As Jim said, since it's hard to achieve this temp with such a big bird at the 225-250*F temps we normally associate with barbecue, many folks will cook at a higher temp or use Morton's Tender Quick in the brine solution.

It should be noted that Tender Quick can result in a more cured, ham-like taste in turkey, which is OK if you like it. You can find Tender Quick in 2 lb packages in many stores, or it can be ordered on the Web from suppliers like www.alliedkenco.com .

Regards,
Chris
 
anything over 16 pounds will put you in the danger zone based on the potential for a problem, so raise temps or use a cure.
 
Yes and if you brine it will stay very moist and tasty. At 300? to 325? you will not need to add a cure to the brine.
Jim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Dan Dooley:
I didn't know you could cook that hot in a WSM.
Dan</font> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The WSM will cook at 525 degrees with just a couple modifications. You might go to the home page and read the baking article.

This same setup will do wonderful steaks and chops at the high temp with the removal of the extra grid and baking stone. Takes about 4 minutes a side for a 1-1/2" thick ribeye.

Old Dave
 
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