Gotta Question

[Steve Hilmer]

I have an 8 lb turkey and I am wondering if I split it in half and cook it that how much this affects cooking time and temp. Cook at high temp with a dry pan or slow and low with water? Will the turkey heat up fast enough to be safe? What about a larger bird, say 12-14 lb?

 

[Jim Minion]

If you are going to cook slower then brining is a real good idea. I prefer hotter and faster a dry or sand filled pan is a real good choice.
Pulling the turkey off the cooker at the right temp is key (160? in the breast and 180? in the thighs) to just how moist the poultry will be. Taking it off the cooker 3 to 5 degrees before it reaches those temps will allow the poultry to peak out at the right finish temps.
Butterflying or cutting in half won't effect times much. At 325? pit temp it cooks for the same kind of times it would in your oven.
Jim

 

[Guest]

I didn't used to be a turkey fan till I brined one and now I love those things and buy a bunch every time they are on sale. You have to try it at least once and you'll love it. I just brine them 24hrs and cook them at around 240. The great thing is you can chuck stuff into your brine that will impart flavor on the bird. If you want it sweet then throw in some sugar, brown sugar and/or honey. Personally, I love to mix in some onion, garlic powder and basil. I'll never bbq poultry again without a brine.

 

[Jason M. Park]

Steve, definately brine your bird, as mentioned above. I did a 16.5 pounder for thanksgiving that I brined for 28 hours. I left it whole, and used higher temps, 325 or above. (actually I didn't have a WSM at the time, used a Kettle grill) Anyway, it was done in less than 3 hours. There is no real benefit to doing the "low & slow" method of cooking, in fact some say it can be dangerous. (potential bacterial growth during the time poultry is between 40 and 140 degrees) I followed the Basic Smoked Turkey recipe from this site with excellent results.

As for cutting the bird in half, that wouldn't help much either. Turkeys are already hollow, so the heat gets inside the cavity well enough. It also looks a lot cooler coming off the BBQ while still whole.