Turkey on the WSM


 
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Joe McManus

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I've done butts, ribs, and chicken, all with GREAT results and much critical acclaim (from my kids, one of which is a very picky eater) with my new best friend. Did a beer brined chicken that was the best chicken I've ever tasted! I'm exploring this coming weekend, doing a turkey for a birthday party.

Looking for a few friendly bits of advice. Any tidbit would be welcome. Have read up on poultry section here and have read through some of the archived material. One of the best things about this forum is learning from other's misfortune. I certainly don't want to repeat a mistake if possible.

My biggeset concern is about keeping temps up in the 325-350 range as I have not tried that (most battles have been getting the temp down). I haven't used the WSM without water in the pan yet, so I'm assuming that alone will help keep temps up. I've got a 15#, self basting, beast (smallest I could find). Is keeping temp up a real problem? Another question is temperature location. I only have a temp in the lid. Is 325 lid temperature good enough?

Over the years I've gotten very good (dare I say perfected...) turkey results using my kettle so I'm a little torn "experimenting" with the WSM.

Thanks.
 
If you use the standard fire up method from the cooking section, or perhaps two lit chimneys, I don't think you'll have a problem maintaining temp. If you measure at the dome, your top grate will probably be 20 to 25 lower and your bottom grate about 10 more lower. If you're only doing a breast, you'll probably use the top grate for convenience. To cook at 325 on the top grate you should be ok with a 350 dome.

The advantage over the kettle is that you'll be able to maintain the steady temp easier and you can utilize your smoke wood better.

Of course, use an internal probe to check the breast temp as your final determiner as to when its done. I pull at 155 in the breast.

Good luck, I'm sure it will go well - remember about adding your seasoning under the skin and I sugest a little olive oil rub down.

Paul
 
Go with two fully-lit Weber chimneys (or charcoal ring filled to near top) and you should have no problem achieving 350* at the dome with a dry pan. Of course, the temp will take a temporary hit when you stick 15 lbs. of cold bird in there, but it will get there. I typically fire it up this way, assemble the cooker, set the vents to about 50% each, and watch for the thermometer to start declining from its initial maximum. Then the turkey goes on and I open the vents until the temp rebounds to around 325*, when I dial them back and hone in on 350. Wind, sun, and ambient temp will have their various effects, but my typical turkey roast is on a sunny 50* day.

I pull mine at 161* in the breast with the intention of resting 15-20 minutes and carving. If you finish earlier than you wish to serve, pull at 155* as mentioned above, wrap in x-heavy foil and towels, and place breast side down in an ice chest, and it will hold at a safe temp for nearly 2 hours.
 
Hey Joe,

I've been smoking turkey and chicken for the past 2 months. With the help from the WSM forum I was able to get great success with it. After brining my chicken, I smoked my chicken and turkey around 295-305 degrees. The highest temperture I can get from the WSM. Temp goes up and down slightly but is able to maintain through out the cook. All my temp are measure at the grate. I use a ET-73 unit to measure the grate and internal temp. I used sand in my pan but you can use a empty pan also. I leave all my vent open and let it cook until the right internal temp is achieve. I make sure all my coals are lite and burning hot before I place my meat in. You will not get crispy skin but it will come close. I do not eat the skin anyway so I take it off. When I first started smoking chicken and turkey I did not have great success at slow and low temp. You need to experiment for yourself to see what will work for you.
 
I've cooked several turkeys in my WSM using the 325-350, foiled lined empty water pan method. I've never cooked a 15 pounder, but all mine have been in 12 pound range.

Use two chimneys of charcoal. Light one and when mostly gray, dump in the ring and add an another unlit full chimney on top. Wait until all the coals are gray, add your smoke wood (I use one chunk of apple or cherry), and assemble the WSM. I put my turkey on immediately because it helps get the temps coming down and initial high 390+ heat helps crisp the skin. Set your vents at approx 50% and see where the temp ends up.

My 12 pound turkeys fit on the top rack without any problems and I measure the temps in the dome. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me if my temps stay high because you are not going to burn that bird and it only helps the skin

The 12 pounders take about 3 to 3.5 hours to reach 160-165 in the breast and 175-180 in the thighs.

I did a 6 pound chicken yesterday using this method, although because it was beer can chicken, it was standing on the bottom rack. The bird was done in 1.75 hours. Using 1.5 chimneys of charcoal my dome temps started out at 392 degrees and slowly dropped to 350-355 the last 45 minutes of the cook. My vents were set at 40% the entire time, I never moved them. It was a sunny day, 72 degrees, and no wind. I still had most of the coals left at the end.
 
I've got a 20lb-er in the freezer, is that too big to do in a WSM. If not what would you recommend on cooking methods? I've heard of foiling ends to make the skin crispier. Thanks in advance
 
Just to throw in a differing opinion... I'd just use the kettle. The birds I did for Thanksgiving on my kettle were so great, I doubt the WSM could do better. You have to jump through a few hoops to get the WSM up into that 350+ range, but that's right where my kettle wants to be without any hassle. I also was able to cook the whole 16.5 pounder with only one lit chimney of coals.

Of course, I didn't have a choice back then, I didn't have a WSM at Thanksgiving. Now however, whenever a higher temp (chicken, turkey, tri-tip) is called for, I automaticly uncover the kettle. Low and slow, I go to the WSM.
 
The first time I did a (big) turkey, the legs
and wings were very tough (overdone) due
to the hotter temps around the edge of
the grill. I now use tinfoil as a "guard"
around the legs and wings to keep them
from getting fossilized! /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif
 
Brandon - If you have a problem on the WSM it would be the horizontal, not vertical fit and I don't think you would have this problem. Just measure in advance. With this size turkey I imagine you would need to use the second grate with the top grate removed. Don't know about crisping with the foil. I would think that would have the opposite effect.

Jason - I've used my kettle for turkey at Thanksgiving and have been pleased. However I ordered the rotisseri ring to get the vertical clearance for the bird (22 lb'r). I used a Performer so I filled the charcoal holders, lit them with the Performer and then added extra coals to each side every hour, the "Weber way". A large turkey cooked in less than 5 hrs so I only added a few times. I used some wood chips in the containers over the coals and it seemed to give the bird a nice color.

Paul
 
As always, the folks around here don't let me down. Already good advice!

Jason - I hear you. The kettle is great for things like turkey. But I got this WSM to cook with and I guess one attempt will be ok. Best part about the kettle bird was the skin was perfectly crisp. Hopefully keeping temps up in the WSM will get something close. I'll let you know.

I may deviate from the suggested recipes here for the first time with the WSM. Turkey in the past has been coated with a fresh squeezed lemon juice/olive oil mixuture, a generous coating of rub (I like the idea of applying rub under the skin too). I also throw 4 or 5 lemon wedges, 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, and a sprig of rosemary into the cavity while it cooks. Never worried about basting, and everything has come out wonderful. Even if the skin thing doesn't work out quite the same as the kettle, I have all the confidence that the bird will still taste great.

Thanks for all the feedback so far.
 
I did a 14lb self-basting bird yesterday following the instructions on this website. It turned out great. The cooker stayed between 325 and 350 without me touching it. I've found that following the instructions on this site makes everything turn out like it is supposed to. What a great smoker!
 
Greetings-

Is there a food safety hazzard with cooking turkey at normal WSM temps (225-250F)? I noticed with whole chicken recipes like chicken on a throne that they are cooked in the 225-250F range? I relize that chicken is a smaller bird yet does the weight of the bird cause the problem?

Thanks...
 
Another question. Since this is a higher temperature cook, I think I'll try lump. Any comments/suggestions on how much lump should be used for a 5-6 hour cook?
 
The attractiveness of lump charcoal is that it burns hot-- great for grilling. So, to use it in the WSM requires less than briquets. The downside is that it also burns faster, so you may have refueling issues to contend with. The WSM is designed for, and works best with good old Kingsford.
 
Paul G,
Thanks and you're right about the foil issue, I misunderstood. It is used to prevent ends from being overcooked. Thanks to all for their input.
 
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