Confused on Temperature and Time

Michael
I'll check in till some other 09 guys do. The maximum temp. on the smoker depends on the model. The finishing in the oven coment probably refers to crisping the skin. The 250 degree temp. isn't hot enough to do that. If, like many, you throw out the skin anyway then this isn't an issue. Being a cholesterol junkie I eat skin.... crispy or not.

As for the discrepency in times between the booklet and forum; I believe you will find allmost unanimous opinons to go with the forum recommendations. Hope this helps.

Jack

Yep. Come here for advice on anything Smokette.

With poultry, you might do better by letting the smoker preheat for 30 minutes or so fullblast, then put the turkey in quickly. Leave it turned up all the way until done. If you get enough butter on the cheesecloth, you won't need to open the door until it is done.

quote:

2. Turkey 101 talks about going up to 325 degrees... What kind of Smoker do you have? My SM009 only goes up to 250, and there's a suggestion that I might need to finish the bird off in the oven.. Kinda negates the smoking thing a bit.

Not so in my opinion. After a couple of hours, the bird shouldn't be picking up much more smoke so you don't lose anything there.

My wife likes to stuff the bird so what I am planning on doing is smoking the bird for about 4 hours (or until it has about an hour to go), then turn it over to her to stuff and finish in the oven. Have done this before and it works well.

Brine or no brine.. a 12/13# turkey takes me about 3.5-4 hours.. I do it different that GLH.. I rub butter on it and sprinkle on the "rub" which is usually either CS or Pappy's. I don't preheat the oven cuz, to me, that starts burnin wood before I want it to. I crank it up all the way and let 'er rip. I go strictly by the probe thermomter before opening to twist a bone. Had one two weeks ago and used the carcass for soup.. MMMM.. smoked turkey makes AWESOME soup.. lotsa veggies and added spices.

Oh yes.. either an 008 or Amerique (which has a nice hold feature if it gets done too early)

All good questions, always happy to clarify.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael in NC:
I'm confused on 2 points:
1. Turkey 101 says to figure (estimate, I know) on 20 minutes per pound for brined Turkey, but the booklet that came with the SM009 says 35 minutes brined, 45 unbrined.
What's the deal? Is it 20 minutes or 35 minutes... that's quite a bit of difference on a 12 pound bird.
Thanks !

NEVER smoke on time alone, you'll be disappointed. As it states in 101, it's an estimate. And me, I'd trust what you read in 101 (since I wrote it) or what the forum says.

For anyone who is reading someone else's recipe, keep in mind they're guidelines they not guarantees. You'll have to be the judge.

Example. I like to cook my turkey to 165 in the breast and I put the dark meat more focused to the heat (in my FEC) and it works for us. Others will cook the dark to 175 or 180 (but the breast will be a little dry).

That's the fun part. Taking a guideline/recipe/post and making it your own.

Smoking isn't baking a cake, so the variations in your smoker, the size of the bird, the brine, how many times you open the door, those variables will tell you that it won't be the same every time.

Do some more reading in the forum, read the Turkey reports, I think you'll get some good insight into lots of good lessons and how they did their turkeys.

quote:

2. Turkey 101 talks about going up to 325 degrees... What kind of Smoker do you have? My SM009 only goes up to 250, and there's a suggestion that I might need to finish the bird off in the oven.. Kinda negates the smoking thing a bit.

Don't know how it negates it, smoking at 325 doesn't mean it won't get smoke. It will have less time to soak it up, but poultry takes on smoke pretty easy. I'll have to go read it, but I think it suggests smoking at a lower temp then upping the temp to finish the skin.

This forum isn't just about CS smaller smokers so there are plenty of other types and other CS ones that go up in temp, I for example use the FEC100's which will go to over 400.

MANY of the posts here are about not getting crisp skin, so the higher temp will help with that.

GLH - I have a 10LB turkey with the Smokette - had the same questions with regards to time and temp. Based on the 101 guidance, I'm planning on 250 for ~4 hrs. However, as the original post indicated, this contradicts other Cookshack recipes, that suggest 1 hr per pound at 180-200 - wondering what you have found to be successful with the Smokette.

thx - mo

quote:

Originally posted by GLH:
Yep. Come here for advice on anything Smokette.

With poultry, you might do better by letting the smoker preheat for 30 minutes or so fullblast, then put the turkey in quickly. Leave it turned up all the way until done. If you get enough butter on the cheesecloth, you won't need to open the door until it is done.

I don't know the "source" of CS, but I think the annual reports from actual users (which are at the top of this forum) give you real results from real users.

Smokin'