Turkey in WSM?


 
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Harry Smith

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Wife went ahead and bought a 14 pound young turkey hen fortified with more things than I can list! Said "cook it!" Well, I have never cooked a whole, unstuffed turkey in my WSM and was concerned that it may dry out too much after a long cook. I plan to cook it to a temp of 180, with my dome temp at 250. I am thinking I should plan for about 30 mins per pound. Is 7 hours too long? Will it be too dry? Should I just give up and let the wife to in the oven?
 
Harry,
I can't help you with times as I've never cooked a turkey, but I've cooked a lot of chickens and found that soaking in a brine for 12-24 hours will guarantee a moist bird. Should work just as well for turkey.

Good luck,
Smokin' Jim in NC
 
Brining is the way to go and cook hotter 275 to 325? if you want to get it in 30 mins a pound.
Jim
 
Brining? Not the same whining is it because I have never brined anything! I know I need a lot salt, but do you have a recommended ratio of salt to liquid I should plan for?

Jim M.,
If I don't brine, should I plan for a different amount of cooking time per pound? Is it also your opinion that brining is the best way to keep it from drying out too much?
 
Harry,

You say the turkey is "fortified", meaning that it's already injected with a solution, i.e. "self-basted". I wouldn't brine a turkey like that. I only brine natural turkeys that aren't "self-basted".

I would do like Jim says and cook at a normal oven temp of 325-350*F. See Whole Turkey - Basic Brine, and just skip the brining part.

Regards,
Chris
 
I spaced over the fortified part, Chris correct, forget brining in that case.
I find that brined poultry seems to get to finish temps a little faster than non-brined birds.
Jim
 
I have always been very pleased with the results using Alton Brown's "Good Eats Roast Turkey" recipe, whether using the oven or WSM. It calls for brining the bird-- purchasing an "enhanced" bird is virtually the same thing except you don't get to choose the flavorings-- and cooking to an internal temp of 161* in the breast (upon resting it will increase to 165). Using the WSM, a cooking temp of 325-350*-- best achieved with a dry water pan-- is the way to go. Rather than stuffing, Alton Brown's recipe uses aromatics such as apple, cinnamon, rosemary, and onion loosely placed in the cavity to add additional flavor. That recipe can be found at www.foodtv.com.
 
Last Thanksgiving in response to a Turkey cooking question, Chris posted the following which I have done several times with outstanding results:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> This is not an impossible task, and you have most everything you need.
Go to the store and buy a self-basted 10-12 pound turkey. Look for "injected with a ??% solution of..." on the label. Defrost it in water in the kitchen sink per the label instructions.
Get 20 pounds of Kingsford.
Get some smoke wood. A fruit wood like apple or cherry would be good, or oak. All you need are about 3 medium-sized dry chunks.
Buy or make a rub to apply to the turkey. If you want to make a rub, you'll find several good recipes in the Recipes Forum here on the BB.
Line the water pan with foil. Fire-up a full chimney of Kingsford. When hot, spread in the charcoal chamber. Measure another chimney of Kingsford and pour these unlit coals over the hot ones.
Remove giblets from inside the turkey cavity and neck, rinse thoroughly inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Apply a very thin coat of olive oil or vegetable oil, the sprinkle with the rub.
When the coals are good and hot, assemble the cooker. Put the water pan in place, but leave it empty. Put the rubbed turkey on the top cooking grate, back side down. Put the Polder in the deepest part of the breast. Add the dry smoke wood to the coals.

Set the bottom vents to 50% open and the top vent fully open. Run the cooker at 325-350*F, adjusting the bottom vents as necessary, until the breast is 160-165*F and thigh is 170-175*F. Should take 3 hours or so to cook.

Remove from the cooker and cover loosely for 15-20 minutes before carving. Slice while warm, arrange on a platter, cover and refrigerate. Take to friend's house, spritz with some apple juice or chicken broth, reheat in oven covered with foil, and enjoy. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You can also do a search for "Turkey." There are several posts on cooking a whole turkey in the WSM. In fact, here is the link to my turkey post: Best Turkey Yet!! In my opinion, its the best way to cook a turkey. The only thing I would change from Chris' method is to cut back on the smoke wood. 3 chunks was too much. Turkey really sucks up the smoke and can get bitter in a hurry. Use one chunk for your first turkey cook.
 
Dave,
Thanks for posting Chris' instructions. I'm going to try it out on Sunday. Do you ever make gravy using the drippings from the foil lined pan?

Jeff
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jeff Edvik:
[qb] Dave,
Do you ever make gravy using the drippings from the foil lined pan?[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Making gravy from pan drippings is discussed in the Turkey Selection & Preparation article. A special pan foiling technique prevents the drippings from burning.

Regards,
Chris
 
I did a 13 lb Butterball turkey in my WSM using the above instructions from Chris. It was great! My family said it was the best turkey ever. I used one fist sized chunk of cherry & the cook took just over 3 hours.

Jeff
 
Jeff,

You got me so motivated, I think I'm gonna try one this weekend. Question for Chris or Jim or whomever can answer. Can you cook 2-12 pounders, one on each rack? I would love to do this for thanksgiving, but we usually get a 24 pound bird, and I KNOW that bad boy aint fittin on the WSM.
 
Although I've not done it myself, I'm told you can fit two 12-14 pound turkeys in the WSM at the same time, one on each cooking grate. Look for birds that are broad and flat.

Remember, the distance between top and bottom grates is 7-1/2" inches.

Regards,
Chris
 
Randy,

I'm not so sure that 2*12 = 24 when it comes to the available meat on a turkey. It seems that the bigger birds tend to have a disproportionately larger breast.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Randy Parr:
[qb] Jeff,

You got me so motivated, I think I'm gonna try one this weekend. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I think you'll really like it. Let us know how it turns out.

Jeff
 
For what it's worth I have done several turkey breasts both regular style with a rub and pastrami style and the brine always gives a moister result.
 
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