smoking a turkey


 
D

Dan {dutch oven Dan}

TVWBB Fan
do you smoke it with stuffed?
do you use the same time as cooking in an oven?

I have cooked my bird in a huge dutch oven {22 pound bird plus stuffing}

any other thoughts, comments, suggestions?
 
I personally don't stuff -- neither when smoking on the WSM nor roasting in the oven -- I run temps ~350 which is the same you would run it in an oven so cooking times are basically the same. Go easy on the smoke because they really soak it up.

There are many documented examples of turkey cooks in the turkey talk forum on this site so I highly recommend checking those out. Lots of people like to brine both as a hedge against dryness and to pull some flavor into the meat. There are many great recipes for brines in the recipe section.
 
I have never cooked one in the WSM, but have cooked at least a dozen in the kettle.

I have done both ways, but prefer stuffing with it, so I will usually stuff it. My wife likes a little sausage and just a tad of apples when it's smoked in the kettle. Very light on the apples though.
 
I don't like cooking stuffed turkeys in the oven or the smoker, from a food safety perspective. Some broth and a pan on the side, and the stuffing comes out just fine, especially if you hit it with some drippings.

This also alleviates the need to cook the whole bird including the stuffing to 160 internal, which might cause some dry extremities.
 
i agree with the above folks make stuffing on the side. you can use chicken stock to give that turkey flavour to the stuffing.

i dont even like cooking them whole. i split em down the breast bone and remove the breast bone then lay em out flat ribs down. if the bird is big i quarter it before putting it on the pit. i cook to 155-160 center of the breast and center of the thigh. different sections come done at different times. being able to pull quarters off as they come done is pretty handy.

but then i am not one to cook to asthetic looks. i prefer food that tastes good.

i never used to cook turkey because it was always so dry. now my turkey is moist tender and tasty even days of leftovers later cuz i got over the idea of "carving a bird"
 
The best bird I have done yet was brined in citrus and salt, rinsed off, mounted on a vertical stand and placed in the fridge overnight to develop a pellicle and smoked at high heat. GREAT bird and with an almost crunchy skin.
 
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