My first turkey! Help!

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matt r

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Oct 7, 2014
152
22
Long Island, New York
I was gonna do ribs today but ran across a managers special in Stop n Shop yesterday. 14 lb turkey for $9.72! Couldn't pass it up.

So, Brined the bird overnight and am now letting it sit out and air dry for an hour or so. I understand this will crisp up the skin.

Then I will put a rub on it, salt pepper brown sugar, garlic and onion powder, and a bit  of paprika.

Then into the MES 40. I plan on it going on 250 for about 6-8 hours till the IT is 175-180 and then letting it sit for about an hour or so. Gonna use some Hickory chips.

Make sense? Anything I missed?
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Don't know if 250 will be hot enough to crisp the skin. As the IT hits 160 or so, you may want to put it in a 375 degree oven and bring it to your target IT. Someone with more experience than me should be along shortly to give you some better advice.
 
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Bird turned out really well, except that I think the Mesquite was a bit too strong a wood for the turkey. Maybe next time something milder like cherry or alder or even Hickory would be a bit better. Still, it was a big success.

So far, Im loving the whole Smoking thing! The food is delicious, and the process is fun and interesting.
 
 
Bird turned out really well, except that I think the Mesquite was a bit too strong a wood for the turkey. Maybe next time something milder like cherry or alder or even Hickory would be a bit better. Still, it was a big success.

So far, Im loving the whole Smoking thing! The food is delicious, and the process is fun and interesting.
I'd go with cherry. I think hickory is a bit strong for birds, personally.
 
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