Smoker not hot enough


 
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Eric Schertz

New member
I'm trying to smoke a turkey in my 22" WSM. Turkey went in about 20 min ago. All the vents are open, the water pan is empty, the charcoal ring is about 3/4 full, and all the coals are fully lit. The temp is 300 and falling. It's about 40 outside. Can't imagine what else I could do at this point. I've tried that door trick before with a brisket where you turn the door upside down and prop it open. Temp got up to 375, but only stayed there for about 30 min and I ran out of fuel about 2 hrs in with a full charcoal ring. So I'm a little hesitant to try that again. I'm using Kingsford by the way. I always seem to have trouble getting my WSM hot enough and my charcoal never lasts more than 4 hrs. Am I doing something drastically wrong? Is my turkey doomed?
 
I had the same trouble on my 22" over the weekend. Thankfully the turkey turned out fine. My temp stayed between 250-300. The turkey was finished in 2 hours 45 minutes, however it was butterflied. It was a self-basting bird.

Hope this helps!
 
Well I think it turned out pretty well. Had to move it to the oven after about 2 1/2 hrs cuz I just couldn't keep the temp above 250 and I didn't feel like lighting more charcoal. That's ok though, still had plenty of smoke flavor. Came out well enough that I would do it again. Thanks for the advice!
 
Can't get your wsm in the optimum temp range of 225-250* for a water smoker?
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Nah, just razzin' ya, but despite all the talk about cooking HH on a bullet, after the breaking-in period it can be difficult unless you add an extra vent to the dome. You'd need the big 26.75" kettle for a butterflied turkey, but the kettle is just a better choice for HH turkey IMHO. Won't get the burning turkey grease smoke in the kettle, either.

Like chicken, most folks "HH" wsm turkey skin might look crisp, but it's pretty hard to get truly good turkey skin without cooking at true HH (OVER 350*) for part of the cook. Instead, don't wait as long as I did to try smoking your birds low-n-slow on the bullet with water in the pan. Besides, high heat cooking in the oven is more for looks since they won't brown as nicely cooking at lower temps (where they cook more evenly). However, nothing looks better than a properly smoked turkey, and who really eats more than a sq. inch or two of turkey skin, anyway? The breast WILL come out more evenly cooked low and slow than at HH, and the only real downside is that you have to get the smoker going sooner. Of course, more time spent smoking is a GOOD thing.
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One of the best turkeys I ever cooked was butterflied and on my 22.5 kettle. I put a nice rub on it and laid it direct over an even low bed of coals. Just add you smoke wood of choice when you put the bird on. It will cook around 300-350. Crispy skin, juicy and very flavorful. It's worth practicing on a small bird or chicken just to see how you like it.
 
I had the same problem on my 22.5 WSM, could not get the temp above 275 regardless of what I tried to increase airflow to the charcoal chamber.

The one thing I was most impressed with is no matter how many hot coals you add to the chamber, the smoker maintains between 250 - 275, so it does exactly what it was designed to do, low and slow.

In the future I will use my OTG for high heat cooks and reserve the WSM for low and slow, this seems to be the best rule of thumb when dealing with the 22.5 WSM.
 
Can you cook a bird (15lb.) low and slow like 225-250 overnight? I want to start my bird in a few hours... there's a light wind and the temp will be about 32 - 35 degrees outside...
whatcha think?
 
It would spend too much time in the "danger zone (40 -140 degrees)" for me, but others that have posted here seem to be OK with it. I would never let a turkey cook under 300 degrees, but maybe I don't like salmonella as much as some....just sayin'.
 
I followed this recipe for brining/cooking at 325o on this site and had no issues. You CAN do it at lower temps but I think only if using cure as in this recipe. The only thing is: at lower temps the skin will be inedible. Looks great though!

Note in the honey recipe however that the temps don't change if the cure is left out (because it is unavailable).
 
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Gary Sampson said:
It would spend too much time in the "danger zone (40 -140 degrees)" for me, but others that have posted here seem to be OK with it. I would never let a turkey cook under 300 degrees, but maybe I don't like salmonella as much as some....just sayin'.
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Any turkey so big that you can't safely smoke at below 300, or at 250*, for that matter, won't fit in a 22.5". Just sayin'.... sometimes safety issues get blown out of proportion.
 
Just did an 11 pounder on my 18.5", and had no problem keeping the temp at 330 to 350. Its 34 degrees and windy at my house, and the bird took 3 hours.
 
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