Cooking times for Smoke Turkey

Ayvatr · Nov 13, 2017

Hey folks, I’ve, got been tasked to smoke 4-5 Turkeys this Thanksgiving and it’s been a year since my last Gobbler attempt. My question:
Is there a rule of thumb for cooking to 165 @ 275f based on weight? I’m planning on using 12-14 lb birds, brined, rubbed and I need to have them ready by 13:00 Thanksgiving Day.
Any help would be welcomed.
Thanks
:doh:

keeperofsecrets · Nov 13, 2017

Most folks cook them closer to 300. I did a 24 lb bird Sunday in the cold and rain; the temps oscillating between 275 and 350, and it took all of five hours.

dadsr4 · Nov 13, 2017

This is what I go by on my kettle.
Cooking Times for Unstuffed Turkeys
10-11 lbs. = 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 hrs.
12-14 lbs. = 2-1/4 to 3 hrs.
15-17 lbs. = 2-3/4 to 3-3/4 hrs.
18-22 lbs. = 3-1/2 to 4 hrs.
23-24 lbs. = 4 to 4-1/2 hrs.
I always add an hour to this.

IndoorOutdoorCook · Nov 13, 2017

Check the temps and fire at 2.5 hours, but give yourself 3.5 hours cooking + 1 hour rest to be safe. It's better to be done early and hold it in a cambro than late.

Pull them out at 150-155F white and 170+ dark; let it rest 45 min or more. The carryover cooking will bump the temp up again.

bonz50 · Nov 13, 2017

I'm planning on trying to smoke my first bird this year, so this is timely info

Thanks!!!

Smoke Dawg · Nov 13, 2017

You might cook one ahead of time for a test run. cook a large one so you know how long it will take on your cooker how you run it.

Doog · Nov 14, 2017

15lb bird around 3 hours on my Lang @300

farmer-fred · Nov 14, 2017

I did a 12 lb turkey on my trail embers smoker last Sunday. 3 hrs @ 350 got me to 170 thigh temp. Since my Q-Master senior ATC has a holding mode to prevent over cooking I wrapped it in foil and left it on another 45 min. It was super moist and tender, dark golden brown skin, and just the right amount of smoke. I used three med chunks of hickory. I used a drip pan with the neck and giblets along with chicken broth and it made a fantastic gravy.
here is a picture @ 2 hr mark before basting with drippings. We agreed that it was the best smoked turkey we had ever cooked. Since it was an enhanced bird I did not brine, only seasoned lt. This worked well for me, Let us know how yours turns out.

Q-Master ATC

Ayvatr · Nov 14, 2017

farmer-fred said:
I did a 12 lb turkey on my trail embers smoker last Sunday. 3 hrs @ 350 got me to 170 thigh temp. Since my Q-Master senior ATC has a holding mode to prevent over cooking I wrapped it in foil and left it on another 45 min. It was super moist and tender, dark golden brown skin, and just the right amount of smoke. I used three med chunks of hickory. I used a drip pan with the neck and giblets along with chicken broth and it made a fantastic gravy.
here is a picture @ 2 hr mark before basting with drippings. We agreed that it was the best smoked turkey we had ever cooked. Since it was an enhanced bird I did not brine, only seasoned lt. This worked well for me, Let us know how yours turns out.

View attachment 151552

Q-Master ATC

View attachment 151553

I’ve never cooked one this hot in my Shirley but I’m willing to try based on your results. This is great gouge for me to work with. Thanks

farmer-fred · Nov 14, 2017

Ayvatr said:
I’ve never cooked one this hot in my Shirley but I’m willing to try based on your results. This is great gouge for me to work with. Thanks

At first I was hesitant to try the high temp smoke but the way it turned out the I will be doing it again. The last time I smoked a turkey it was in a Brinkman electric and it took almost six hrs and it was over smoked and not near as moist as this one. If you think about it when we oven cook a turkey we usually cook @325-350. I also think the basting and then the foil wrap contributed to the moistness of the breast meat. For my next smoked turkey I want to find a fresh bird that is not enhanced and brine it. I also will see how smoking @ 325 works out. We had turkey leftovers tonight and it tastes just as good reheated as when it was freshly cooked.

tom b · Nov 14, 2017

13.3 lbs, pellet cooker 335* for 2.25 hrs, 160 breast, 185+ thigh

Ayvatr · Nov 15, 2017

tom b said:
13.3 lbs, pellet cooker 335* for 2.25 hrs, 160 breast, 185+ thigh

I’m hungry just looking at this bird..:clap2:

Lastrajm · Nov 15, 2017

12# turkey cooked last week on my 48” Shirley. In at 10am, pulled out at 1pm when the breast read 160. Rested for about 40 minutes and cut. Juice ran down my arm I was cutting. It was glorious.

medic92 · Nov 15, 2017

The 15 pounder I did a couple of weeks ago reached 160 internal in three hours. After that I foiled and rested it in a 150 degree warmer for two hours. It was superdy-duperdy good.

fwdiii · Nov 15, 2017

I did an 18 pound unstuffed turkey, not brined, smoked at 275 - 300 range took 4 hours and man oh man was it delicious!! Used apple wood and a bit of hickory.

ckoss · Nov 15, 2017

tom b said:
13.3 lbs, pellet cooker 335* for 2.25 hrs, 160 breast, 185+ thigh

Did you do anything special to that skin? Looks great, mines always soggy-ish.

tom b · Nov 15, 2017

ckoss said:
Did you do anything special to that skin? Looks great, mines always soggy-ish.

1.Naturific Harvest Brine
2.basted with garlic herb butter a couple times
3.pellet cooker magic :noidea: it does great thing with poultry skin

or maybe I just got lucky

Cooking times for Smoke Turkey

Ayvatr

is one Smokin' Farker

keeperofsecrets

Full Fledged Farker

dadsr4

somebody shut me the fark up.

IndoorOutdoorCook

Knows what a fatty is.

bonz50

Take a breath!

Smoke Dawg

Quintessential Chatty Farker

Doog

is Blowin Smoke!

farmer-fred

Full Fledged Farker

Ayvatr

is one Smokin' Farker

farmer-fred

Full Fledged Farker

tom b

somebody shut me the fark up.

Ayvatr

is one Smokin' Farker

Lastrajm

Knows what a fatty is.

medic92

is one Smokin' Farker

fwdiii

is Blowin Smoke!

ckoss

Knows what a fatty is.

tom b

somebody shut me the fark up.

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