Michigan Turkey Smoke questions


 
Christopher H

Christopher H

TVWBB Fan
Hi all,

First question - what should I smoke? Where I will be going there will already be a massive turkey so I was considering smoking some turkey breasts (even thought they will be a little pricier, I don't care) or what other small item could I smoke besides the breasts? I doubt I'll find a tiny chicken sized turkey to smoke and I did wings the past few years.

Second question - should I smoke the meat on Wednesday or Thursday? I will definitely have more time to smoke it on Wednesday and then I can just reheat it on Thursday?

I have always dry rubbed, never brined - what's a good basic brine? Water, salt, apple juice/cider, brown sugar?

The forecast for either day is low to mid-30s. Will I be ok without a wind screen or should I make a temporary one for the smoke?

All help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!
 
Hi Chris

Your 18.5 can easily smoke a 20LBS turkey, at least that's the biggest I've smoked in mine, and there was room for more bird

The #1 difference in smoking poultry, is that you need to smoke it at high heat (no less than 350 degrees) if you want great skin too. If great skin is not an issue, then you can go low and slow (250 degrees) the skin will be mush, but the meat will be off the hook

Like I said, the biggest I've smoked is a 20LBS bird, and that was on a vertical stand (like a beer can stand, only no beer can) on a vertical stand, you're cooking the inside and the outside at the same time, so you can be done cooking a bird that big in 3 hours if at 350 degrees. That said, you could cook on Thanksgiving and have time to spare. If you cook your bird horizontal, the additional time is minimal (maybe a 1/2 hour)

What you need to do: Decide if you're cooking it Vertical or Horizontal and if you're cooking it Vertical, you need to get a stand ASAP. You need to decide if you're going to brine (highly recommended) and you should plan on at least an hour per pound of brining. Make sure you have a drip catcher to make gravy, and most important, have a Happy Thanksgiving


Killer Brine, I did it last weekend just to see how it would turn out

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?55957-Savory-Turkey-Brine-with-Soy-Sauce
 
I'm looking for something pretty small considering there will already be a lot of food there. I am looking for either a complimented differently cooked turkey breast or a different meat. I'm afraid 20lbs of turkey will definitely get eaten but I would be stepping on toes and not that much is needed just for me.
 
Christopher H said:
I'm looking for something pretty small considering there will already be a lot of food there. I am looking for either a complimented differently cooked turkey breast or a different meat. I'm afraid 20lbs of turkey will definitely get eaten but I would be stepping on toes and not that much is needed just for me.
Click to expand...

Here you go, here's pretty small. Enrico is an amazing cook, but he documents his cooks well, and you can duplicate his cooks. This one (below) is amazing, and doesn't look too difficult to dup

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?56137-Chicken-Skin-amp-Tenderizer
 
ChuckO said:
Hi Chris

Your 18.5 can easily smoke a 20LBS turkey, at least that's the biggest I've smoked in mine, and there was room for more bird

The #1 difference in smoking poultry, is that you need to smoke it at high heat (no less than 350 degrees) if you want great skin too. If great skin is not an issue, then you can go low and slow (250 degrees) the skin will be mush, but the meat will be off the hook

Like I said, the biggest I've smoked is a 20LBS bird, and that was on a vertical stand (like a beer can stand, only no beer can) on a vertical stand, you're cooking the inside and the outside at the same time, so you can be done cooking a bird that big in 3 hours if at 350 degrees. That said, you could cook on Thanksgiving and have time to spare. If you cook your bird horizontal, the additional time is minimal (maybe a 1/2 hour)

What you need to do: Decide if you're cooking it Vertical or Horizontal and if you're cooking it Vertical, you need to get a stand ASAP. You need to decide if you're going to brine (highly recommended) and you should plan on at least an hour per pound of brining. Make sure you have a drip catcher to make gravy, and most important, have a Happy Thanksgiving


Killer Brine, I did it last weekend just to see how it would turn out

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?55957-Savory-Turkey-Brine-with-Soy-Sauce
Click to expand...

Chuck, was the bird enhanced also or salt free?
 
Rich Dahl said:
Chuck, was the bird enhanced also or salt free?
Click to expand...
The bird in the soy-sauce thread was enhanced (3% if I remember correctly) I asked my bride to buy a "un-enhanced" turkey, but you get what you get, and you don't complain a bit (when it involves the Mrs) It was really good, I would have documented that cook, but that was the weekend I went to Long Barn, and I just ran out of time
 
Great stuff! I do have a vertical stand if I decide to pick up a full bird. What are the general cook times for turkey per pound? Just similar to chicken and make sure you get the internal temp?
 
Christopher;
Since there will already be a lot of turkey there, and to avoid the appearance of a "show down" between your turkey/chicken or "theirs" I would seriously just consider a bunch of chicken wings (Walkerswood Jerk or Wolfe's Orange Marmalade Sriracha Sauce) as appetizers and if you need something else just do a bunch of ABT's or Moinks (bacon wrapped meatballs). Most everyone will LOVE those and it won't be as if you are trying to "compete".

Just a thought...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Christopher H said:
Great stuff! I do have a vertical stand if I decide to pick up a full bird. What are the general cook times for turkey per pound? Just similar to chicken and make sure you get the internal temp?
Click to expand...
Depending on what temp you cook at. I've found that at 350 on a vertical stand, I've cooked:

10-12LBS < 2 hours
12-15LBS about 2 hours, give or take
15-18LBS < 3 hours
18-20LBS about 3 hours, give or take
 
Robert McGee said:
Christopher;
Since there will already be a lot of turkey there, and to avoid the appearance of a "show down" between your turkey/chicken or "theirs" I would seriously just consider a bunch of chicken wings (Walkerswood Jerk or Wolfe's Orange Marmalade Sriracha Sauce) as appetizers and if you need something else just do a bunch of ABT's or Moinks (bacon wrapped meatballs). Most everyone will LOVE those and it won't be as if you are trying to "compete".

Just a thought...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
Click to expand...

I agree put your talent in a different spot light, it may be an annual thing!
 
So I got a 15lb turkey and won't be stepping on any toes. Going to shoot for 300 degrees or 325 if I can get there.

I heard I should use a decent amount of wood? Do I need to mop it at all? About how long should a 15lb bird take?
 
Last year i used 3 fist/tennis ball size chunks of smoke wood. My first ever turkey i used 5 chunks and that was way too much. I ended up using 1 each of apple, cherry, and pecan for the T-day birds last year.
 
Christopher H said:
So I got a 15lb turkey and won't be stepping on any toes. Going to shoot for 300 degrees or 325 if I can get there.

I heard I should use a decent amount of wood? Do I need to mop it at all? About how long should a 15lb bird take?
Click to expand...

Offestting the lid slightly to create a larger chimney or offsetting the door slightly to allow more oxygen intake can help increase cooker temp.

A completely thawed 15 lb bird unstuffed at 325*F should take 3-3.5 hrs to come to proper temp.

I am a less is more guy when it comes to smoke wood. I'd recommend two chucks of Apple for a background smoke flavor that doesn't take the lead away from the brine and seasoning.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't worry too much about a wind screen except if you think it's going to be windy. I smoke year round here in new england and have never had a problem with the cold, sometimes it takes a little longer to get the smoker up to temp but once its there its nice and steady. As far as getting her hot enough with my test run I only got to 300 and couldn't hold it there so I added another half a chimney, I'm thinking about starting two on Thursday unless someone thinks its a bad idea.
 
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