27# turkey -- are you crazy?

Freddy j

Freddy j

is one Smokin' Farker
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My company gave me this huge turkey for thanksgiving and it's been in the patoidaddio brine since noon.

What's the best way for a 325 degree cook on my wsm 22? Should I cut it in half? Remove the legs?

What say my experienced brethren?






Thank you in advance for your helping a brother out.
 
Personally if it fits I'd go for it :shocked: It will make some the Year's best PRON
 
I would cook it as 1 huge breast and 2 leg quarters. Thats a biggun.
 
I'll be curious to see what you do, I have a 23# bird in the freezer I picked up day after Thanksgiving. Pix pls!
 
Frankenturkey there! I'd quarter something that size.
 
If you're running at 325˚ I say go for it whole!! We're gonna need pics of that thing. It'll make your 22" WSM look like a mini!
 
I'd do a deconstructed Turkey.
Saw this on an episode of ATK and had been dying to try it and was really pleased with the results and if I had a bird that big, would not hesitate to do it.

Took a 15lb. brined bird, cut the breasts from the bone, seasoned with Bigmista's Chicken Scratch and wrapped them back in the skin and tied them into a roast. Kept the legs and thighs whole, cooked them in a pan in the BWS Gater at 325-350*

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Not much to look at, but slicing the breast was a dream, nice and moist and the dark meat was where its at!
 
Wow, that's some kind of prehistoric monster you got there!

I'd cut it into sections and cook each section until it was perfectly done. Keeping it all in one piece poses a big risk of drying parts of it out while other parts cook, IMO.

Good luck, and post some pics!
 
Can't imagine how you even grow a turkey that large! That's farkin HUGE!

I think I would at LEAST spatch it.
I'd DEFINITELY brine it, so good on ya for that!
If it's still too big to fit on your smoker spatchcocked, then just continue to deconstruct and quarter it is probably the route I'd go.


Although, it sure WOULD be some awesome farkin prOn if it was left whole and roasted.



Good luck to you!
 
I would spatchcock or cut in half and put one on each grate.

Smaller turkeys are best for smoking. If you smoke it whole you'll probably have some dryness as it will take a long time to cook through.

Let us know...
 
WineMaster said:
I would cook it as 1 huge breast and 2 leg quarters. Thats a biggun.
Click to expand...

I'm considering going this route so that the breast doesn't dry out. I've done birds as large as 23# with great success and don't know why I feel like I should change my cooking methods on this one. Gonna start the cook tomm am so we'll see how she goes I guess.
 
Vision said:
I would spatchcock or cut in half and put one on each grate.

Smaller turkeys are best for smoking. If you smoke it whole you'll probably have some dryness as it will take a long time to cook through.

Let us know...
Click to expand...

Thanks vision, this is what concerns me & dryness was the reason for me making the thread. Ill take some pics when I smoke tomm.

Man, I'm really looking forward to trying patiodaddios brine recipe!
 
Cut it up!
I did a 30# beast a couple years ago that my father in law raised. :loco:
It was good but it took 14 hrs in the cooker, alot of basting, and a chit ton of tending to.
Will not even consider one that big again.
 
Foxfire said:
I'll be curious to see what you do, I have a 23# bird in the freezer I picked up day after Thanksgiving. Pix pls!
Click to expand...

I did a 21# about 2 weeks ago and it came out unbelievable. I used emeril lagasse's recipe for brine and let it soak for 2 days (pulled the skin away from all of the meat first). Then I rinsed and dried and put ice packs on the breast while I got the bbq pit fired up (an hour or so).

Then I rubbed oil all over and under the skin and rubbed with spice, throttled up the wsm 22 to 325 and threw it the top rack. Didn't open the lid until the thermometer hit 175 in the thigh.

Results? Moistest, juiciest, tastiest bird that I've ever tasted. Flavor was unreal, skin was crispy, smoke ring in the breast meat was killer. Prob could've used some foil at the end for aesthetics but it was devoured in record time. Zero leftovers from a 21# bird!

Also, I used some apple chunks to flavor up.


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Conclusion

After much thought I decided to cook the bird whole with the meat probe into the breast, when it reached temp, I would temp the thigh meat and make a decision based on the temps.

I made up 2 ice packs using 2 x 1 gallon zip lock bags and put one flat the breast and the other I filled up and pushed up into the cavity as far as I could & let the bird sit out for an hour while I prepped the wsm.

About 5 hour cook at 325 with some applewood at the start --- please go here to see the results and pics http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150598
 
I got a beercan turkey roaster to stand the bird up; it works great for cooking whole and allows the heat to flow into the center of the bird as well as around the outside.

Supposedly a 24oz beercan will also stand a turkey up and the bubbling juices from whatever is in the car will help with the cooking process.
 
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