Turkey Reports - 2007

I have only cooked one turkey and I used turkey 101 with great results. The turkey was tender and moist. I cooked at 180 for one hour and finshed at 325 and it was probaly the best turkey that I have every tasted.

Cooked in an FEC100

Here's what I'm trying to do, so I need your details

What's a good planning factor for Smoking. Haven't seen consistent #'s so I'm building our own list:

These times are for Brined birds:

225 = TBD?
250 = plan on 20 min pd
275 = plan on 17.5 min a pd
325 = plan on 15 min a pd

Those times have worked for me for year for my birds, just want some reports with the details I mentioned earlier to help find good times.

Thanks in advance

Okay here is the results of my test run (first attempt) at smoking a turkey. Cheap frozen bird, 27 cents a pound at Albertsons.

1. Smoker: CS55
2. Turkey Size: 18.55 lbs
3. Preps: Smokin' Okie's Holiday Turkey Brine with the optional morton's tenderquick. Brined for 48 hours sealed in a turkey bag. Used approximatly 6 oz. of Cherry wood.
4. Smoker temp: 250 degrees, outside temp was 48 degrees.
5. Total time: 6 hours.
6. Comments: Leave out the Morton's Tenderquick and use only 2 to 4 oz wood next time (skin was very dark). Do not leave home to do shopping as turkey brest was 183 degrees with I arrived back home. Warn neighbors not to come over to see what I am cooking when I am gone. They were waiting and drooling when I arrived back home (thier house is 325 feet away). So we had a couple of beers while waiting for the bird to cool and sample meat. White meat was very moist and had a good sweet smoked flavor. Dark meat had more of a lot more smoke flavor than I care for but the neighbors loved it. Now I have to do one for them. Sorry, no pictures.
Gene

27 cents a pound!!!??? GHB, you bought the cardboard display!!! No self-respecting bird would put up with that!

They have a special going if you spend $50.00 (including the turkey) you get the turkey for 27 cents per pound so I bought two turkeys (one for test run) and the rest of the goodies to make sure I reached the $50.00 mark.

OK.. I had a 22.37 lb turkey... CS 050 .. 4 oz cherry... did not brine... Cookshack spicy chicken run... 250 degrees... 4 hrs 45 min. really liked the smokey flavor from cherry and got a better penetration too. Both white and dark meats were done just right. After having a small meal there is a ton of leftovers for the next visiting relatives.. tomorrow.

bob

got up early and take 13 lb bird out of smokin's holiday brine after about 40 hrs. rinse, not worried about skin/cheese cloth so into cs55. already filled with hickory and pecan-didn't weigh. stick probe in-it says 180 degrees, which is obviously not correct. play with probe, no change. put bird in and set timer. will run and get another probe and insert it at the halfway mark when I flip the bird breast down. 2 hrs later flip bird, make a small mess when juices in cavity spill on back porch cement, messing with that and push shut door but forget to latch. slightly more than one hr later notice smoke coming out around door and go out and latch. I was scheduled to finish 1 hr before estimated dinner time. that makes me run about 20 min late-not to bad.(never eat on time anyway, right?) bird was at160-165 depending on where the probe was placed. good flavor, some of the inner meat seemed drier than I expected it to be. it was still good. maybe my expectations were to high. everyone said they liked the turkey and bottom line: it was good. other probe had only been used about 5-6 times?

Did you change the batteries?

quote:

1: Which smoker: FEC 100 w/IQ4, Hickory & Pecan
2. Turkey Size: 20, 20, 13, 13
3. Preps: 48 hours in Brine (modified S.O.)
4. Smoker temp: 275
5. Total Time: 4.5, 4.5, 3, 3
6. Comments: Cooked one of the larges ones for a friend. Did one Cajun style per our discussions last year, other two normal. All came out great. Just cooked up great. Took all the turkey's and I'm making Turkey Stock to freeze

With all those questions this week, how we get some reports, Need the details to update Turkey 101. Please use the format (helps me combine the results)

1: Which smoker - CS 050 4 oz cherrywood
2. Turkey Size - 22.37 lbs
3. Preps - rubbed with CS Spicy Chicken rub. No brine
4. Smoker temp - 250
5. Total Time - 4.75 hrs
6. Comments - really liked the smokey flavor from cherry and got a better penetration too. Both white and dark meats were done just right.

1. Which Smoker: 008
2. Turkey Size: 12.5 lbs.
3. Preps: No brine. Had intended to but decided against it after I discovered that the fresh, free range bird my wife picked up at our local Trader Joe's was pre-brined. Thought it my be overkill.
4. Smoker Temp: 250 > 225.
5 Total Time: 4.75 hours in the smoker. Inner thigh temp went from 41 to 150 in 2 hours. Opened door, vented, and reduced temp for another 2.75 hours until inner thigh temp was 165. Foiled, toweled, and put in a cooler for an additional hour.
5: Comments: Put salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and rosemary in the cavity along with chopped up celery, onion, carrot, garlic, and apple. Rubbed the breast under the skin with a compound butter and painted the skin with vegetable oil. Smoked with 2 oz. each apple and maple. All in all, one of the best turkeys that I have ever prepared over many, many years. Outstanding taste and very moist.

1. Which smoker - FEC100
2. Turkey size - 17 lbs.
3. Preps -Brine for 48 hours, rinse and air dry for 1 hour. Rub with EVOO and sprinkled with Dizzy Pig Swamp Venom. Covered breast with oil soaked cheese cloth 2 hours into cook.
4. Smoker Temp -300
5. Cook time - 4 hours
6.Held in Cambro - 2 hours
7. Comments - Best Turkey ever.

1. Which smoker: 055 2oz maple, 2oz cherry
2. Turkey size: 20.5 (6% solution)
3. Preps: brined in S.O.H.B for 24 hours.
4. Smoker temp: 250
5. Total time: 4:15 in the smoker - reached 145 thigh temp. Removed, stuffed, put in oven for 1.5 hrs. Total time: 5.75
6. Comments: Could have cooked a bit longer. Juices clear but meat not falling apart off bone. Taste was best turkey ever; very moist and not too smokey. Added benefit in cooking in oven was 1) did the stuffing thang; 2) other things warming in oven (mashed pot & sweet pot) took on a bit of smoke flavor. Excellent!

(1) Smoker: AmeriQue
(2) Turkey Size: 10.9#, Bell & Evans, free range turkey, fresh.
(3) Preps: Brine, Elizabeth Karmel's, "Taming The Flame", pg. 255, with salt (coarse) reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Brine time was 29 hours. Butter (1/4 cup) soaked cheese cloth, 2 oz. cherry. Fresh Sage and Rosemary, 2 sprigs; apple and orange from brine in cavity. Pre-heated AQ at 275 degrees.
(4) Smoker Temp: 275 degrees; increased to 300 degrees for last hour or so.
(5) Total Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes rest.
(6) Comments: Cold, 43 degrees and light rain, windy. No effect on AQ. Removed cheese cloth for last hour of cooking. Great looking turkey. Cooked breast temp to 168 degrees, thigh at 180 degrees. Dark meat just slightly salty, white meat fine. Next turkey shorten brining time. First turkey in the AQ and the best turkey I've cooked in years. Wife did not think turkey was to salty. Mild smoke taste. Left over turkey, today; moist and sweet.
(7) Smokin Okie, thanks for the help!! You all at the Forum are Great!!

1: Which smoker: The oven.. because my smoker was tied up with venison!

2. Turkey Size: 15lbs.
3. Preps: 36 hours in a variation on Smokin Oakie's Holliday Brine. Massaged under the skin with a poultry rub, butter and honey, chopped oranges, apples and celery into the cavity (not stuffed)

4. Smoker temp: Oven temp 350

5. Total Time: about 3.5 hours

6. Comments: came out great despite not using the smoker

Thanks,

Richard

Sorry put this in the wrong place earlier.
1: Which smoker: 009
2. Turkey Size: 18LB
3. Preps: Brined 48 hrs, olive oil skin and cheesecloth, empty cavity.
4. Smoker temp: 250
5. Total Time: 5.5 to reach 169 breast and thigh. Opened door once to remove cheesecloth at 4.5hrs.
6. Comments Wrapped in foil, blanket and cooler for almost 3 hours, breast was still at 154 and into 250 oven for about 20 minutes. Meat was moist, just the right amount of smoke and very tasty. Will try to figure out how to post pictures.

Smoker: AmeriQue
Size: 13.88#, fresh
Prep: Brined 48 hrs. w/ SMO Holiday Brine, patted dry, EVOO and Atkins Rub
Wood: 2 oz. hickory, 2 oz. apple
Temp: 265*
Time: 4.5 hours, then foiled and rested 45 min.
Comments: Wonderful, white meat and dark meat, very flavorful and moist. Enjoyed by everyone, had comments best smoked turkey they had ever had.

1: Which smoker: SMO55 - 4 oz cherry
2. Turkey Size: 21 pounds, frozen/thawed/parted out (see below)
3. Preps: Took SMOHB minus TQ, minus garlic, plus homemade 'Magic Dust' for brine..38 hours whole bird, then I parted out the bird into thigh/leg; wing; and whole breast. Air dried parts in fridge for 8 hours. Used back and made soup stock for dressing, etc. Mixture of butter and Magic Dust rubbed in generously under skin before smoking.
4. Smoker temp: pedal to the metal on the 55
5. Total Time: 4 hours
6. Comments: I put the breast high in the smoker, the thighs middle and the wings low. Thermo'd breast and thigh. Because of the large size of whole breast vs smaller thigh/leg, they were done within 20 minutes of each other! (thigh/leg done first) Was looking to get best shot at crispy skin on wings nearest smoke box, close, but no cigar. Great flavor, not ovewhelmed by smoke (which was a concern of mine). Excellent taste, moist throughout, and though I worried about the amount of soy sauce in the SMOHB it stayed well in the background and was excellent. Great stock, too! (onions and celery added during browning, then strained out along with meat after three-hour simmer).

Great reports. Keep them coming, that will help, I'll build a "results" page or something for Turkey results.

Format is appreciated

1: Which smoker ; FEC 100 , Hickory Pellets from Eddie
2. Turkey; Size14#,14#,15#,16#
3. Preps ;Alumnium pan,Jacarded skin,Rud's dry rub,doubled cheese cloth on breast & legs,1/3 length stick butter on breast, 1/6 length stick butter on each leg , remove cheese cloth when meat themp 10 degrees before finished to alow browning.
4. Smoker temp ;180 for 1 Hr. , 350 to finish,170 in the breast themomator beeps,and breast to a temp of 180.
5. Total Time ; 3 to 4 hrs
6. Comments ; great flavor, and very Moist

earl

For those of you using 008/009, who say you cooked at 250*, are you sure the smoker temp was 250*, or you just had it turned up all the way, or you confirmed with 2nd temp probe? It could help the rest of us who use a Smokette. Thanks.

008
13.3#
brined 3/4 salt
4/4 sugar
taragon
sage
48hrs
oil soaked cheese cloth
250 (highest setting not confirmed)
breast 172 temp probe
4.25 hrs
2.8 oz hickory
turkey had nothing added but had been frozen 1 yr
skin pretty tasted a bit salty, a bit tough but very moist.

jan