spinningwheel
Knows what a fatty is.
Wampus; thanks very much for starting and bumping this thread. We had discussed smoking our first turkey this year a couple days ago and low-and-behold there is all the info I could possibly use...:thumb:
:lol: I know, right? The exact same thing happened in my house the other night. I started looking around and BAM!Wampus; thanks very much for starting and bumping this thread. We had discussed smoking our first turkey this year a couple days ago and low-and-behold there is all the info I could possibly use...:thumb:
I am new to the site. Built a UDS a month or so ago. I have smoked some fatties, ribs and a pork butt so far. Still experimenting, but have really enjoyed the experience. My next project is to smoke a turkey for the holidays. I'm learning to debone a turkey this year also. I have picked up some great information reading through this thread. My question is deb owning it going to cause it to cook any differently ? Also, besides citrus and herbs in the cavity, has anyone ever put bacon in there to promote juiciness from the inside out, or is it necessary ? Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.
I'll once again be in charge of the bird this year. The last couple of thanksgivings I did a savory brine which turned out well, but always cooked in the oven. This year I was thinking of trying it on the grill, but didn't know if it was possible as I've never done it before. All I have is an 18.5" weber kettle. Doable??
I've never deboned a gobbler. Not sure how it would affect the cook really.
I've seen where people have deboned and then trussed up a turkey or chicken into a nice tight "roll" so it would cook evenly throughout. While that makes a lot of sense, I'm not sure how it would affect overall cook length.
The one cool thing about NOT deboning and just leaving it "au natural" is that you get more surface area that way which means more smoked skin! :thumb:
I've also never tried bacon at all on a turkey. Personally, I think if you brine a bird, you'll not have the "juiciness issue" that's usually a challenge for a lot of roasted or smoked turkeys. I'm a BIG proponent for brining in general, but especially for turkeys.
I think so.
I've done turkeys on the kettle before and the challenge always seems to be to prevent the sides (legs and thighs) from getting scorched due to the more direct heat from the coals on the sides.
Obviously, it depends on the size of your turkey and how you set up the kettle with charcoal. Perhaps a nice diffuser with coals UNDERNEATH is a good plan of action? You'd have to either lift your diffuser up or hang it from the cooking grate to prevent the direct heat, but I think it may be worth the effort.
ANYTHING is possible. Just depends on the prep and amount of effort you're willing to put into it.
I have done many on a 22.5 inch kettle. The trick is to get a bird that will fit between the coals. Trussing the bird can help. Perhaps you could practice with a large chicken to see is it will work.I'll once again be in charge of the bird this year. The last couple of thanksgivings I did a savory brine which turned out well, but always cooked in the oven. This year I was thinking of trying it on the grill, but didn't know if it was possible as I've never done it before. All I have is an 18.5" weber kettle. Doable??
I have done many on a 22.5 inch kettle. The trick is to get a bird that will fit between the coals. Trussing the bird can help. Perhaps you could practice with a large chicken to see is it will work.
In my experience, longer smoke time does not provide more smoke flavor. I is easy to over smoke poultry. Also, higher temperatures create crisper skin, if you like to eat the skin. An option would be to crank up the temperature at the end to crisp the skin. Also, how much work is it to run your cooker at a low temperature? For most people, higher temps are easier to maintain.Im doing my first smoked turkey on the UDS this year, and wanted to know what temp everyone cooked their bird at. I have a brine, and truss down. From what I see everyone is cooking in the 325-400 range. Wouldnt a lower temp, and longer cook provide more smoke flavor? Thanks brothers for the info.
So I should run my weber charcoal at 300 or so?
I aim for at least 350 degrees, but I always start with all the vents open and about 25 lit coals per side.So I should run my weber charcoal at 300 or so?
In my experience, longer smoke time does not provide more smoke flavor. I is easy to over smoke poultry. Also, higher temperatures create crisper skin, if you like to eat the skin. An option would be to crank up the temperature at the end to crisp the skin. Also, how much work is it to run your cooker at a low temperature? For most people, higher temps are easier to maintain.
I'm with dasr4 on this one. It doesn't take long or much wood to get a nice smoke flavor into poultry and it's pretty easy to oversmoke it and have it come out tasting like a tire fire. A hot cook keeps everything moist and skin crispy. When it comes to turkey, put the spurs to it and run WFO!