almost turkey...

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coryb

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 18, 2009
69
11
Central Iowa
The last several years my wife and I have hosted Thanksgiving at our place for her immediate family and I've smoked turkey and we've all enjoyed it as its the best turkey ever, right? Anyway, this year the inlaws are hosting as the rest of my wife's step brothers and sisters will be coming and...whatever.  Point being my mother in law is making a ham because there are some turkey haters on the step side.  She's asked me to also smoke a 'small turkey' she bought.  I told her no problem and to stop by and drop it off whenever.  Turns out she picked up one of these 8lb frozen turkey breasts and not a whole turkey.

And now to the point of this rambling...when I smoke a 12-14lb whole turkey I smoking temp around 250 and it takes about 4-4.5 hours to get the breast up to 160 center.  What kind of cooking time can I expect with this full 8lb turkey breast? Experience with the full turkeys would lead me to believe this would be a similar experience, but I still wonder since this is 8lbs of solid poultry.  Any experince out there with this and cooking time???
 
I had similar thinking.  I figure on a 12lb turkey the breast probably has to be near 8lbs or more.  I could see the two thighs and drumsticks amounting to the remaining 4lbs of meat.  That said I'm prone to sticking with the guess that this breast will take about 4hrs to smoke at 250.
 
Hi Cory  Hope you're doing great.  At a smoker temp of 250 you'd plan on about 30 minutes a pound for that Turkey Breast. Maybe a little less.. Maybe a little more depending on the meat,... outside temp...   you know the drill.

And you're spot on to watch it closely.and get the internal temp of the breast to 165. Too high and it can be dry. Too low of a temp and the turkey could be dangerous to eat.  Hit that 165 mark. Then  take it out of the smoker and let it sit with a bit of foil over it to let those juices redistribute before you carve it.

Good luck! 

Brian 
 
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I am doing well.  Much reassured at this point on this turkey breast cook time too thank you very much.

I'm ready to smoke this thing now! I should smoke more turkeys throughout the year.  They provide a good amount of meat for a low price and when you shoot 'em full of creole butter they come out so tender and juicy.  Not sure why I always wait until this time of year before I start thinking turkey.
 
 
I am doing well.  Much reassured at this point on this turkey breast cook time too thank you very much.

I'm ready to smoke this thing now! I should smoke more turkeys throughout the year.  They provide a good amount of meat for a low price and when you shoot 'em full of creole butter they come out so tender and juicy.  Not sure why I always wait until this time of year before I start thinking turkey.
Correct again my friend  Turkey is a great value. Heck I actually seen a $50 brisket at the market today!   Turkey when done well really make for a nice presentation.

 Here is a recent turkey smoke BD style. 

Take care bud. Hope you post your bird. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...ed-turkey-a-foamheart-request/40#post_1262819
 
Cory, just a thought. If you like dark meat as most of us do, stick that breast in your freezer for later and get you a small turkey, 12 to 13 lbs.

That way you can do it however you like, and have a perfect excuse. Just don't say anything and bring the bird the meal day. If asked about it, say the breast had been 'enhanced' making it hard to smoke properly because it had already been brined with what that turkey company calls enhancement. You would want some generic flavors you may or may not like. I hear that most of the enhancements are basically squished up chicken juices and clorox.

Just like it was just as normal as rain. You needed an unenhanced turkey to inject or brine, whatever, so you just saved it for later and will smoke it for some great sandwich meat for your own holiday parties. Tell its sometimes hard to find unenhanced turkeys.

OR put one in the freezer (turkey) and freeze the breast also. Tell the MiL, wife mistakenly grabed the turkey instead of the breast and thawed it out. Just too late to change it and you never want to refreeze raw poultry.....

LOL
 
Decisions , decisions , decisions. . .please Mom and yourself and do both...
biggrin.gif
 freeze the left - overs for Brown Bagging and snacking .
drool.gif
 
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