# will be smoking my 42 pound homegrown turkey need some pointers maybe ideas



## thecapps (Nov 12, 2011)

I have raised some turkeys from poults (chicks) I will be processing and cooking two of them for thanksgiving.  I don't think this bird will lay down  in my smoker due to the size, so I think I will have to stand it up somehow.  I'm not sure what the dress weight will be but I am almost positive it will be over 25 lbs, maybe more around 30.  We haven't weighed the birds as they are now.  I'll try to jump on a scale with them tomorrow and get an idea.  Is there a rule of thumb as to so many minutes a pound? I saw the recipe for the brine which I will mix up and give a shot. _  _I will be using my homebuilt smoker, kingsford and oak.


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## SmokinAl (Nov 13, 2011)

You will have a very hard time getting a bird that big thru the danger zone in 4 hours if your smoker will not get into the 300-325 degree range. You may have to spatchcock it.


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## thecapps (Nov 13, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> You will have a very hard time getting a bird that big thru the danger zone in 4 hours if your smoker will not get into the 300-325 degree range. You may have to spatchcock it.


I can do 300 to 325 with my smoker,  I just watched some spatchcock videos on youtube, never heard of it till now.  If I did it that way it might be a little easier to work with as far as the smoking process goes,  I'll consider that.


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## roller (Nov 13, 2011)

I smoked a home grown turkey that I raised a couple of weeks ago that dressed out 17lbs. I started it at 275* and when it reached 140* at 4hrs and 15 min. I took it back down 225* for the rest of the time. I injected it with Cajun Butter and also rubbed it all over with it...The bird came out great...I just like them smoked whole...


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## mikelikessmoke (Nov 13, 2011)

If you cannot hit the temps with your smoker how about foiling it up and using the kitchen oven to get it through the zone then unfoil and transfer to the smoker for a nice low and slow ride to the finish?

You should still get plenty of smoky goodness that way and be safe on the temps as well.


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## thecapps (Nov 13, 2011)

MikeLikesSmoke said:


> If you cannot hit the temps with your smoker how about foiling it up and using the kitchen oven to get it through the zone then unfoil and transfer to the smoker for a nice low and slow ride to the finish?
> 
> You should still get plenty of smoky goodness that way and be safe on the temps as well.


Thats another good option.  I just jumped on a scale with one of the toms, approximatly 50lbs as they are now,  what the dress weight will be I don't know.


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## oldschoolbbq (Nov 13, 2011)

I would guess 30# Dressed, the Spatchcock idae will be your saving grace. Smoke @ 275* to 300*f until 165*f in the Thighs. Place a pna under her andcatch et drippings,include Onion,Carrot Celery,Potatoes and anything else you like in the drip pan for use as the gravy;if you like Giblets,cook them inside in Boiling wated(the smoke get acrid with organ pieces.).You can add them to the Veggies and make your gravy strain and add the giblets,danged good
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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Have fun and...


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## plj (Nov 13, 2011)

50 lbs live weight, holy $#!*!

I smoke 24-25 pounders every year, no problems. I do sort of a modified spatchcock - I split the breast in half but without breaking the skin, so that that huge chunk of breast is now 2 smaller pieces... but I still have what appears to be a whole bird at serving time. 

I smoke it on a wire rack that is sort of like a beer-can chicken rack... hang on I think I can go get a pic...


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## plj (Nov 13, 2011)

Here's the pic:







These were "cheapo" beer-can racks my wife picked up somewhere, came in a set, one for chickens one for turkey.  You just shove the rack up the birds.. ummm... cavity, and it then sit it on the grill/smoker with a can of beer if desired.

The rack + the weight of the bird just naturally spreads those 2 big breasts apart so the temp can come up quicker.

btw, those are some nice looking birds. We dont keep guineas anymore, they are a loud pooping pain in the butt. Ducks are a royal pain too. Chickens are good.  How were the turkeys, noisy? messy? do they harass the smaller birds?


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## thecapps (Nov 13, 2011)

plj said:


> Here's the pic:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




That might be just what I need to keep the bird upright so it will fit in the smoker.  I have a vertical type smoker.  As far as the raising of turkeys If you think guineas are a pooping mess you have nooooo idea. Turkeys eat a ton and crap a whole Lot more.  We have a total of five three toms and two hens I was wanting to bring it down to one Tom and one hen, my wife wants to keep two hens and a Tom.  We have chickens also twenty something.  The guineas are loud when they get goin but doesn't bother us too much.  The turkeys gobble back and forth all day I'll try to get a video of them up on here, I'm sure you'll hear the guineas too.


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## kavey (Nov 13, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> You will have a very hard time getting a bird that big thru the danger zone in 4 hours if your smoker will not get into the 300-325 degree range. You may have to spatchcock it.


Is there a reason for the four hours? Is it supposed to be cooked in under 4 hours or something? Im curious too as I will be smoking my first turkey for thanksgiving and dont have a clue what I am doing. I have deep fried and roasted them but never smoked.

I was just planning on brining it for a day or so in my HUGE stock pot in some ice water and then smoking it around 300 degrees till it is done. Mine will also be 28-30 pounds.


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## thecapps (Nov 13, 2011)

Kavey said:


> Is there a reason for the four hours? Is it supposed to be cooked in under 4 hours or something? Im curious too as I will be smoking my first turkey for thanksgiving and dont have a clue what I am doing. I have deep fried and roasted them but never smoked.
> 
> 
> I was just planning on brining it for a day or so in my HUGE stock pot in some ice water and then smoking it around 300 degrees till it is done. Mine will also be 28-30 pounds.




The first four hours is said to be the danger zone where harmful bacteria can rapidly grow if the meat you are smoking does not reach 140deg in the first four hours.  From what I have read around here it pretty much goes for everything except if your doing a rare price of beef , then I guess you just write yourself one of those disclaimers you see at the bottom of a reasturaunt menu " eating raw or undercooked meats can be harmful to you health...." of corse if you live in California anything is bad for your health.... J/k,  glad I live back in Virginia.


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## thecapps (Nov 20, 2011)

Ok, so we processed the bird yesterday, I am amazed.  The bird dressed out at 42 LBS here are some pics.  Right now I have it in a couple 2x2 ziplock bags in my fridge, the bags wouldnt close.  I am going to do the Tip's Slaghterhouse brine, but I'm going to throw in some fresh cilantro, I just love cilantro.  I'm going to do some insulating mods to my smoker to make sure I keep a good solid temp while smoking.


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## rowdyrawhide (Nov 20, 2011)

oops, double post


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## rowdyrawhide (Nov 20, 2011)

HOLY COW!! 42LBS!!  Are sure they weren't eating chickens and guineas when you weren't lookin.

This will be interesting, gonna watch this one.  Good luck.

Aaron


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## kielbasa kid (Nov 20, 2011)

I tried to raise 6, they were good size, Fed them @ 7 & checked them @11. Three were D.O.A.


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## frosty (Nov 20, 2011)

I can hardly wait.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  I am on the edge of my seat.  More please!


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## SmokinAl (Nov 20, 2011)

Holy cow 42 lbs.!!!!


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## thecapps (Nov 20, 2011)

working on the smoker mods.  I got a roll of this fiberglass exhuast wrap, its 12" wide 4 layers of fiberglass, the inside layer is foiled.  This will help out with the colder weather smokes too.  The smoke chamber is stainless steel.  Also put in a fiberglass door seal, I had a few leaks in the door, so that should take care of that.  I like the way it turned out, still a little more to go, ran out of rivets.


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## austinl (Nov 20, 2011)

I think this "4 hour danger zone" has been taken a little out of context.  When you are holding food that is already cooked between 40-140 degrees for serving the bacteria multiplies well in this range and the 4 hour rule would apply but when you are cooking something you're taking it past that range and whatever bacteria multiplies when your food is in the 40-140 range will be killed when its fully cooked and should not have enough time to produce enough toxins to spoil your food in the time it is in that range as long as you are holding a good cooking temperature.  To put it simply if you are trying to cook a 30 pound turkey at 180F it may have enough time to spoil before it gets fully cooked but I have never had this problem with proper hot smoking temps of 220-300F no matter if it has a cavity in the middle of it, a bone, a "whole-muscle" cut or anything else.


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## eman (Nov 20, 2011)

AustinL said:


> I think this "4 hour danger zone" has been taken a little out of context.  When you are holding food that is already cooked between 40-140 degrees for serving the bacteria multiplies well in this range and the 4 hour rule would apply but when you are cooking something you're taking it past that range and whatever bacteria multiplies when your food is in the 40-140 range will be killed when its fully cooked and should not have enough time to produce enough toxins to spoil your food in the time it is in that range as long as you are holding a good cooking temperature.  To put it simply if you are trying to cook a 30 pound turkey at 180F it may have enough time to spoil before it gets fully cooked but I have never had this problem with proper hot smoking temps of 220-300F no matter if it has a cavity in the middle of it, a bone, a "whole-muscle" cut or anything else.


I have to disagree.

Clostridium Botulinum...This bacteria if left unchecked Grows rapidly and gives off a Neurotoxin that causes the debilitating or Deadly Botulism...Once this Toxin is Formed...NO AMOUNT OF HEAT OR ANYTHING ELSE CAN DESTROY IT!!!.

There are other bacteria that are heat or cold resistant.

 If you stick by the 40 - 140 rule and maintain good sanitation you are doing everything you can to prevent making others ill.


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## bmudd14474 (Nov 20, 2011)

AustinL I have to agree with Eman. There are certain toxins that cannot be burnt off. Please be cautious when giving out information like that on SMF.


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## austinl (Nov 21, 2011)

Allow me to clarify.  I did not mean for it to sound as if the toxins would be burned off (as I'm aware they do not) only that the 40-140 guideline  was being taken out of context when applied to cooking because I have read countless posts on here that suggest the author believes whatever they are cooking will be spoiled if the internal temp does not reach 140 in 4 hours.  It has been my experience (especially with thicker pieces of meat) the internal temp may take longer than 4 hours to break 140 during cooking and I have never had or considered this to be a food safety problem however, if I had some food already prepared and was holding it at or a little below 140 for serving I would question its safety after 4 hours. I simply believe there is a fundamental difference between cooking and reheating when it comes to this 40-140 rule.


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## hoity toit (Nov 22, 2011)

42 lbs is HUGE...wow.


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## barneypoo69 (Nov 22, 2011)

bmudd14474 said:


> AustinL I have to agree with Eman. There are certain toxins that cannot be burnt off. Please be cautious when giving out information like that on SMF.


Can anyone give a link about this ? I have another thread about food safety (smoking a 15lb turkey) issue. Something that has hard facts...not I heard/read etc.


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## austinl (Nov 22, 2011)

I do believe I reposted I did not believe toxins can be burned off.  I'm sure there is something on the FDA's site about it.


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## austinl (Nov 22, 2011)

Okay, I could not find anything in the FDA's web site relating directly to how fast meat has to cook for the purposes of slow cooking so I emailed them and asked for more detail.  As soon as I get a response I will post it on here and hopefully we can finally put this horse down for good.


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## thecapps (Nov 22, 2011)

got the bird in 6 Gallons of Tip's Slaughterhouse, This pic there was only 3 gallons in the tub.  I have it in my spare fridge, had to pull out all the shelves.  A buddy at work gave me this pelican case, I brought it home and washed it out real good, and moved the bird from the ziplock bags into the pelican.  I plan on starting the smoke sometime tomorrow evening.  It will be an all nighter, my buddy is coming to stay over, so we'll rotate the smoke watch.  The stuff all over the bird is cilantro.


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## thecapps (Nov 23, 2011)

Update, 4 hrs into the smoke, Maintaining 300, the bird is at 132.  Here are a few pics.  Its really windy right now, so we built a wind block with some old kitchen cabinets I need to install in my garage, just trying to keep the wind away.  Things are looking and smelling great, We are using the slaughterhouse brine the turkey was in, in my water pan.  The bird just barely fit in my smoker.  I had it laying down in the begining as shown in the pics, after about an hr and a half we stood it up as you would beer can style, it seamed like laying down it was blocking too much heat.  Will post astanding pic when I go back in to baste it with some evoo.  the second and third pics were just before we repositioned it at an hr and a half.


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## thecapps (Nov 24, 2011)

heres the latest pic, slathered with evoo refilled the water pan, added wood, time for a little sleep, temp sitting at 145.  me and my buddy are taking turns checking every hr till morn.


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## thecapps (Nov 24, 2011)

The bird is done. i got 180 in the breast 192 in the thigh, probably a little too done.  I guess i need to put it in a cooler till T time, thats not till 2pm
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





.  I finished a whole lot sooner than I had expected, I was thinking atleast 12 hr.  From start to Finish only 7 hrs.  Will post a done pic in the morining.


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## kielbasa kid (Nov 24, 2011)

You should get a Bronze Star for courage and a Silver Star for success.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Rich


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## austinl (Nov 24, 2011)

When I did my first turkey I expected it to take a lot longer too.  I have done lots of chickens which are typically half the weight but to my surprise it only took a couple more hours.  Did you sneak any bites before dinner?


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## thecapps (Nov 24, 2011)

I didn't sneak any, i gotta wait like everyone else I guess.  I washed out the tub I brined in lined it with foil, pulled the brid out and wrapped it in foil, then put it in the fride.  Any suggestions on reheating, or just simply use the microwave.  I'm kinda bummed it finished so quick I was hopeing to take it from the smoker to my grandmas and start diggin in while it was still hot/warm, but I guess its just good that it cooked all the way through and looks/smells delicious.  The legs are a bit odd looking do to the way I had to stand it up, if you sit the bird on its back the legs are just about strait in the air.  But hey its not a traditional way to cook one anyway, it doen't have to look traditional eaither.  Depending on how it tastes it just might become my tradition.  Thanks for all the tips and feedback, the final q view will come when it on the table and being sliced.  Stay tuned.

 


AustinL said:


> When I did my first turkey I expected it to take a lot longer too.  I have done lots of chickens which are typically half the weight but to my surprise it only took a couple more hours.  Did you sneak any bites before dinner?


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## kielbasa kid (Nov 24, 2011)

Do NOT reheat whole, an entirely cook, uncarved turkey.  If you should happen to wish to.....the bird has to be brought back up to the original IT.   Not recommended. 

Just carve it and use gravy. 

Me?  I'm not one for fresh cooked & served turkey.  I'm a left-over man in more ways than one i.e. food and age.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Do yourselves a favour and google ....  reheating a whole turkey  

Rich


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## SmokinAl (Nov 24, 2011)

Kielbasa Kid said:


> Do NOT reheat whole, an entirely cook, uncarved turkey.  If you should happen to wish to.....the bird has to be brought back up to the original IT.   Not recommended.
> 
> Just carve it and use gravy.
> 
> ...


As Rich says carve it, refrigerate it, and nuke it. Then pour hot gravy on it. Do not refrigerate it whole.


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## thecapps (Nov 24, 2011)

Didnt see these posts till after the fact.  When I pulled it off the smoker this morning I wrapped the whole bird in foil and put it in the fridge.  It's about an hour to my grandmas so about 30 min before leaving we put the smoker in the back of my buddies truck lit it off and held 300 deg till we got there.  The skin became like thin rubber instead of crispy like when I originally pullEd it out.  Overall everyone really loved the flavor and couldn't get over the size.  He lost a lot of weight in the smoke process I could definitely tell when moving him around.  I will post more pics when I get home, writing this post from an iPhone.


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## jamesdouglas (Nov 24, 2011)

wow. what a monster of a bird. loved reading this thread.

great job.


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## thecapps (Nov 25, 2011)

some pictures:


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## SmokinAl (Nov 25, 2011)

Looks delicious!


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## thecapps (Nov 25, 2011)

some more pictures, this is about half of the turkey, just got done picking it to the bone.  Love the coloring in the dark meat.


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## SmokinAl (Nov 25, 2011)

That's one big turkey!


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## owlcreeksmoker4 (Nov 25, 2011)

I've personally had a 31 pound homegrown before and I used the convential over method, with switching to the smoker for that slow riding finish. I used pecan wood and a delicious mop my aunt and i came up with. got very good results and was almost shocked at how well the smoke penetrated the bird.


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## owlcreeksmoker4 (Nov 25, 2011)

Lol little late on my post i suppose, but the bird looks great! kudos to you for the bravery my friend


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## austinl (Nov 25, 2011)

Smoking down the road, love it.


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## jetsknicks1 (Nov 25, 2011)

AustinL said:


> Smoking down the road, love it.




I was just thinking the same thing.


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