Pop up thermometers in turkeys, leave in ???

tprice · Dec 20, 2014

I smoke several turkeys a year and normally do the 12-15lb birds however doing one for my Wife's Boss and he has 4 kids so I thought I picked up an 18+lb bird

Never have done one this size but I ALWAYS preheat my smoker to 275 for few hours BEFORE putting the bird in

Also for some reason I have always removed those pop up thermometers the turkeys come with from the store. Not sure why but I do

Was thinking about leaving it in to make sure it is done but I do not over cook it and dry it out

I do not brine my bird but inject and rub them down

bear55 · Dec 20, 2014

Those pop up thermometers are set to pop at 180. Turkey is done at 165 so it is over cooked already when it pops. I always take them out and just use my thermapen to keep the IT checked and remove at 165. Turkeys always moist and perfectly done.

wade · Dec 20, 2014

I took delivery of my turkey yesterday and found one in the box. It was the first time I have seen one! I will pop it in tomorrow to see how good it is. I don't think it will replace my Maverics yet though

bama bbq · Dec 20, 2014

I chunk them as soon as I open the bag.

wade · Dec 20, 2014

If they help introduce people to start cooking by temperature rather than time-in-the oven I think they should be a good idea. One problem I see though is that mine came with no instructions as to where in the turkey it should be pushed. If inserted in the wrong place then it could result in an under cooked bird. I expect that is why they are set to spring at 180 F (82 C) to give a greater margin of safety.

Although the birds are safe to eat at 165 F, personally I like to take mine up to ~170-175 F (76-80 C). It is still very moist and I think has a better eating texture.

themule69 · Dec 20, 2014

I trash them.

Happy smoken.

David

pineywoods · Dec 20, 2014

I leave them in so I don't have a hole for juice to drip out from but pay no attention to it as far as far as finished temp

ak1 · Dec 20, 2014

I just buy turkeys without them.

tprice · Dec 20, 2014

Wade said:
If they help introduce people to start cooking by temperature rather than time-in-the oven I think they should be a good idea. One problem I see though is that mine came with no instructions as to where in the turkey it should be pushed. If inserted in the wrong place then it could result in an under cooked bird. I expect that is why they are set to spring at 180 F (82 C) to give a greater margin of safety.

Although the birds are safe to eat at 165 F, personally I like to take mine up to ~170-175 F (76-80 C). It is still very moist and I think has a better eating texture.

Turkeys in the US seem to ALL come with them already inserted

red dog · Dec 20, 2014

It won't hurt anything as long as you don't rely on it. If it pops up you know you cooked the breast too long.

sprky · Dec 20, 2014

I also always leave them in, to keep the juices in. Those pop ups are SOOOOOOOO unreliable I would never trust 1. Case in point I have had them pop well before the 165 I pull my turkeys at. I place my maverick 732 probe in the turkeys after 4 hours in the smoker, I have seen the pop up out at that time, with the maverick reading in the 140 range.

venture · Dec 22, 2014

I bought a choice standing rib roast for Thanksgiving and found one of those things in there.

They are plastic, so they go in the recycle bin.

Good luck and good smoking.

gary s · Dec 22, 2014

You can leave it in just to see when it pops, But keep tabs on your birds temp using a thermometer . The two 20 pounder's I did for Thanksgiving I pulled and tossed them both.

Gary

tprice · Dec 22, 2014

gary s said:
You can leave it in just to see when it pops, But keep tabs on your birds temp using a thermometer . The two 20 pounder's I did for Thanksgiving I pulled and tossed them both.

Gary

How long and what temp did you do the 20lbers for, got mine on now and put it on a hot smoke--came by my house at lunch and turned smoker on 275----

Had bird in brine since yesterday and came home and injected/rubbed and put on smoker around 4pm

cocodrie55 · Jul 6, 2017

Preheating is the way to go, 250 to 275 is ideal. Pop up therms are junk, and are unreliable at best, so I always pull the little suckers myself. I own a thermopro remote with probe, but there are other great models out there. You need a good therm when doing chickens and turkeys, or any fowl for that matter, and a good instant read therm for steaks, roast and the like, is a must, hope that helps.

pops6927 · Jul 7, 2017

Venture said:
I bought a choice standing rib roast for Thanksgiving and found one of those things in there.

They are plastic, so they go in the recycle bin.

Good luck and good smoking.

If you are going to recycle them, wash and dry them first; you cannot recycle food-born materials (for example, the pizza box your hot pizza came in).

I pull them out, but I cure-brine all my birds first.

Rings Я Us · Jul 7, 2017

The turkey thingy is probably going to get Gummed up from the smoke. I wouldn't trust it . Kind of a different environment than the oven. Maybe not..

Pop up thermometers in turkeys, leave in ???

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