PBC turkey issues.

[GrillSergeantTim]

So far I have done 3 practice turkeys in preparation for thanksgiving. Every time I have had an issue with hitting temps in both the breast and thigh. All 3 attempts were done with the hanger and results are as fallows.

1st attempt. Thigh/dark meat was outstanding but the breast was absolutely killed. Breast temp hit 176 and thigh hit 165. The cause of this catastrophe was the fact that the turkey was sitting incorrectly on the hanger. When viewed from the side the breast was angled down rather then the bird sitting perpendicular or back bone angled slightly down. This was according to what the folks at pbc told me.

2nd attempt. Bird angled correctly according to what pbc told me. Thigh temp took forever to hit 165 and in tern I again over cooked the breast. This time I attributed it to me not letting the turkey sit out for at least an hour before dropping it in the barrel.

3rd attempt. This time I again angle the bird correctly but make sure to let it sit for about 1 hour before dropping it in the barrel. Everything seems to work out fine, I pulled the bird the second the breast hits 165 and my thigh temp is 182. When I carve into it the breast looks great but the thigh I didn't have a probe in isn't cooked.

each cook my pbc hovered from 270 to 290 with me only having to crack the lid once or twice when the temps dipped to 260.

needless to say I'm extremely frustrated with this situation and am getting nervous about thanksgiving next week. If anyone can offer some suggestions I would greatly appreciate it as I am lost and wondering if I'm going to screw this last test up this Sunday.

Thanks.

[Steve R.]

More info needed. Did you leave one rebar out, or leave both in? I'm going to go out on a limb and say the angle of the turkey on the hanger has little, if anything, to do with it. Spatchcock that bird and get ambient temp up to 325 - 350 whatever means necessary, and I think you are good.

Also, be very careful about the placement of the probes. It is easy to get a false high or low reading if you don't do it right.

[Jerod Broussard]

Even though top to bottom temps are pretty even I still prefer to have my dark meat hanging close to the fire. And I want that baby running 350 to 400 degrees.

[Gunderich_1]

I agree with both Steve and Robert. First we need more info. What size was the bird? I have done 10-12 pounders and they came out great. I had one temp probe stuck in the breast but I continued to check multiple areas with the Thermopop to make sure I had good temps all the way through. This year though I will be spatchcocking. I think that would help you as well. Best of luck.

[j_keegan]

Agreed. Sounds like not high enough temps.

[PappyBBQ]

Interesting. I always hang breast down when doing whole turkeys because the barrel temp is higher at the top than the middle. I run 350ish and have never had a fail. Funny how we all do stuff different!

[GrillSergeantTim]

To answer your questions no I did not pull one re-bar and the turkeys were all 10 to 12 lbs.

[JeffJ]

I haven't used my turkey hanger yet, but it looks like it rests on both rebars. Consider cracking the lid to get temps up into the 300's.

[kill2grill]

Def. do the cross bar for better results. If you are cooking a few items at the same time then go with the cracked lid.

[PappyBBQ]

Yeah. I go cross bar and run the rebar through the hole at the top of the hanger .

[GrillSergeantTim]

I'm debating if I should do the hanger with cross rod or spatchcock it?

[Steve R.]

When in doubt, I spatchcock. It really simplifies things.

[PappyBBQ]

It really depends on what you're after. If you want the "Rockwell" table presentation hang it. If not, spatchcock it and let that smoke get at what was the cavity!

[GrillSergeantTim]

After some thinking I've decided to spatchcock this last practice turkey with a cross bar. If everything goes well I'm going to do the same with the thanksgiving bird.

Now can anyone give me an idea of how long a spatchcocked 18-20lb turkey will take with the above method? I'm thinking 4 hours. I'm trying to figure this out now for thanksgiving so I don't hold everything else up. Thanks.