quick question bout turkey smoking

[travisatrammel13]

I am going to smoke turkeys tomorrow and planning on finishing them in the oven turkey day, is there any certain temp I should plan on reaching to do this? I plan on slow cooking them about 8 to 10 hours with smoker temp around 180. any suggestions would really be appreciated

 

[SmokinAl]

That is a very dangerous idea!
You could easily get food poisoning.
Your turkeys need to be smoked at 225 or higher to an internal temp of at least 140 in 4 hours.
You will never reach 140 in 4 hours running your smoker at 180 degrees.
If your going to smoke them ahead of time I would fully cook them & then re heat in the oven.
Al

 

[HalfSmoked]

Al is absolutely right here nothing below 225 and 140 in 4 hours. The only alternative to this would be if you brine the turkeys with a brine that includes cure #1. See Pops recipe for this. Always keep food safety first.

Warren

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Yup what Al said. Good thing you posted this before you smoked them!

 

[tallbm]

I am going to smoke turkeys tomorrow and planning on finishing them in the oven turkey day, is there any certain temp I should plan on reaching to do this? I plan on slow cooking them about 8 to 10 hours with smoker temp around 180. any suggestions would really be appreciated

Hi there and welcome!
Heed he advice of the previous replies.

You will want to hit an Internal Temperature (IT) in the thickest part of the breast of 165F and pull the turkey at that point. I would then put it in a pan and set it in the fridge and then later on cover it with foil or however you want to store it for reheating the next day.

ALSO, poultry skin gets tough as leather if not cooked at about 325F or higher. I would recommend that when you smoke the turkey you do it at 325F or higher and when you reheat the turkey you reheat it hotter to get the skin to be edible or even crispy :) When reheating I personally would also hit an IT of 162-165F and pull it out and let it set. This way you know you've been at save IT's through both the smoking and reheating process :)

I hope all this info helps :)

 

[gmc2003]

Why not do it the day of? If you smoke it at 325* it should only take about 15min per lb. Poultry takes on smoke rather quickly so I would use caution with how much and what type of wood you use. Especially if it's your first.

Chris