Cooking Turkey


 
L

Les Stubby

TVWBB Fan
First post since buying my WSM a couple of months ago. Have cooked several turkeys on weber kettles over the years. Considering smoking one this year for Thanksgiving. At what temperature do I smoke the turkey and approximately how long will it take per pound? Know this info is probably availabe on the site, but my laziness continues. Second question: How large a bird will fit in the top section of the WSM?

This site is a wonderful resource. Have smoked Boston butt, various chickens,ribs, and corn on the cobb. Tried a brisquet before acquiring my WSM on my kettle and it was a disaster. Will give it a second chance fiarly soon.

Thanks everyone for all your help.

Les Stubby
 
Here's a link to the same question a few weeks back.

turkey cooking times

I last smoked a 24 lb monster and had some difficulty with the sides touching the lid. I cook 12-15 lb turkeys regularly without any difficulties. The smaller turkeys have all come out very moist and flavorful, while the larger turkeys come out a bit dry (and I brine all my turkeys), therefore if I had to feed many people, I would rather smoke two turkeys in the 12-15 lb range than one big turkey.

Erik
 
I've switched to the clay pot on top of the water pan. Will the water pan or clay pot make it hard to reach 325 degrees? Should I leave them out?

And secondly, when my father was living he cookked a turkey on a small weber-the fire got very low and it took a while to cook, but the turkey was moist and wonderful-it would seem low and slow has some merit.

Les
 
I wouldn't knock low and slow it just isn't my prefernece for turkey or chicken. I find it makes the skin to rubbery for my liking. When I do turkey and brine it it seems moist enough cooked at the higher temp, for me anyways!

I cook with the water pan in but empty on all cooks. I can get it up to about 400 at the lid or as low as 175 without any water. I've never tried the saucepan so I can't help to much there.

Clark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Les Stubby:
I've switched to the clay pot on top of the water pan. Will the water pan or clay pot make it hard to reach 325 degrees? Should I leave them out?

And secondly, when my father was living he cookked a turkey on a small weber-the fire got very low and it took a while to cook, but the turkey was moist and wonderful-it would seem low and slow has some merit.

Les </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Les, no one believes that cooking turkey low n slow has no merit, however it's just not necessary as Clark mentioned above. Turkey has very little internal fat therefore does not benefit from smoking it low n slow. The only reason why I would think someone cooks it low n slow is for the smoke flavor which can also be achieved by cooking it with higher temps. Remember, the build up of smoke can be overwhelming with poultry.

As Clark mentioned above, if you decide to cook Turkey with higher temps, you basically use the water pan as a heat shield and do not need to add anything to it (i.e. water, clay pot, sand, etc). I would foil the water plan to make clean up easy and to save the drippings. Good luck and have fun.

Erik
 
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