Temps for Turkey Cook


 
M

Mike Batsarisakis

TVWBB Super Fan
I'm planning on cooking a 12 pound butterball turkey for the big football game this weekend. On the cooking topics section on this forum, Chris indicated a 2.5 to 3 hour cook time with two weber chimney full of charcoal, one lit the other not, and all vents open the entire time. My question is what are the usual lid
temps during this cook? I know you must cook until the breast measures 160-165 degrees and the thigh measures 170-175. But given that I haven't yet smoked a turkey, what can I expect on the smoker temps?

Also, I plan on using oak only because it's the only wood I have besides hickory and hickory is not recommended. Will oak only impart a nice mild smokey flavor? Please advise.
 
If you use one chimney of lit, another of unlit on top, and wait for the coals to get good and hot, you can expect lid temps in the 320-360 range.

I usually use a citrus wood but have used hickory, oak, apple, cherry. Oak will be fine. Err on the side of caution and use less than you otherwise think you need. Poultry takes on smoke easily and being mild to begin with is easily overwhelmed by using too much.
 
Mike.

I normally try for temps between 350 and 375. And Kevin is right on when he says to err on the side of less wood. The first turkey I smoked was way too smokey.

Good luck.

Ray
 
With regards to the amount of smoke wood to use, how much would you use? I was thinking maybe three rectangular pieces of oak, roughly 2.5" x 4" x .5". Is that enough or too much? Thanks. Mike
 
I am not so sure that I would want to use oak wood
for turkey. I would find a way to get some cherry or apple wood if you can. It is worth the effort.
 
I'd maybe stick with just one piece that size. Milder woods are best with poultry because it's so easy to overdo-- it really doesn't take that much to make a turkey really overly smoky-tasting. Personally, if all I had was hickory, oak, or another strong wood, I might be tempted to let it go with just the charcoal.
 
Well, I'm with you on that but at this point I don't know where I can get apple wood on short order before Sunday.

I'm definitely staying away from the hickory because my daughter will complain that the turkey tastes like ham.

As for just charcoal, will there be any smokey flavor?
 
Turkey is a bland enough meat that any time you cook it over a wood- or charcoal-fired heat source, you'll know it wasn't oven-roasted.
 
Well, I forgot to mention that I do have a bag of cowboy lump, would you use kingsford or CB lump if that's all you had and didn't want to use oak?
 
Cowboy lump just might be more bland than the turkey. It imparts virtually no smoke so I would use the Kingsford. Just Cowboy with no smoke wood and your bird will taste like it just came out of the oven.
 
I have not experimented with the Cowboy lump yet. It seems counter-intuitve that it would be blander than Kingsford. That's good to know. Thanks.
 
I am not a Cowboy fan. Given those choices I'd use Kingsford and a small piece of oak. But I am not one that has a problem with oak or hickory with poultry. However, I don't use much.
 
Since I don't want to experiment with Cowboy lump on my first turkey cook, I'm gonna stick with Kingsford and go easy on the oak as you suggested Kevin.

As for the Cowboy is there any reason your not a fan of it.
 
It's okay for grilling if you use plenty of it but isn't great in the cooker. It is an inconsistent blend of various woods--lots of scrap--and burns too easily with not the best heat output.

Go very easy on the oak. It is fine to wish you had a little more smoke flavor, not so fine if the turkey borders on (or is!) inedible from being oversmoked. You can always add a little more on your next cook--so be sparing on this one. Enjoy your cook.

I'm not far from you at the moment. Mighty cold!
 
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