Kettle smoked Turkey, anyone have done it?


 
GGross

GGross

TVWBB Pro
How about a smoked turkey on the kettle? I don't have WSM but have smoked PB on the kettle with great success, how about turkey. How big can you go? Cook it up vertical of horizontal? I'm thinking you can't get that big of turkey in the kettle vertical
 
Greg, I've smoked turkey on a 22" kettle for many years (the business I work for use to give us turkeys two weeks before Thanksgiving)...
the largest I've done was a "flat breasted" bird weighing approx. 18 lbs... setting that bird on the grate, the cover was still touching the top of the turkey.

Grilled/smoked it horizontal, I ended up using a cooking grate from an 18" Weber resting on bricks I bought from the local DIY store (Menards).
Have not tried "beercan" style type (vertical) of grilling/smoking using the charcoal grate, sure others have...

Anyway, I've had great luck with sensational Thanksgiving Day Poultry grilling/smoking using the Weber kettles.
 
There is nothing like a turkey cooked on the kettle. Try just a little bit of pecan for the smoke. It's awesome.

I've only done ten pounders on mine. Not sure how big you can go on a kettle. I definitely prefer the kettle over the WSM for turkey, cause it's easy to get the temp up to where it belongs.
 
We just smoked a 14lb bird last weekend on our 26.75 Weber and it was very tasty indeed! We used the turkey recipe out of the Weber Smoke cookbook and are looking forward to doing another for Thanksgiving, this was a test run for us as we've never done a turkey before on a grill and I didn't want to experiment on the holiday. The 26.75 worked great as I had plenty of room for the coals and apple wood on one side and the bird on the other. I got so excited doing it I forgot to take pictures, I had the camera out ready to use and then forgot about it completely!
 
Using the lid thermometer I kept it in the 375-400 range. For whatever reason I haven't been able to keep the temperature locked in on my 26.75 like I do with my 18.5 WSM. So I check it often and adjust the vents as needed. I loaded the charcoal onto one side of the grill, chimney started a half chimney of coal and put that on 1 end of the unlit coal and let it work it's way across during the cook process. There was a couple times where my lid temp jumped up to 500 or dropped to 200 but I was able to correct it quickly with the vents. I just need more practice on the 26.75 to learn where to set the vents.
 
Smoked turkey from the kettle is TASTY! I inject it first with the same stuff they use for fried turkeys and rub it with poultry rub or whatever. Some charcoal and wood chips in the baskets on each side, a drip pan in the middle, turkey laying with the breast up and cook it at 325-350 for about 3 hours or so for a 12 pounder until the internal breast temperature reaches 170.
I don't know how big you can go, I usually just do a breast only for my family. Last Christmas, I did a whole turkey (don't remember how big) and everyone raved about it (except one of my brothers who doesn't like smoky flavored food, hmm... come to think of it he does have a feminine swivel in his walk, maybe that's why he's divorced).

I've got one (turkey breast) thawing in the fridge right now that I'm going to cook today or tomorrow. Mmm, I can't wait!
 
GGross said:
I'm thinking you can't get that big of turkey in the kettle vertical
Click to expand...
A scrapped kettle can be inverted and used as a lid, although it won't seal tightly to the bottom bowl because they both have rolled edges. But it'll give you plenty of clearance if you want to set the turkey vertically on the cookgrate instead of the coalgrate. In fact, that's how I did my very first grilled/smoked turkey.

BeerCanTurkey2005Oct_03.jpg


BeerCanTurkey2005Oct_05.jpg
 
Greg Y said:
I don't know how big you can go, I usually just do a breast only for my family. Last Christmas, I did a whole turkey (don't remembre how big) and everyone raved about it (except one of my brothers who doesn't like smoky flavored food, hmm... come to think of it he does have a feminine swivel in his walk, maybe that's why he's divorced).
Click to expand...
LOL you are funny Greg! You are going to get in trouble if your brother follows this forum!
 
The biggest one I ever did was a 22# and that was right tite up to the top vent. While it's still in the plastic sack check the fit before you open it up, if too big you can always spatchcock it so it lays flat.
Brad's got a good tip, the lid from my 22.5" WSM would work great on the OTG for a vertical roasted turk.

Tim
 
James Lake said:
First turkey I ever smoked was on the performer, it was a hit.
Click to expand...

Same here, if I can use my Performer over the WSM, I usually do. As far as orientation goes, bird was breasts up, left side towards the fire, and then rotated it so the right side was towards the fire 1/2 way through.
 
My dad was smoking turkey's on his 22" kettle in the early 60's, so I learned by watching him. He always used the charcoal rails on each side
with a drip pan in the center. He used hickory, but I like apple wood much better. The bird was horizontal usually 17 to 18 lb range, temps as close to
350F as manageable.

I think Brad Olsons recycled kettle lid is a great idea that I will want to try. Maybe I could bend the edge a bit for better fit. It could be good for kettle pizza too!
 
Bob H. said:
My dad was smoking turkey's on his 22" kettle in the early 60's, so I learned by watching him. He always used the charcoal rails on each side
with a drip pan in the center. He used hickory, but I like apple wood much better. The bird was horizontal usually 17 to 18 lb range, temps as close to
350F as manageable.

I think Brad Olsons recycled kettle lid is a great idea that I will want to try. Maybe I could bend the edge a bit for better fit. It could be good for kettle pizza too!
Click to expand...

Bob, same here. I have not done a turkey in the house since I first got my performer in 1987. Biggest was about 21 pounds, will touch the top of lid for the first hour then it settles down. I do it exactly like you described. I drape a piece of foil over it once I have the desired color I want, and add 8 coals per side each hour.
 
My grandfather, then my pops, then I have been throwing down Turkeys on the kettle for as long as I can remember. Great Grandpa did them santa maria style on open fire pits. It's literately law in my family. Grandpa tried to take me behind the wood shed the first time I spatchcock the bird. Despite hanging it over my head for a few years, he became a believer. I perfer the kettle over the WSM. My tip is, don't over think it! Slap it on with coals lined on both sides if you keep it whole. If you spatchcock, Get a good base across the whole bottom. Add a couple two three hand fulls of coals across the top and keep her around that 325-350. Either method, I rotate the bird 90degrees about every 45min.. With spatchcock, I always put skin side down and pack the cavity with fresh,squeezed lemon and butter. Leaving the lemons in the cavity. Evertime I rotate. I add butter and 3-4 squeezed halves of lemon. Squeez the old lemons one more time before removing and adding new. Very importanat. About the last 15min of the cook. I will flip the bird(cavity down) Hope this helps and post pics
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top