Turkey Temp - Tough vs. Dry


 
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Steve M.

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The last two turkeys that I have done, I took the thigh to 180 degress. I was concerned that it would be dry so I watched it closely and pulled it right at 180. The meat was moist(I brined), but not tender. It was certainly edible, but not what I was looking for.

Help me understand on far can I push the temp to get the meat tender and not dry it out. My guess, since poultry is a lot less forgiving than pork, it is a much smaller window.

Thanks.
 
The best temp in my opinion is 275 to 325 and spend time at the high end. Brine and do turkeys in the 12 to 14 pound range.
Jim
 
The trick is to allow residual heat to bring the poultry to the final target temp. That is to say if you want the breast done at 165°, pull it off at 160-161°, loosely cover with foil, and residual heat will bring it to a final temp of 165. Since I am more interested in the quality (read: lack of dryness) of the white meat, I monitor it rather than the thigh. When the breast reaches 160°, the thigh will typically be 170-175, and, upon resting, will also be adequately cooked. Brining, in addition to adding flavor, will allow a margin for error on the final temp of 5° or so.
 
Speaking of residual heat. Did anybody catch the Food Network All Star Thanksgiving Special? AB pulled the turkey out of the oven when the breast hit 150. AB said there was enough residual heat in the bird to take it up another 10-15 degrees
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Bryan
 
Bryan,
Didn't see that episode! But I wouldn't want to take the chance and count on the residual temp raising the internal temp that much, JMO!!! But who in the heck am I?? He has his own TV show!!
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Not sure who did the post, but someone posted a while back, that turkey is actually "edible" at a temp well below 160* (can't recall the exact temp). I have had salmonella poisoning before, and poultry temps are one thing I take very seriously!!! I would rather have a piece of dry turkey than food poisoning any day!!
 
This is something I'll be watching very closely today. I'm doing a breast on my kettle this afternoon. I'll probably pull at 160 degrees and wrap in foil.

btw...is it necessary to wrap the breast in foil vs. loosely tenting the bird?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Larry Wolfe:
I would rather have a piece of dry turkey than food poisoning any day!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you hit 150 throughout the breast you wouldn't get food poisoning even if the temp stayed there. Redistribution of the juices and heat during resting might give you a 15-degree bump (I usually get around 10). The problem I find if pulling at 150 is that there might be pockets of pinkish meat. Unappealing to me.
 
My mom is so freaked out about seeing any pinkish meat that I always cook my birds ALOT. So when I did that experimental fosters can turkey the other week, I didn't pull it off until the breast was over 180 (cuz i was trying to get the thigh to hit whatever temp thighs are supposed to hit, which it never did---it hit a few degrees below)---which took a whole hour longer than I was expecting to cook the sucker. I don't know if it was the beer can, the injections, or the bird, but somehow the meat was moist and cooked thru beautifully.

I hope Thursday's bird is as lucky...!
 
The recipe for Alton's turkey says remove from grill when breast hits 160*. Cover with foil, let rest for 1 hr.

Also, he is cooking at 400*. He probably will get that much of a temp bump. If you are in high 220(s) or low 300(s)*, you probably will not.

Haven't seen the show yet, but it's recorded.
 
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