Newbie from the North

[hmgbbq]

Hi,

I'm from Minnesota and I've been designated to cook the turkey this year so I've decided that I want to smoke it. Just picked up a 22" weber kettle off of craigslist and smoked my first ribs this past weekend, showed me that I have a lot to learn. Well I know I'll be able to pick up some stuff here so here I am. I've always loved food and enjoy to cook, right now I'm trying to lose some weight for a wedding so I'm fasting and my one meal a day has to be awesome. Thanks and nice to meet you.

 

[JC in GB]

Welcome from Wisconsin.

A full turkey is not something I have done yet.

That said, If I did a full turkey, I would likely spatchcock it before or after brining.

You may have to adjust your cook at some point to get away from rubbery or dry leathery skin.

Some hickory smoke would do nicely as well... IMHO...

JC in GB

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Welcome from East TN. I pretty much spatch all my poultry now. Makes for a more even cook and shaves time off the cook IMO. Check it out I don't think you will be disappointed doing one on the kettle.

 

[zwiller]

Welcome and congrats! I agree to spatch but take it even farther and halve. Easier to brine and handle. IE You need 1-1/2G brine for whole bird and 2qts halved... To each his own, but I prefer oven roasted for TG. That said, if you halve it, roast one half in oven and smoke the other. For smoking, I'd cure it with Pop's low salt and smoke a long time. End result is very rich and decadent, sure to impress folks.

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome to the site, I did my first turkey a little over a year ago. Except it was on my WSM. If your using a kettle then I would suggest reading up on the snake method.

Here's a link if you want to see how it turned out.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/1st-try-at-a-smoked-turkey.274867/

Chris

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Welcome from Middle TN! Make sure to post pics of your cooks.

 

[one eyed jack]

As GMC suggested; Check out the "snake" method. It makes it fairly easy to control temps in the kettle. With practice, there's not much you can't cook / smoke in a kettle.

This size "snake" will give 225* - 250* for 4 or 5 hours. I light about 1/3rd of a small size Weber charcoal chimney and pile it on one end of the "snake". That's about 10 briquettes. Hard to light fewer that that number in the chimney.

Here's the method I use for Baby Backs on my kettle. Used the "Snake" for this cook too. Enjoy the adventure.

 

[Nole4L]

As JC suggested it's a good idea to spatchcock the turkey. It's simple to do if you've never tried it. It makes it a lot easier to get consistent temperature. I did one one the smoker for Thanksgiving and it turned out great.

 

[kruizer]

Welcome to SMF from your Minnesota neighbor.

 

[noboundaries]

Congrats on the Kettle, and welcome to SMF! Glad you're here and stepping up to the plate for Thanksgiving. I've smoked turkeys in my Kettle and WSM, about 4-6 a year. Just had turkey soup tonight from one I smoked a month ago. Use the search feature and you'll nail that turkey smoke.

 

[kawboy]

Welcome from a fellow Minnesotan!

 

[drdon]

Hello from Sunny Florida. Let us know how the bird turns out.
And SKOL!

 

[PorkBones]

Welcome aboard! I've had great success with spatchcock chicken. I have to presume that the method would work great for a full turkey as well.

 

[hmgbbq]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! I will definitely have to do some test runs with spatchcock to see how that goes. Will remember to show everyone how the turkey goes. Thanks!