Turkey Cooking Temps.

Former Member

I did a turkey on my new FEC 100 last weekend and it went well. I used a 12lb bird, brined, covered in cheese cloth, 275 degs. took 4 1/4 hrs, removed from smoker because breast was at 172 deg. The leg and thighs were only at 158 deg. so I cut them off and finished in oven. The breast was moist and tender but the meat was too red looking. My question is if I started at 250 deg. for the first hr. and increased 25 deg. every hr. to a max of 325 deg. would that reduce the redness of the meat? I am not concerned how long it takes to cook.

11/25/098:29 PM

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Former Member

quote:
Originally posted by KJensen:
... The breast was moist and tender but the meat was too red looking. My question is if I started at 250 deg. for the first hr. and increased 25 deg. every hr. to a max of 325 deg. would that reduce the redness of the meat? I am not concerned how long it takes to cook.

Too red? Do you actually mean pink, as in pink smoke ring?

Did you use any tenderquick in a brine?

If not, and it's just because people are asking about it, explain it's smoked meats.

If you want to reduce the SR, you actually need to cook it on a higher temp, not a lower temp so it won't sit in the smoke as long. You can also change the wood.

11/26/098:55 AM

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Former Member

It was the meat closer to the bone that was redish and also the smoke ring was pink. I did use tenderquick in the brine and used hickory pellets. After smoking 5 turkeys, what worked best for me was to smoke the breast only, brined with a small amount of tenderquick, smoke at 275 deg., cheese cloth, using sugar maple pellets. The meat was very moist, texture and appearance was very nice.

11/30/099:09 PM

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Former Member

Too read near the bone means it could be way undercooked.

If the juices ran clear, then it's cooked
If the juices ran red, then it's not

12/1/096:41 AM

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