Smoked much longer than number of hrs recipe requires

[Guest]

Today I smoked a 9-1/2 lbs self-basting turkey but it took much longer than the number of hours the recipe requires.

The recipe said that smoking 12-14 lbs turkey at 160 degF in the breast for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

But the temperature probe in the breast of turkey finally reached 160 degF after 7 1/2 hours of smoking. The recipe said 3 hours but I ended up smoking for 7-1/2 hrs. /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif What did I do wrong? I would appreciate your suggestions.

 

[Doug Lax]

Hi there ,
What Temp was your cooker at?

 

[Doug D]

The 2-1/2 to 3 hour window you describe would conform to cooking at 325-350*, which is the preferred range. If you tried to slow-smoke the bird down in the 225* range, it might take the amount of time you experienced, but I would expect far less than 7-1/2 hours. The general consensus lately has been that slow-smoking turkeys may leave them in the "danger zone"-- between 40 and 140*-- for too long a period of time. You might want to check your cooker thermometer for accuracy using boiling water.

 

[Guest]

My 10lb turkey took exactly 3hrs at 338*F, measured at the lid. I only took the lid off once, at the 2hr mark, to insert the meat probes.

What was your cooking temp?

For 7.5 hrs, what burn method did you use? I've found that the Standard method rarely goes this long at high temps without refueling. Did you use Minion?

 

[David Prince]

cooked a 14 lber in 2 hours 50 minutes..temps 300-330 (as high as i could get it on 2 standard method chimneys, foil dry pan)..definately try the higher temps next time.

 

[Guest]

I did a 14 pounder in 3 hours. I believe my temps were between 300 and 325 degrees.

I use a candy thermometer ($3 dollars) so It's probably not the most accurate but I've found it is good enough. Every 30 min to an hour I put it in the top vent to do a temp check.

I used the standard method, no water in the pan.
It took a little work keeping the temp between 300 and 325. I opened the door a few times for the applewood chunks to flame up.

The meat thermo I used went off the scale when I checked it at the 3 hour mark (not sure if that's accurate either) However, when I cut it up it was definitely done and everyone raved about it.