Gotta take care of mama

[powerhead]

alrite guys, ive got a 20 lb bird that i brined friday evening and just put it on about ten minutes ago. i did some searchin and found the internal temp for turkey to be 170, let me know if this is wrong.

Also, i split the bird in half so do yall think that this is going to make the breast cook alot faster and get dryer? and should i spritz it with something? i saw somethin about cherry juice and that sounds interesting. Let me know what ya think and no camera around so probably no q-view today, sorry bout that and happy mothers day to everybody.

 

[seboke]

Cutting it in half was a good idea for such a big bird. Just like cookin in the oven, if you start crispin up too much before reaching internal temp, foil the hot spots. Yeah, sptitz a lot, but wait till after your rub grabs, don't want to wash it off!

 

[chargrilled]

What are you cookin it on?? Keep your temps up for birds to crisp the skin or Q it and throw the skin out (rubber). What kinda wood? Did you inject? You could spray or mop with some butter and garlic or whatever to help get your skin crispy.

 

[ronp]

When I did this last xmas I slow cooked it in the oven cut side down. It was much drier than normal. I guess the juices ran out of the cut side. Keep your fingers crossed.
Good luck!

 

[powerhead]

Well, bout an hour and forty five into it, my temp is stayin around 260, the wind is crankin so i think thats part of the problem cause ive hit 300 in my smoker before. I'm spritzing it with some cherry juice, a little coke, and some rum just to see how it comes out.

ronp, thats what i was worried about, im spritzing it at least every thirty minutes so hopefully it retains some moisture.

chargrilled, i'm using hickory chips and tryin to keep the temp as high as i can get it. this is my smoker up in gainesville, but im back home in merritt island since school stopped for a little while.



thanks for the help guys!

 

[ronp]

"ronp, thats what i was worried about, im spritzing it at least every thirty minutes so hopefully it retains some moisture."

On my second half of the bird I wrapped the cut edges with foil and it seemed to help to seal it up.

Good luck!

 

[heapomeat]

nice looking smoker,,,,,,CREATIVE,,,keep up the good work........

I remember fondly of college years, room-mate was gone for the evening, 3" of snow outside, so I pulled the bbq into the bathroom and turned all fans on a BBQ'd some great steaks........the apartment smelled fantastic for the next couple days.......

ah yes, the college years.

 

[ronp]

I was wondering how the bird turned out?

 

[powerhead]

ronp, the bird turned out delicious, my family loved it and the sandwiches the couple days after were awesome. I even chopped some of it up and put it on a frozen pizza before i baked it and man was it good.

heapOmeat, thanks for the compliment, its a great crowd drawer for our tailgates and it has cranked out some awesome q, it sure makes for alot of fun on the weekends, i love sittin out in the yard and relaxin. I cant wait to fire it up again, lookin at all these fattys is makin me drool uncontrollably.