Turkey skin blues...

What temp? For a ST, that would be 250, right?

Part of the problem will also be the higher humidity of the CS/ST. Need to let some of that out.

We talk about that effect, for most poultry, that to get the best/crisp skin on chicken, is needs hotter temps. Some will finish in the oven or on a grill just for the skin to crisp up.

This may be a dumb question....why do these smokers only go to 250? I love my ST for ribs and brisket as well as jerky but poultry I have to tag team it with the oven or good old grill. Would it affect the smoker at all to allow higher temps. on newer models without spending more than I can afford?- FEAR THE TRIPTOFAN IT GETS ME EVERY TIME!!!!!!

I have just about decided to just not do any more whole birds in the Smokette anymore.

A friend brags endlessly about how well his countertop electric rotisserie does whole chicken and turkey. I am sure they are not scarce in the stores this time of year.

Like Smokin sez, there are alternatives if you got to have that crispy skin on a smoked bird that have been discussed often.

Personally, for me, the choice is easy, if I want a smoked bird then I smoke it and toss the skin. A rotisserie is great and does a great job with chicken but then you give up the great smoke flavor. A middle ground might be a grill with a rotisserie. Anyway, I rarely eat the skin unless it is chicken pieces done on a grill.

LOL- I did my first bird this year. I took caution to do everything I could to get the skin pretty, crisp, etc. Of course, I had no interest in eating the skin. I looked at it and acknowledged how pretty it was, then tossed it. It dawned on me that I have made a bit too much of an issue about the skin on these things...who cares if I am not going to eat it.

I don't care much for the skin, but others in my family do. So, as Q'n Mike mentioned, I take the middle ground and smoke the turkey in a 008 set at 225 to 130 internal in the breast, then finish it to 165 using a rotisserie attached to a Weber gas grill. Works perfectly and everybody's happy.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

I am looking into an all-SS grill with rotisserie attachment. All the accessories and attachments are also SS. It is expensive, but I have been wanting one for a few years. I have a cheap Char-Broil grill I have been using for years. (small)

quote:

Originally posted by dlucks:
This may be a dumb question....why do these smokers only go to 250? I love my ST for ribs and brisket as well as jerky but poultry I have to tag team it with the oven or good old grill. Would it affect the smoker at all to allow higher temps. on newer models without spending more than I can afford?- FEAR THE TRIPTOFAN IT GETS ME EVERY TIME!!!!!!

I wondered the same thing. Maybe the Cookshack people could chime in, but possibly to push the temp up over 250-350+ they would have to run 220 volts which would probably kill residential sales. I think my 50 series is already pulling some major amps out of the 110 outlets.

I don't know. The AmeriQue is 110 and it hits 300*F.

I smoked a turkey breast only with skin on in my smokette. It was great. I followed the advice from Turkey 101. I did not brine the bird since it came packaged in a cryo from Wallyworld that stated it was packaged in an 8% solution.

I did lather on a heavy coating of olive oil under and on top of the skin. I also added some herbs, kosher salt, and white pepper under the skin. I used toothpicks to hold the skin in place during the smoke. I stuffed the bird with quartered apples and onions. I covered the entire breast with a double layer of cheesecloth. This gave the bird a golden brown appearance on completion.

I ended up going about 7 hours with the smoker set at 250. I used 1 1/2 oz of apple and 1 oz of pecan wood. I opened the smoker after about 4 hours to check bird and let some moisture out of the smoker. The last hour or so I opened again to remove the cheesecloth and give the bird an additional mopping of olive oil. Once I reached my temp of 160, I removed the bird and foiled and placed in an ice chest with breast side down for about an hour. Then I moved it to the fridge overnight before Thanksgiving Day.

The next morning, I decided the remove the skin (still a bit rubbery) and carve the breast. This was much easier and neater with the bird being cold. Then I put the slices in a foil tray, very lightly sprinkled with water and put in the oven at 250 to reheat. Monitor this process closely since you want to reheat, but not cook or dry out the meat. By mealtime, we had wonderful turkey that was far and away better than the other turkey choices. The meat was very moist and flavorful. I got rave reviews and automatically nominated for turkey at Christmas.