Help - Turkey done in 3 hours?

[varnco]

Hello. new to forum and first time smoking a turkey in my 30" electric smoker.

I have had my 12# turkey in for 3 hours at 250*, based on what I've seen online, and it should take about 5 - 6 hours to cook.

I just checked the temperature on it in the breast and thigh, at the 3 hour mark, and it's registering 160*, and I'm supposed to pull it at 165*?

How did it cook so fast? The law of physics are not suspended at my house, so if it takes everyone else 5+ hours for a 12# turkey, shouldn't it at mine?

Should I just go ahead and pull it?

Thanks!

 

[kaveman42]

What did you use to monitor your smoker temp and how far away was the probe from the turkey?

 

[Rings Я Us]

You can wrap it up in foil and stick it in the cooler with a couple towels under and over. It will keep a couple hours.
Hope the skin is ok cooking that low.

 

[kaveman42]

You can wrap it up in foil and stick it in the cooler with a couple towels under and over. It will keep a couple hours.

Ya, definitely pull it if you haven’t already. Just make sure you trust your thermometer. There is a chance you were smoking at a higher temp than you thought.

 

[varnco]

I checked the temp of the cabinet with my thermal gun and a digital meat thermometer, which I just calibrated, and they both showed about 250*. The meat thermometer in the breast and thigh show 160*, as well as the built in thermometer. It hasn't changed since I posted... at 160*, but I dropped the temp in the cabinet to 225*

This is odd too, as usually, when I smoke meats, they take longer than expected.

 

[varnco]

What did you use to monitor your smoker temp and how far away was the probe from the turkey?

See answer below, but I used a thermal gun and a meat thermo to detect cabinet temp.

 

[Rings Я Us]

It sounds like it was done as if it cooked at 325-350
That's 15 minutes to 20 a pound like yours got done.

 

[varnco]

I took it out, and it's still saying 163* at breast. We'll cut into in a bit and see how it comes out... hopefully don't need full glasses of water . :-)

 

[kaveman42]

You should be good then. Keep us posted. I suggest you get a dual probe thermometer unit like most people use here. Taking the surface temp of the inside of your cabinet can be completely different than the air temperature next to whatever your smoking. If its a reflective surface that can also throw off your reading. Now, im just assuming here so take it for what its worth. There are others in here with way more experience than I which may or may not agree. Either eay hope your Turkey is great. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, let us know how it turned out.