Cut the turkey in half?

[Don Hilliard]

I've only smoked one turkey on the WSM,but I've done many on my Little Chief electric smoker. On the electric smoker I always have the store cut the turkey in half from stem to stern as the temps are fairly low and I don't want salmonella and the smoke seems to penetrate the meat more. My question is, would this be a good idea for the WSM or will the higher temps cause the meat to dry out to much? It seems like the bird would cook faster so maybe this would not be a problem. Also it seems that you would get better smoke penetration due to more of the meat being exposed, plus have more surface area for rubs or brine to flavor the bird. Has anyone done this? Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks as always, Don

 

[Chris Allingham]

Hi Don,

I've not done this, but it should work fine in the WSM. In the Nov/Dec 2001 issue of Cook's Illustrated, they butterflied a whole turkey and oven roasted it. You're essentially doing the same thing, just separating the two halves.

Let us know how it turns out.

Chris

 

[Pat Barnes]

I haven't smoked any split turkeys on the WSM
so I can't say for sure what would happen. I've done 2 whole ones with a 48 hr honey brine on both. One I did on a vertical cooking rack and the other I layed down as I had 2 ducks on the top rack. Both turned out great. I smoke at 230-270 range to a thigh temp of about 165-170 and then foil wrap a nd finish in an ice chest. I follow the honey brine recipe at "Let's Cook" which includes some Tender Quik. Off hand I can't see any problems with splitting the turkey.
AS Chris said,let us know how it turns out.
I would think of splitting one only if I needed the room on the WSM but there might be other advantages unknown!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

 

[Bryan Rockoff]

I've done half a turkey when I didn't want or need a whole 14 pounder at once. Half will feed 6-8 people depending on how much other stuff you make. Last time I did half, I did a butt on the top (18 hour cook) and put the bird under it for the last 6 hours. Brined using the Apple Cider brine from this site. The bird went before all the butt did.

I have come up with a gravy that works when you smoke a bird. I take the best Turkey Noodle Soup you can find. Heat it up and then shove in a boat motor blender thing. If you don't know what I am talking about watch Emeril sometime. Blend up all the noodles and veggies and stuff. Thin with chicken stock if necessary. I like to toss in some smoked turkey bits (the leg and wing dried up tip parts are best as they have lots of smoke flavor) to put some smoke into the gravy. Killer!!

Bryan