Need to transport birds. Adjust pull temp?


 
S

Steve M.

TVWBB Fan
I'm brining two 14#ers for an early morning smoke on Friday. I then have to transport them to the office holiday party. I'll need to pull them about 9am. Holding time between pulling and carving will be 2+ hours.

I can keep them hot in Omaha Steak coolers, but wondered how much they will keep cooking? I don't want the breast to get dry. I was thinking pulling at 158 or so, figuring I'd get at least 2-3 degrees additional gain after foiling and packing in the coolers.

Sound reasonable?
 
+1 on this question! I have a 11 pounder I will have to take to a party on Saturday. I will smoke Saturday Morn, but not sure how to transport it and keep warm without overcooking. Any slick approach to doing this? Use a cooler plus what to keep it in the safe zone?
 
Steve,

What temp will you be cooking the birds? Carry over temp/continued cooking is a factor of initial cooking temp and mass of the meat. The higher the temp and the larger the mass; the greater the carry over cooking factor will be. If you're cook these 14 pounders at 350+, then immediately wrapping in foil, then in towels and placed in a cooler (preferably pre-warmed with hot water), will ensure a little continued cooking. I would think at least a couple of degrees maybe up to 5. Packing both birds in the same cooler will help keep them hot for 2 hours. Will you be brining the birds? That always helps with poultry. Dry meat is caused by over cooking. Pulling a bird at 158 and letting the internal temp creep up to 163 shouldn't dry out the meat. As back up, you can always take some quality chicken stock to add to the sliced product right before serving if there's a concern.

Paul
 
Good ideas, Paul. Thank you. I smoke my turkey on a Weber Kettle with a Smokenator. Temps at the roasting rack level are usually 310F and at the Dome around 350F. I have been cooking until 165F measured in the thick part of the thigh. So maybe I should shoot for 160F in the thigh, wrap well with foil, then with towels? Finally put in a warmed ice chest? Sounds like a good way to do the transport. We will have some hot mashed potatoes to go with that, so those will help take up some of the extra space in the ice chest.
 
Mike Leiter said:
Well how did it work out. I may have to do the same around Xmas or before..
Click to expand...


I pulled them at 160 (deep in the breast). Had cooked at 320-360 for 3 hours. Dropped them in foil pans, wrapped in foil, put them back on the cooker - all vents shut down. I grabbed a quick shower (30 mins). Then dropped them into a heavy foam cooler for a 1 hour transport. When I got to work and started pulling them for serving, they were still so hot I had to let them cool some, just to handle.

Results: very moist. Tons of compliments from the guys at work. I'll certainly use this technique again.

Thanks for the responses.
 
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