"pre smoking" my bird

[Chris S Lewis]

Hey folks, haven't posted in a LONG time.

So, I smoke a turkey every year on my WSM. This year however, our son is hosting his first Thanksgiving at his new home. Of course everyone still wants a smoked turkey. I REALLY do NOT want to move the WSM to his house. Now he lives only about 25 minutes away so here is my thought. Start the bird, about a 20 pounder, at home in the WSM and smoke for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours to get some good smoke on it. Then pull it, wrap in aluminum foil, place in a cooler lined with towels (like resting a butt) and head directly to our son's house where he'll have his oven pre-heated where we'll finish the bird.

This sound like a workable plan?

Thanks!!

PS: I'm sure this has been discussed here before but I couldn't find anything when I searched so sorry for what I am sure is a repeated question.

 

[Lewis B]

I smoked a turkey @ home & traveled 1.5 hour to folks with turkey in a preheated cooler stuffed with towels. Turkey still plenty hot probably 3 hours after it was taken off smoker. Your plan sounds like it would work to me

 

[Mike Freel]

When I transport ribs or other smoked product I do as Chris mentioned with the addition of a fire brick or two that I heat in my smoker. This easily maintains the heat for several hours. Just be careful since the bricks can get hot enough to melt into the cooler if not wrapped to protect the cooler surface. I often place a small piece of paneling or plywood in the bottom of the cooler to avoid issues.
Good luck.

 

[JayHeyl]

Were it me, I'd cook the bird completely at home and then stick it in the cooler. The rest and then continued cooking might make for somewhat unpredictable results as heat will continue working from the surface toward the inside of the turkey while it's taking a ride. It could turn out to be a superior way to cook turkey or it could be a small disaster. I wouldn't want to experiment with it on Thanksgiving.

I've also done what Mike mentioned about heating a few bricks and putting those in the cooler for additional thermal mass. I found wrapping them in 1/8"-1/4" of newspaper was adequate to protect the plastic of the cooler. A 20-pound turkey will stay warm a very long time in a good cooler. I wouldn't worry about finishing it on site. Wrapped in a cooler it will still be warm enough to serve a couple hours later, even longer if you add a few hot bricks to the mix.