What temp do you cook to?


 
Jerry N.

Jerry N.

TVWBB Emerald Member
What temperature to you pull your turkey and how long do you let it rest. I’m thinking with a long rest time (30min+) pulling it around 155shoukd be good. That should give me enough time at temp to kill any bacteria and still leave the meat moist. Also, I expect it will get pretty close to 160 while resting if I pull it at 150. Thoughts?
 
Meathead has some good info on Turkey temperature.
Dark meat has about 9% fat, 33% more than white meat. So, it tastes and feels best at about 170°F (76.7°C). White meat is very lean, about 6%, and it dries out quickly if it is overcooked. It is at its best texture and juiciness at about 155°F (68.3°C). But that’s 10°F (5.7°C) below the USDA recommendation and the risk is too great at that temp. So I will advise you to cook it to 160°F (71.1°C) and let the temp rise to 165°F (74°C) while it moves from cooker to carving. More on this below.

USDA wants to keep things simple for us in order to keep us safe. Admirable! What USDA doesn’t tell you is that microbes start croaking at about 130°F (54.4°C). The hotter the food gets, the faster the pathogens die. You can pasteurize your turkey at 130°F (54.4°C) in 2 hours or at 165°F (74°C) in 2 seconds, hence the USDA recommended minimum of 165°F (74°C). What the USDA doesn’t tell you is that you can kill them all if you heat the bird to 160°F (71.1°C) for 7 seconds, 155°F (68.3°C) for 23 seconds, or 145°F (62.8°C) for about 4 minutes.
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Amazing Ribs Turkey Guide

I'm going to spatchcock for Thanksgiving and hope that I can use basting the breasts to get the white meat to 160 about the same time the dark meat is 165. We'll see.

Johnny on the View to a Grill YouTube channel puts ice bags on the breasts before starting a rotisserie cook to help the white and dark get done together.
 
165⁰ with the temp spike in the breast is perfection. I don't rest for a specific amount of time, just let it rest as I get the rest of the dinner together. I run the ir burner for the first 30 minutes or so, until the skin looks right. Usually total cook time of 2.5 hours or so. This is on my s650 summitPXL_20231123_142550992.jpgPXL_20231123_155851694.jpg
 
Jerry N. said:
I’ve given some thought to separating the bird into its parts. Thanks for showing. I might do that as it is the easiest way I can think of to get the white and dark meat to their appropriate temps.
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Each piece gets pulled when perfectly done. You’re going to slice it anyway. Might as well make the cook as easy as possible.
 
Brett - do you do anything to catch the drippings and make gravy? I see the pan below the grate. Wondering if you put water or chicken stock in the pan, collect the drippings and make gravy.
 
Jerry N. said:
Brett - do you do anything to catch the drippings and make gravy? I see the pan below the grate. Wondering if you put water or chicken stock in the pan, collect the drippings and make gravy.
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I use the neck to make gravy. Seared then boiled then deboned. The WSK is too hot and it burns the drippings. My other gravy is chicken stock cooked with mirepoix and then strained and thickened with cornstarch slurry.

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With mushrooms added for umami depth.

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Brett,
Thanks for the ideas. I'm going for it. I'll break down the turkey and cook it on my grill in pieces. The best idea though is the gravy. I looked up some recipes and realized that the gravy can be made ahead of time. That helps a lot on Thanksgiving to just need to heat up the gravy. Plus, by then, I'll know if it turned out well, unlike when making it on the day. This should help make things go much smoother. Thanks!
 
I’ve given some thought to separating the bird into its parts. Thanks for showing. I might do that as it is the easiest way I can think of to get the white and dark meat to their appropriate temps.

That's what I do.

Dark meat goes onto the lower rack of the WSM 18.5 first. Turkey crown goes on the top rack about 20-30 minutes later. Dark meat stays on longer at the end if needed.

White meat is pulled at 157F. Dark meat is pulled at 175 or slightly higher.
 
Jerry N. said:
Brett,
Thanks for the ideas. I'm going for it. I'll break down the turkey and cook it on my grill in pieces. The best idea though is the gravy. I looked up some recipes and realized that the gravy can be made ahead of time. That helps a lot on Thanksgiving to just need to heat up the gravy. Plus, by then, I'll know if it turned out well, unlike when making it on the day. This should help make things go much smoother. Thanks
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Any 24 hour wet brine? Or dry brine? Or rub? Those are key to a moist and tasty bird.
 
Brett-EDH said:
Any 24 hour wet brine? Or dry brine? Or rub? Those are key to a moist and tasty bird.
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Kind of. Sorry to be lazy but I bought a butterball so it’s “brined” already. I was definitely going to get some spices on it and was thinking about some herb butter under the skin of the breast.
 
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