21 pound Turkey.

[Jlems]

I did a 21 pounder as a test run two weeks ago. Not sure why, but on the offset at 325 the thing took around 7 hours. Now, this was a brined bird and definitely fully thawed, but on my cooker the heat is alway highest at the top and tends to almost “jump” over the cooking area near the stack. So most of the bird was probably getting hit with 250 degrees.

 

[Cat797]

For the last couple years I've ordered freshly butchered Amish-raised turkeys for a local hockey club fund raiser. Last year my bird was a whopping 24 pounds! Yikes! I look for 13-15 pound birds when I buy them in the store, but this thing was massive......I ended up cutting the thing in half and cooking it at 350 on my Yoder YS640. Took about 3 hours total. Of course I brined it and ran butter under the skin, so it was super juicy. Turned out great. My personal opinion is that I want my bird to be done as quickly as possible to avoid stale smoke, rubbery skin, and drying it out, so I always cook at 325 or 350. I most usually spatchcock my smoked or grilled birds.

 

[fwdiii]

Last turkey I smoked was 20 pounds unstuffed and smoked with apple wood at 275 - 300 degrees, took about 4 hours. Best turkey I ever ate!!!