17 pound turkey on the smokette

Hey Stoneweed, If you think that the bird is too big you could always cut it in half and cook it that way. I never use a pan..I put it directly on the rack.Check out smokin's Turkey 101.

that's a big bird for a little smoker. Issue is getting the internal temp out of the danger zone before any nasty stuff can set in. 14 pound is the largest I've done on an electric that just goes to 300. Let us know how it turned out with some pics and comments. Blessings, Bill

Stoneweed 1,
Consider smoking for about 1 hour then moving to a preheated 325° oven to finish. It is important to get it above 140° IT within two hours.

I spoke with someone from Cookshack earlier today regarding smoking a 17 pound brined turkey in a smokette. The Cookshack rep told me that she has personally cooked a turkey larger than 17 pounds multiple times successfully and used a temp of 230 degrees.

So there is variance between what the forum experts mention about smoking a turkey larger than 12 pounds and what a Cookshack employee with firsthand experience states.

Has anyone unsuccessfully cooked a large >15 pound turkey in the Smoker and had a bad outcome?

Here is my plan:

Smoker: Cookshack Smokette
16 3/4 lb turkey brined for 24 hrs and then taken out of the brine and in the fridge for 8 - 10 hrs followed by a butter/sage paste rub under the skin and cookshack chicken rub vegetable oil on the skin and some of the cookshack chicken rub under the skin

In the Turkey Cavity:
One Vidalia Onion cut into quarters
One Tangerine Cut into Eighth
One Jalepeno Pepper cut in quarter
One Apple cut into quarters

Wood:
1.5 oz of pecan chunk
1.5 oz of hickory chunks

Temp of Smokette: 250 degrees
Turkey will be placed on the bottom rack without a pan trussed and intially breast side up for 20min/lb X 17 lbs = 5.5 hrs
Half way through, the turkey will be will be flipped to breast side down

Any advice?

As far as the buttered cheesecloth goes, should I put it on at the start and leave it on till the end. Don't know exactly how to go with that.

Also, any advice on using a pan vs. not using a pan would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by Stoneweed1:
So there is variance between what the forum experts mention about smoking a turkey larger than 12 pounds and what a Cookshack employee with firsthand experience states.

GOOD QUESTION:

Here is some reading from USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

As you can see if the turkey was mishandled to start with, cooking will not destroy the bad stuff, instead it will let it multiple at a faster rate before hitting the safety zone. It is all about taking care of the bird before hand, so we try to preach safety a little more here. Nothing worst than having to set on the toilet Thanksgiving night.

Ditto Cal, Good on you.

Stoneweed1,
I was wondering if it takes approx. 4.5 hours to cook a 17 lb. turkey at 325°. How long will it take at 250°? Especially with cheese cloth and a loaded cavity as it will slow down cooking time a little do to holding moisture and evaporation. Seems to me it will be in the D zone a long time.

Happy Thanksgiving

If you go to 2011 turkey reports, you'll see various times for our efforts. That should help you guesstimate. I'm seeing about 4 hrs for 13 lb birds.

If by a "loaded cavity" you mean "stuffed", I would reconsider it cause of the lower temp in the smoker. I'm sure the turkey times in the 2011 turkey reports are for birds without stuffing. Stuffing will add more time to the cooking time, but shouldn't be attempted in the smoker.

Pags,
I was referring to Stoneweed1's bird not mine for crying out loud.

quote:

In the Turkey Cavity:
One Vidalia Onion cut into quarters
One Tangerine Cut into Eighth
One Jalepeno Pepper cut in quarter
One Apple cut into quarters

Hey fellows I don't think I would call this stuffing

Relax Mr. T. A simple mistake. Just trying to help.

A loaded cavity is a loaded cavity regardless of type of insertion. It will slow down the cooking process. Just a reminder. After posting, I did think to myself, Mr. T knows all this, but newbies could benefit from the information.

I should remember to review the whole thread. At my age, the memory is the first to go. Thank God.

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Relax Mr. T. A simple mistake. Just trying to help.

I am relaxed, very relaxed.

At my age, the memory is the first to go. Thank God.

Not in my case.

I guess I am skirting around the DZ. issue. I did 3 birds this year. One was 18 pounds, and the other 2 were close to 22 pounds. The 18 pounder was done in my 009 at 250 degrees. The cold bird (33 degrees when I inserted the temp. probe) went into a cold smoker. It took 1.5 hours before the temp probe said 40 degrees, 2.5 hours for it to go from 140 degrees to 165 degrees in the breast. Total cooking time was 7.5 hours. DZ time would be 4 hours. I did one of the 22 pounders in the 045 at 275 degrees. It finished at 8 hours. Both of these birds were done yesterday, and went to dinners where they will be reheated and properly browned. All 3 birds were injected, and the cavities stuffed with fresh Sage, Thyme, onion, celery, and sweet oranges. The skin was brushed with orange bloosom honey, and butter, and then covered with butter soaked cheese cloth. This is what the first 2 birds looked like before being reheated.

To continue on: I started the 3rd bird (22 pounds)at 6:00 am this morning, Cold bird, cold smoker (28 degrees). The 045 was set at 275 degrees. The bird was prepped the same as the others. I did leave the cheese cloth off. 4 hours later, the bird was at 95 degrees. I pulled it and put it in a 350 degree oven. 30 minutes later I put the soaked cheese cloth on. I turned the oven off at 12:30, and because I was doing other things, didn't take the bird out for 15 minutes. The thermometer said 166 degrees. The time in the DZ was much less. when I pulled the temp. probes put in all 3 birds, they squirted juice as opposed to running juice. I have been doing Turkey's the same way since I bought my 009 in 1999. The first thing I cooked on it was a Turkey. The first thing I cooked on the 045 that I bought last year was a turkey. I have yet to make anyone sick. What is the safe limit for DZ time? Anyway, here is the 3rd turkey.

Nice looking birds Idaho Mike,
The recommended max time between 40-140° prior to cooking is four hours including prep time.

Looking at my Montana regs, cooling times for potentially hazardous foods are from 135° to 70° within 2 hours and from 70° to 41° or below within 4 hours.

It can get complicated when cooking to proper temps.
For example:
Cooking to 130° and holding for 121 minutes is the same as cooking to 145° for 3 minutes or 165° for 15 seconds. Naturally cooking temps and times vary in between.

Thanks Mr. T. I did a quick search on Google. The first site I hit says that a stuffed turkey in a 325 degree oven should take 5 1/2 to 6 hours for a 16 to 20 pound bird, and 6 to 6 1/2 hours for 20-24 pounder. They never say how long these birds are in the danger zone. They are taking the bird out of the fridge, and stuffing it before putting it in the pre-heated oven. I have never done this before and watched the temp. I suspect that by the time the bird is taken out of the fridge, washed, dried, and stuffed, it is getting close to room temp. My birds were injected and stuffed the night before, came out of the fridge, and into a cold smoker. It would be interesting to see a time/temp readout for cooking 2 birds preped the same way, one going in a smoker cold, and the other going in the oven close to room temp. I suspect that the DZ time would be similar.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Mike:
I suspect that the DZ time would be similar.

Could be. Of coarse the set temps on the smoker and oven would help determine the outcome.