Attempting the Ultimate Smoked Turkey on Sunday

[DManInAZ]

Giving it a dress rehearsal before T-Day. Had to wait until this past Wednesday to get the Turkey, as Basha's didn't get their first delivery yet. Prior to that, only had a couple pre-stuffed, and turkey breasts.

Hoping I fare well. Have never smoked before, and doing in my CB.

Have already made the Simon & Garfunkel mix, and got a bag of Cowboy Apple wood chips. Also got the ingredients to make the gravy.

I will take some pics as I go, and post them to this thread.

P.S. - Tips are always welcomed!

[Jerod Broussard]

Plenty pics.

Tip- If at first you don't succeed, sky diving is not for you.

[_John_]

Doing my first tomorrow, will let you know if I blow it!

[Jerod Broussard]

Easy on the confidence there John!

[Marauderer]

Wow, have you read MH's Turkey recipe and techniques?

I did one a month ago. Unstuffed, box temp 325*F and cooked to an IT of 160*F. I used the S &G rub with oil. My only shortcoming was the skin did not crisp up. When I do another one I will start off at 400*F and work my way down to 325*F after the skins crispens up. Other than that my wife thought it was great as she doesn't do skin on birds. I also sliced the breast according to MH's recommendation.

[DManInAZ]

I have read it several times, and probably will a few more before Sunday.

[KansasDad]

This was my 22 lb turkey as I was taking it off my Yoder Smoker YS640. Followed all the instructions from Meatheads Ultimate turkey. My family all agreed that this was the best turkey we had ever eaten. No, it didn't last three days! Not much in leftovers. The gravy makes an awesome dressing. Many more turkeys will be treated in this manner in the future.

[smarkley]

Very Nice!

[Henrik]

Looks great!

[_John_]

I took my 15 pound turkey out and found that it was still pretty frozen, and this is after 7 days in the fridge. It took 2 hours for me to get the spatchcocking done. Just something to be aware of if you haven't unwrapped it yet or plan on splitting.
I had never injected before, felt like a mad scientist.

[Jerod Broussard]

Only food grade grease can be used on the chainsaw.

[_John_]

I was really thinking about grabbing my angle grinder with thin cutting wheel. Wouldn't have taken 10 seconds, but I probably would have had a line of salmonella from floor to ceiling.

[smarkley]

LMAO at this! >> "...but I probably would have had a line of salmonella from floor to ceiling."

[DManInAZ]

Here are a couple prep photos...



I tried to upload more, but keep getting a message that the file is corrupted. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Anyway...

Well, when my probe thermometer read 160 in the breast, I removed the turkey...

Alas, I did not fare well. It all looked good until I started carving. The thighs were almost raw, and the breast closest to the back was the same. Put back on direct heat for about 20 mins. Ended up having to nuke parts of it. Although, nuking did not dry it out, to my surprise.

Also, I totally fudged the gravy, and will pay more attention next time. It was kind of flavorless. I realized that I didn't inject butter into the bird, or drain the cavity after removing the foil. I added some salt and butter, and think that was my mistake.

My wife said the turkey was good, but maybe we should fry for Thanksgiving. I said "nay nay"! I shant yield to the smoking Gods yet! I shall prevail, or die of ptomaine trying!

If anyone has any suggestions for my dilemma, I would greatly appreciate any advice!
​

[Huskee]

Here are a couple prep photos...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]temp_3388_1415564705575_671[/ATTACH]

I tried to upload more, but keep getting a message that the file is corrupted. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Anyway...

Well, when my probe thermometer read 160 in the breast, I removed the turkey...

Alas, I did not fare well. It all looked good until I started carving. The thighs were almost raw, and the breast closest to the back was the same. Put back on direct heat for about 20 mins. Ended up having to nuke parts of it. Although, nuking did not dry it out, to my surprise.

Also, I totally fudged the gravy, and will pay more attention next time. It was kind of flavorless. I realized that I didn't inject butter into the bird, or drain the cavity after removing the foil. I added some salt and butter, and think that was my mistake.

My wife said the turkey was good, but maybe we should fry for Thanksgiving. I said "nay nay"! I shant yield to the smoking Gods yet! I shall prevail, or die of ptomaine trying!

If anyone has any suggestions for my dilemma, I would greatly appreciate any advice!
​

How well do you trust your thermometer? Has it been calibrated against another, or in boiling water? Did you spatchcock it or smoke it whole?

[DManInAZ]

I also spot checked the temp with an instant read, but have not tried checking it in boiling water. I did smoke it whole, but am definitely considering spatchcock for T-day.

[Huskee]

Yes, I recommend the sp'ock method, it allows that hot air to surround the meat and leaves no cold central cavity. When the breasts get to 160-165 the thighs should be in the 170-180 zone, obviously this is well-well done but they're still moist and delicious. I think the issue was the whole bird factor. Many oven-roasted birds have wayyy overdone breasts due to the time it takes to cook a whole intact bird.

[David Parrish]

DMan it sounds to me like you had some uneven temps in your pit that drove uneven cooking. It's important to temp ALL parts of the bird to make sure it's at least 160F everywhere. Did you read up on MH's tips on getting the breast to hit 160 and the dark meat up in the 170s at the same time?

Could you spatchcock? That'd help even out the temps for certain.

Tell us where you think things went wrong. It's really not possible to speculate from our end based on what you're told us so far. More details, Sir. We'll help make that next one a success!

[DManInAZ]

I think that I should have done a better job of spot checking temperatures. The drip pan was probably another factor in this. The way my grill is setup, I can't place the drip pan 3" lower than the bird, but have to place the grate on the pan and the bird on top of the grate.

I think that I am going to read up on spatchcocking for the next cook. Sounds like it would make things a little less stressful.