First Turkey

Hey CJ.. Do a search on Turkey.. don't go by the manual.

I'd not use more than about 3 oz of a light wood such as apple or maybe a mix with oak.

Regarding times. I've probably cooked 8 turkeys in that weight range and never went over four hours.. usually 3-3.5 hours. YMMV tho. I set my 008 at 225�F and let'er rip.

You might want to rub the outside of the bird with butter to help brown and crisp up the skin if you plan on eating it.. otherwise remove the skin before eating. Also, you can do the last hour or so of the cook in the oven or on the grill to crisp up the skin. It'll already have absorbed about as much smoke as it can.

Also, I usually loosen the skin by getting my fingers and hand under it and applying a rub or other spices under the skin.. but, the downside of that is the skin usually shrinks away. and you'll get some breast drying.. I solve that by putting a cheese cloth over the bird with some melted butter dampening it.

CJ - Smokenque - Adding rub under the skin is a good idea and allows a lot more flavor from the rub to penetrate the meat. On the skin shrinking, I have had good success using toothpicks to hold the skin in place. Might give iit a try