Big Bird on the Mini.


 
BMitch

BMitch

TVWBB Member
Last night we had Thanksgiving in August with some of the family that we did not get to spend the holidays with last year. I squeezed a 15 pound turkey in my Mini. This little cooker never ceases to amaze me.
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Sweet! Very nice, I’ve been wanting to do one but didn’t think it would fit. Need data please. What temps and about how long.

Thanks Rich
 
The bird was huge at just under 15 pounds and as you can see it barely fit in the mini. My smoker runs at around 250 for a few hours and then slowly creeps up to 275 / 280 for the remainder of the cook. It took about 5 hours to get the turkey up to 160... I use a mixture of Kingsford blue and Cowboy lump to help with temperature. I did not use a brine on this turkey, instead I rubbed the turkey down in melted butter and used a dry rub the night before. Right before I put it on the smoker I melted some more butter and mixed in a little bit of the dry rub and injected it in the breast and legs. Wasn't too salty and very very juicy. I like to take them off the heat at 155 degrees because the turkey will continue to cook as it sits before you can carve it.
 
BMitch said:
The bird was huge at just under 15 pounds and as you can see it barely fit in the mini. My smoker runs at around 250 for a few hours and then slowly creeps up to 275 / 280 for the remainder of the cook. It took about 5 hours to get the turkey up to 160... I use a mixture of Kingsford blue and Cowboy lump to help with temperature. I did not use a brine on this turkey, instead I rubbed the turkey down in melted butter and used a dry rub the night before. Right before I put it on the smoker I melted some more butter and mixed in a little bit of the dry rub and injected it in the breast and legs. Wasn't too salty and very very juicy. I like to take them off the heat at 155 degrees because the turkey will continue to cook as it sits before you can carve it.
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Thanks so much for all the detailed information, I will put it to good use.

Rich
 
BMitch, the bird looks GREAT! After looking at the lip of the tamale pot, when I build my mini I'm going to forego the paint. I know it doesn't make any difference in the cook, but I won't have to think about maintaining the appearance of the mid-section. And thank you for posting your cooking method! Are you using the Gold or Silver model? Thanks for the post and pics!
 
Mike Willis said:
After looking at the lip of the tamale pot, when I build my mini I'm going to forego the paint. I know it doesn't make any difference in the cook, but I won't have to think about maintaining the appearance of the mid-section.
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I know this is off topic, but here's my suggestion. Flip the pot over when you paint it. That's how I did mine and it worked extremely well
 
Great Job! I have a couple of questions on your Turkey Smoke..

1) Did you place a water/drip pan below on your lower grate?
2) how far down from the lip is your top grate mounted, that will most likely be the determining factor if I can get a Turkey to fit on mine with lid on ect..)
3) Did you have to add coals during the cook? ( using my big weber I have always had to add coals to keep temperature.) I would hope to get the Temperature up to 325 and hold it there.

Any other tips would be helpful..

Thanks for sharing

I was considering doing a Pre Thanksgiving test run, I think I will now that I have seen yours.. Excellent color and texture!

Mahalo,
Chad
 
My top grate is 4 1/2 inches from lip of the pot. Giving you ample room for a large turkey. I do not use a water pan for cooks that I need a higher temperature for because it will hinder you from getting into the 300 degree range. However when I smoke a turkey I wrap an aluminum pie pan with aluminum foil and leave it a bit lose on the top to catch the drippings. This keeps the drippings from burning off. And I usually don't add any coals throughout because the mix of briquettes, lump, and hickory chunks burn pretty hot and usually will stay hot in the mini for a long time. That's what is so nice about these little guys is that they don't use up a whole lot of fuel.
 
I keep coming back to this post and do believe a turkey in the mini is in my near future. Also for a pre-Thanksgiving run, but I wanna see a turkey in my mini! :D
 
Get at it! Mine turned out fantastic. Nice smoke ring and so so juicy. I almost can't wait till thanksgiving.
 
I'm curious if you use a grate in the charcoal area like some others do here or if you just put all your charcoal in the bottom of the SJG? I'm looking to do a turket for thanksgiving and xmas and want to get the temps and charcoal right!
 
I made a charcoal basket out of expanded metal and some stainless ties. It was easy to do and it keep the air flowing around the coals much better. Before I added the mod my mini would get up to 270 tops. After I used the basket for the first time I wanted to see how hot I could get the mini up to. I started choking it off at 400 degrees.
 
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