Brined using cure for that giant smoked turkey leg flavor through the whole bird. 20 pound turkey took 7.5 hours in my MES 30". I cannot get it up over 250 and it takes about an hour and half to get there while preheating, even if I also turn the element on the cold smoker plugged right in the side and add a few charcoal briquettes to it. Once I put the bird in, it took another couple of hours to get back up to 250. A little frustrating but patience was key. I did not add smoke until about 1.5 hours in just to let the bird dry, then smoked steady all the way through using hickory. I pulled it at 165 internal temp in the thigh and let it rest about 15 minutes.
I did not use water and even at 250, the skin was nice and crispy. There was a lot of fat under the skin, but it just fell away. I did not use any water, and I used a big knife to gash open six big holes in the back to allow the juices to drain into the pain instead of getting stuck in the bird. It was so damn good! Nom, nom.
I did not use water and even at 250, the skin was nice and crispy. There was a lot of fat under the skin, but it just fell away. I did not use any water, and I used a big knife to gash open six big holes in the back to allow the juices to drain into the pain instead of getting stuck in the bird. It was so damn good! Nom, nom.
Last edited: