Turkey Smok'in Help!

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nobadays

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Hey guys.... read through several Turkey smoking posts and did garner some good tips, the best being don't wait until Thanksgiving day to smoke your first Turkey!

Just pulled a 12 pound bird out of my Masterbuilt digital smoker. We injected the meat this morning with a marinade then put it in the smoker at 9:30AM. So the smoker has been at 250 degrees, +/- a couple degrees since shortly after 9:30 as I had preheated it before putting the bird in. Breast up if that means anything.

By about 5 hours the top, thinner parts of the breast were hitting 160 degrees while the lower thickest part was still at 147 degrees. At 6 hours the thinner parts of the breast were registering 178 degrees while the thick part was now up to 151 degrees. But... the inner thigh in the joint was at 138 degrees.

Left it in one more hour and the thick part of the breast now read 160 degrees. However the inner thigh joint had only reached 140 degrees. We pulled it out anyway and have wrapped it in tinfoil and will let it sit for 30 minutes. I guess I'm thinking cut off the legs and thighs and "nukivate" them for a couple of minutes.

Suggestions on how to do this right Thanksgiving? Thanks!
 
Tent the breast with tin foil half way through. Wrap the legs in foil also when they appear dark brown.

I smoke a 20# every thanksgiving. All parts hit target temps in under 4 hrs. I don't inject, but I do brine overnight.
 
I do two 17 pounders every Thanksgiving with my electric smoker and it takes a lot longer than the gas smokers. The secret for my set up is to change out the water every hour so it steams and bastes the bird. I heat up water on my kitchen stove til it boils and then dump out the water bowl in the smoker and fill it with the pot of boiling water every hour. The hot water does not waste time heating up and your back in business. The smoke from the chips marry with the steam and you get a great smoke ring and the meat cooks more evenly. If you take a knife and make a small slit where the leg joins the main body of the bird, and the juice runs clear it's done. If it is pinkish or red it needs more time. Works well for me every year and the birds are yummy!

John
 
Jcav.... yes there is water in a pan but it is several inches above "smoke unit." It is more to catch drippings and add moisture to the interior. The electric coil is below the chip drawer and there is a cover plus the tube that you put chips in from the outside.

Passedpawn... thanks! I had also read that some folks lay a ziplock bag of ice over the breast overnight to help slow the cooking down on the thinner areas.

The Turkey breast was still fairly moist, the legs weren't over done and my wife says it cooked all the way down into the joints. She says no sign of uncooked meat, nothing red or raw looking. She feels we over cooked it. She is thinking 5-6 hours.
 
Jcav... great advice! I'm guessing the steam really helps to both cook and keep the bird moist. Good to know on the leg joint... nothing pink when she cut it open tonight. Thanks!
 
Yes the steam makes the bird very moist and succulent. Sounds like you nailed it! Good luck on turkey day!


John
 
I smoke/roast a 20# turkey every year. I have a WSM. I remove the water pan and hang it from the expandable smoke rack at 350*F. Comes out great every time.
 
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