My first Turkey

[oakey]

I smoked my first turkey today it came out great. The breast was very juicy I stopped when the breast hit 169 Deg. and the thigh was 179 deg. Later when I cut in to it it was extremely moist on the bottom around the thigh and I was unsure if I cooked it long enough. The bird seemed to cook really fast. It wasn't big only 11.5 lbs and it hit those temps in just over 2 hours using an digital thermometer at around 300 to 325 degrees. Should this have taken longer.

 

[pineywoods]

Congrats on your first turkey hope its not your last. As for times if you have tested the thermo and know its correct and you know the smoker temp is correct then you have to go with the thermo. If the probe is not in fat or muscle then I'd say go with it maybe probe it in the other thigh and other side of the breast and if its all good then its good

 

[rivet]

Congratulations on your first turkey smoke! As you've learned it is easy and the results are outstanding. Keep at it and experiment a little, you willl be surprised at how many variations you can deo really well with a turkey and a smoker.

Give cherry wood a try, next time. It is great with turkey.

 

[alx]

Sounds great.Everyone should cook to internal temp,but after many years cooking large turkeys i use 14 minutes per pound-usualy stuffed- as a GUIDLINE ONLY!!
I always check thigh for internal temp..


I cook at 320-340 and like pecan wood....

 

[richoso1]

Congrats on that Big Bird smoke and Q, wiish there had been some Q View! I also smoke at highter temps and like the pecan chunks for flavor. Let's get some more Big Birds going, it's almost Thanksgiving.

 

[beer-b-q]

Congratulations on the first turkey, wish you had some qview of it...

 

[mballi3011]

It sounds like you did a great job with your turkey but you know if there are no Qview it didn't happen. cause you know " we are the kids and you have the candy"

 

[pops6927]

That sounds like about right at those temps. Remember, you're cooking it from the outside in and from the inside out also.

Trying pickling one sometime for a ham-like flavor too if you have the room in a fridge to do so. I do mine in one of the crispers. I inject the breast and thigh, but in a small turkey that's optional. I pickle it for a week anyways so it gets full penetration regardless. I use the following recipe for the pickle:

1 gal. water
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup salt
1½ tsp. DQ Cure (available from Butcher Packer)

Maximum nitrate concentration according to directions is 24 lbs. per 100 gal of water, or ¼ lb. per 1 gallon, which is 4 times stronger than what I use; I keep the pickle milder and soak longer.

You can use TQ also, eliminate the salt; can't tell you the results however as I've never tried it (don't know the equiv. amt. of TQ to use in water for a pickle - I'm sure TQ users could tell you however).

I'll be doing one here in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving and will post as I go along with it, buying the bird on the 15th and thawing so I can put in the pickle by Thursday the 19th, a week before Thanksgiving, and will smoke it Thanksgiving morning before going to our son's house for Thanksgiving dinner. He's already bought a 22½ lb. bird for the traditional stuffed turkey dinner but insisted I bring a smoked turkey. We did several the last couple years for Christmas and New Year's and claims he can't wait that long for one this year, lol! Plus he wants to get his kids hooked on it too.. lol! (My dad cured and smoked turkeys every holiday season at his meat store and he remembers enjoying them come holiday time).