1st time Turkey!

The Turkey is in and its 5am I got the temp at 250, on a offset smoker it is a brinkmann does anybody know about how many lb of briquettes a 19lb turkey will take, cause I might have to make a store run. I picked up 2 ten lb bags of kingsfords hope its enough.

I have used that same smoker to do turkey. My tip to you is turn the turkey over halfway through. I would say after 4 hours or so turn it. Your probally looking at an 8 hour cook or more with that 19 pounder. Get the extra coals, you will be ready if needed. Enjoy.

thanks for the tip its been about 3hrs now and I headed to the store, the apple chunks are working well, do you think 250 degrees is too hot?

250 is definitely not too hot. I believe SmokinOkie usually cooks turkeys a little hotter than that. For a 19lb bird you might want a little hotter from what I have read and definitely hotter if you have stuffing in the cavity, but I'll let the experts chime in here as I'm no veteran of turkey cooking.

For what it's worth my 11 pounder came out great at 250 in the cookshack.

A 19lb bird @ 250 = one long day. Crank the heat up to 325. The same as if you were cooking it in an oven. The longer the bird stays on the cooker the blacker and drier it will become. Next time try a bird in the 12lb range. To eliminate some of the black off the bird, rub the skin with olive oil and cook it in either cheesecloth or a ham stockinette. Be sure and soak the stockinette in vinegar so it won't stick to the skin.
Back to your present bird. When you need to add more fuel, preburn your coals and add them already burning. This helps eliminates any temperature flucuations. If the breast is getting too black, stick the bird in a grocery bag or make a heat shield out of foil and place on the breast. There is no reason for a turkey to stay on the smoker any longer than 6 hours. It will not take on any more smoke by staying longer. Also, do not rely on that little pop up timer in the breast, they are good for telling you that you have overcooked your bird.
Darcy

thanks for the replys I just turned the turkey and checked the temp it is 165 in the thigh, and I am on hr5 I will keep on the heat as you guys say. it looks nice brown not black (yet) the fire chimmney works well for the temp control. how do you know when to really slow cook meat or when to turn up the heat? thanks again for all the help.

I am reading a temp of 180 between the breast and thigh should I check it inside the thigh or breast? I am afraid to overcook.

"how do you know when to really slow cook meat or when to turn up the heat?"
The larger cuts of meat, such as beef brisket, will require longer cooking times to break down the collagen ( connective tissues )than say ribs or chicken.
There are a couple factors to remember on all types of meat. Meat will only absorb smoke for the first few hours of the cook, once it reaches 140-150 degrees it will stop absorbing smoke.
Pork shoulder does not have all the connective tissues as brisket might have, but it has a lot of fat that needs to be rendered out.
Poultry does not have all the connective tissues as brisket or the imbedded fat as pork shoulder so it doesn't have to cook as long as the others. Not to mention the difference in mass that will also dictate the cooking times.
Another thing to consider is the longer a piece of meat is on the smoker, the more chance of creosote buildup there is, especially if you are cooking in the 225 degree range. Cooking at a higher temperature ( 275 ) can help insure a cleaner burning fire. The type of cooker you are using will also determine the type of fire you will be cooking with as well as the length of the cook time. In a smaller offset cooker, it is better to burn charcoal for heat with just a few chunks of wood for flavoring. In a larger offset, you will burn nothing but wood. A Cookshack will cook altogether different and invite another learning curve to develop.
I hope this helps.
Darcy

Thanks Darcey for the info about the different meats,there is alot to know about how to smoke food the right way and I am learning alot from this site. The turkey came out really good a little dry but everybody seemed to enjoy it, I am my own worst critic. Thanks again